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What is the ideal calorie intake for breakfast?
How many calories should I eat for breakfast? How many calories should breakfast be compared with the other meals of the day? How do you calculate your ideal calorie intake for breakfast, depending on your height, weight and whether you’re male or female?
Breakfast is undoubtedly an important meal of the day, but to say that it’s the most important meal of the day is false. In fact, breakfast should account for around 25% of the day’s calorie intake. Use the tool below to calculate your optimal morning intake according to your needs.
Everything you need to know about your breakfast calorie intake
Is breakfast really the most important meal of the day?
The importance of breakfast is explained by the fact that, after a fast of around 8 to 9 hours, our bodies need fuel to get through the day and make it to lunch at 12:00. But what’s the reality?
Skipping breakfast may result in lower energy levels throughout the day
For some people, not eating in the morning could lead to a drop in energy, deprivation and a postponement of eating until later in the day. Some will say “the body adapts, it doesn’t matter”, and in a way they could be right. Others think, on the contrary, that the bodyadapts to cope with a deficiency and is better able to defend itself in the future by storing up. In reality, as you can see, breakfast is far from the consensus. To reassure those who eat breakfast in the morning, tell yourself that the centenarians of the Greek Islands or Okinawa eat breakfast, but to say that this factor alone is the only explanation for their longevity would be a shortcut we won’t take.
The truth about breakfast: Does it make you gain or lose weight?
If there’s one truth, it’s that no twostudies say the same thing on the subject: some say that breakfast is essential, while others go so far as to say that it is detrimental to our health. The studies in question often make headline news in magazines, with highly debatable and uncritical interpretations. A meta-analysis (1) (analysis of 58 studies carried out in 30 countries) confirms the lack of rigor of these studies and the interpretations made of them. Finally, the research team asserts that to date there is no proven link between lack of breakfast and obesity. A randomized study carried out in 2014 (2) confirms this hypothesis.
The benefits of eating breakfast: What we think about it
It would have been interesting toanalyze breakfast as a marker with multifactorial analyses (sleep, physical activity, intake of other meals, etc.). Indeed, if breakfast eaters are less prone to certain illnesses, this could be summed up by the simple fact that, for these people, eating breakfast is an important ritual which could suggest a healthy lifestyle. Today, we know that this rhythm of meals, sleep and physical activity is a goldmine for our health.
What should you eat for breakfast?
What are the healthiest foods to eat for breakfast?
Breakfast foods, like breakfast itself, are not immune to controversy. Between the anti-milk campaigners, those who advocate eating fatty products in the morning, and the advocates of the salty or sweet morning meal, who should we listen to?
What does a healthy breakfast look like?
The perfect breakfast is the one you’ll enjoy eating, and the one that best suits your morning needs. As with all meals, it’s important to focus on staple foods with high added value, and avoid processed products that are often too fatty, too sweet and low in essential nutrients.
The best healthy breakfast foods
- A hot or cold drink for hydration (tea, coffee, milk, etc.)
- A portion of fruit, ideally whole (with fiber)
- A portion of cereal or bread (ideally wholemeal)
- Dairy products (drinks, yoghurt, fromage frais or cheese)
There’s nothing to stop you adding other ingredients to your morning meal, which could be a savoury version with eggs and bacon (English version) or salmon (Swedish style). And don’t hesitate to include dried fruit such as almonds, rich in good fats.
Which foods should we moderate and which should we avoid?
- High-fat, high-sugar cereals (filled cereals, also known as bomb cereals)
- Products with a high glycemic index, which will give you a hangover at 11:00 a.m
- Juices that aren’t juices at all (concentrates or other very sweet nectars)
- Croissants, pains au chocolat and other viennoiseries should be kept to a minimum
Sources:
(1) A meta-analysis of 58 selected studies failed to establish a causal link between the absence of breakfast and obesity: ” Belief beyond the evidence: using the proposed effect of breakfast on obesity to show 2 practices that distort scientific evidence “
(2) A study of 309 participants concluded that breakfast had no effect on weight loss: ” The effectiveness of breakfast recommendations on weight loss: a randomized controlled trial “
