Eggs Can Help You Maintain A Healthy Body Weight

Margaret Hudson
President, Burnbrae Farms
4^th Generation Farmer

Hi, my name is Margaret Hudson, my family owns and operates Burnbrae Farms and has been farming since 1891. I am passionate about nutrition and health and of course eggs! I am excited to share some of my learnings from almost 30 years of working in our family’s egg business and a lifetime of being around our farm.  If you have enjoyed receiving this information and would like to receive more posts, please sign up in the link at the bottom of the page for our company newsletter.

Sometimes my friends and colleagues ask me if I always eat eggs for breakfast. With an adamant “Yes I do,” their next question is “Why?” The reasons are many. Having spent a number years immersing myself in the research around eggs, I believe that I am making a sensible choice to maintain a healthy body weight and to care for my long-term health. Here’s why.

Every bite counts

One of the keys to maintaining a healthy weight (or for losing weight, if that is your goal), is to enjoy foods that have a high amount of vitamins, protein and fibre in relation to their calories. Imagine you could eat 200 calories from hard-boiled eggs or 200 calories from candy. Either way, the calorie count remains the same. But here’s the difference: With the eggs, you also get protein, zinc, iron, vitamin A, choline, and B-vitamins such as riboflavin and folate. With candy, you just get sugar.

Do you see the difference? With the eggs, you’re getting the most out of every bite.

Here’s something else I keep in mind. It’s easier to maintain a healthy weight if you don’t feel hungry all of the time. Constant snacking, grazing and overeating can cause you to consume too many calories. Over time, that can lead to weight gain. One piece of advice that dietitians often give their clients is to amp up the protein and fibre content in their diet, because these nutrients make you feel full and keep you satiated for longer .

I’ve been a fan of this tip for a long time, and always start my day with protein-packed eggs. I pair them with whole grain toast, fruit or vegetables – all of which contain fibre. Perfect pairings! If I feel full from the protein and fibre combination, I’m less likely to crave pastries at the coffee shop. A good breakfast helps give me energy throughout the morning, so I’m able to concentrate at work and not think about snacks all morning long!

Eggs or bagels?

Many studies have compared the effects of eating eggs in the morning versus eating other breakfasts with the same calorie content. Look to the nutrition research for this very cool fact: When breakfast includes eggs, it tends to increase your feeling of fullness after the meal, and reduce your food intake at lunch and dinner. And it works much better than eating cereal, a bagel or croissant for breakfast.

Interestingly, some studies also show that eating eggs instead of a carb-heavy breakfast can help us consume fewer calories over the next 24 to 36 hours . So, the effects can last a long time!

My favourite breakfast options

Enjoying eggs for breakfast is as easy as 1-2-3:

If you start enjoying eggs for breakfast as part of your morning routine, let me know how it goes!

Margaret Hudson

President, Burnbrae Farms