Eating an Egg Omelette for Breakfast and Lunch for Weight Loss

No one particular food, including a healthy omelette, will guarantee that you'll lose weight.
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No particular food, including a healthy omelette, will guarantee that you'll lose weight. For this, you'll need to eat fewer calories than you burn during your daily activities. Some foods, including eggs, may be a bit more filling than others, however, making it easier for you to lose weight.

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Each pound is equal to about 3,500 calories, so to lose 1 pound per week, you'll need to create a deficit of 500 calories each day by either eating less or exercising more — or a combination of the two, as explained by Mayo Clinic.

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Read more: Are Scrambled Eggs a Healthy Breakfast?

Eggs and Weight Loss

A study published in the European Journal of Nutrition in June 2013 found that eating eggs on toast for breakfast was more filling and resulted in a lower calorie intake the rest of the day than a breakfast of cornflakes with milk and toast or one containing a croissant and orange juice.

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These results occurred even though all three meals have the same number of calories.

Another older study published in the International Journal of Obesity in October 2008 found that people on a reduced-calorie diet who ate an egg breakfast containing 340 calories for 8 weeks lost more weight and body fat than those on a similar diet who ate a bagel breakfast with the same number of calories.

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Eating eggs for breakfast didn't increase weight loss in those who weren't on a reduced-calorie diet, however.

Omelette for Weight Loss

If you plan to eat an egg omelette for weight loss, for both lunch and dinner, go with a one-egg omelet at each meal so you're only eating a total of two eggs per day. A large egg has about 94 calories, according to the USDA, which is more in line with the calories suited for a snack.

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To make it a meal, you'll need to eat other foods along with the omelet or include other foods in the omelet itself to form a balanced meal. Your plate should comprise whole grains, fruits, vegetables and a protein, such as eggs.

Be careful with the add-ins for your omelet. Each ounce of cheddar cheese adds 113 calories, each slice of bacon has 45 calories, and an ounce of regular boneless ham has about 144 calories, according to the USDA.

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Better options include red bell peppers, which only have 46 calories for a whole cup, salmon, with about 60 calories per ounce, and firm tofu, with just 80 calories for 1/4 block, or about 3 ounces.

Read more: 9 Things You May Not Know About Eggs

Improving Weight Loss Results

Eating mainly foods that are low in energy density, or calories per gram, along with your egg omelets may help you lose more weight. Because you can eat a larger volume of these foods without going over your daily calories, you'll feel fuller and find it easier to stick with your diet.

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Foods low in energy density tend to be high in water or fiber, such as fruits, vegetables and broth-based soups, while those higher in energy density are usually foods that contain a lot of sugar or fat, such as sweets, fried foods and fatty cuts of meat or whole-milk dairy products.

Getting plenty of protein is also essential for optimal weight loss. A review article published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in June 2015 noted that getting between 25 and 30 grams of protein in each meal may help make it easier to control appetite and lose weight.

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A plain egg omelette made with one large egg has about 6.5 grams of protein, so you'll need to eat other protein-rich foods with your eggs at breakfast and lunch — as well as at dinner — to meet your protein requirements.

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