While many of us have heard the popular belief of eating a big breakfast, very few of us actually practise it in every day life. We manage to stick to the belief that dinner must be light, but do not supplement that dietary routine with a healthy and sufficient breakfast the next morning. Aside from healthy living, if weight loss is a goal for you, then you need to pay more attention to eating a healthy and nutritious breakfast every day. Here's how and why breakfast is important for weight loss...

Break the fast: After sleeping for 6 to 8 hours at night, your glucose level or blood sugar level is low. After you miss your breakfast, you let the body go into a hibernation-like state, which leads to no or minimum calorie burn.

Advice backed by scientific evidence: Through several studies it is suggested that more than 95% of overweight individuals, tend to skip breakfast - making it a common habit amongst those who are unable to manage their weight well.  

Breakfast and weight loss: Each morning, your body needs to rev up its metabolic rate and breakfast does exactly that. It keeps your hormone levels stable and helps regulate your blood sugar level, burning more calories.

Stop unhealthy cravings: Are you a big snacker? Eating breakfast will help you curb your snack attacks a lot better. One of the biggest advantages of eating breakfast is that it helps stabilise your hormones and keeps potential overeating and bingeing at bay.

More power to the breakfast! It is quite important for the first meal of your day to be a fine balance of protein, complex carbohydrates and a little fat so that it keeps you full till lunch. Here are a few sample breakfast ideas:

• A large bowl of skimmed milk and whole grain cereal. Add your favourite fruit to it.  

• A tiny size bran muffin along with raisins and a medium-sized glass of skimmed milk

• One egg, whole wheat toast, and a glass of orange or apple juice

• 1/2 bagel with peanut or almond butter and glass of fresh mixed fruit juice

If you plan ahead, preparing breakfast is like preparing the simplest meal of the day. And all it takes is a few extra minutes every morning and you're on your way to successful weight loss and a healthier you.