The Best Breakfast Foods for Weight Loss, According to a Dietitian

Starting your day with healthy breakfast foods can help you maintain energy, keep hunger at bay and lose weight. Some studies suggest that regular breakfast eaters tend to be leaner and more successful at losing weight—and keeping it off—while others, such as a 2019 BMJ meta-analysis of 13 randomized controlled trials found that's not true for everyone. Whatever the case, people who eat breakfast typically get more of certain important nutrients, like vitamins, minerals and fiber, which play a role in weight control.

A healthy and balanced breakfast should deliver a mix of protein, complex carbohydrates, fiber and healthy fat to keep you full and fueled up for your day. Read on to find out some of the best healthy foods to eat for breakfast to help you lose weight and why they are so good for you.

The 5 Best Breakfast Foods to Help You Lose Weight

Pictured Recipe: Muesli with Raspberries

1. Raspberries

A cup of raspberries delivers a whopping 8 grams of fiber, which is more than double what's in a cup of strawberries and about the same amount in a half cup of black beans, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). What's so great about all that fiber? A 2019 Journal of Nutrition study found that even when people restricted calories, those who ate the most fiber lost more weight over a period of six months.

Pictured Recipe: Peanut Butter Protein Overnight Oats

2. Oatmeal

Does oatmeal help you lose weight? It certainly can! It's packed with fiber, and it keeps you feeling fuller longer. Eating "slow-release" carbohydrates in foods such as oatmeal won't spike blood sugar as high as eating refined carbohydrates (think: white toast). In turn, insulin levels don't spike as high.
Because insulin plays a role in signaling your body to store fat, having lower blood sugar levels may help you burn fat.

Get More: Healthy Oatmeal Recipes

Pictured Recipe: Nut & Berry Parfait

3. Yogurt

A 2020 report published in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed which foods are correlated with weight change, including the top five foods that promote weight loss. Yogurt was one of them! Protein, including whey protein found naturally in yogurt and other dairy products, is filling and takes longer to digest than simple carbohydrates. You can decrease the amount of calories and added sugar you consume by choosing plain yogurt and adding fresh fruit for sweetness.

Pictured Recipe: Peanut Butter-Banana Roll-Ups

4. Peanut Butter

Nuts are also packed with protein and fiber to help you stay full for longer and promote weight loss. That's probably because peanut butter and all nuts and nut butters deliver a good dose of healthy fats, fiber and protein—all satisfying nutrients. While nuts and nut butters are calorie-dense, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter has just under 200 calories, 8 g of protein and 2.5 g of fiber, according to the USDA. It's also nutrient-dense and helps you build a satisfying breakfast.

Try spreading a tablespoon or two of peanut butter onto whole-wheat toast (which has "slow-release" carbohydrates) or adding nuts or nut butter to your oatmeal (also a "slow-release" carb) for a balanced meal.

Pictured Recipe: Low-Carb Bacon & Broccoli Egg Burrito

5. Eggs

One large egg has 6 g of protein and 72 calories. Compared to carbohydrates and fat, protein keeps you satisfied longer. A 2020 Environmental Research and Public Health study found that having eggs for breakfast improved eating satisfaction and decreased calorie consumption at the next meal. Eggs are incredibly satisfying and can help keep hunger at bay when combined with whole grains and fruit or vegetables.

And while just eating egg whites will help you save calories, you'll also lose half the protein (about 3 g is in the yolk), which helps make eggs a powerhouse choice for breakfast. Plus, the yolk is rich in healthy nutrients, like calcium and eye-protecting antioxidants (lutein and zeaxanthin).

Yolks are a significant source of dietary cholesterol. But more recent science suggests that dietary cholesterol isn't inherently bad for heart health and researchers think that eating one whole egg every day is fine for most people.