Why I Eat Eggs Every Morning

When I started working at my first full-time job after graduate school, I ate breakfast at my desk. My commute was long and I left home early—around 6:45 in the morning, and did not feel like eating breakfast just then. One of the first things I set up in my cubicle was my breakfast cabinet, where I kept a bowl, spoon, bunch of bananas, and my then-favorite high-protein, high-fiber breakfast cereal. I typically got settled at my desk around quarter after eight, and had my “healthy” breakfast.

The trouble was, like clockwork, I was starving by 10:30 am.

I tried to squash my hunger with coffee but that didn’t work. I usually went to the vending machine, ate one of the powdered doughnuts that were invariably hanging around, or surrendered to a weirdly early lunch. At the time, I was going through a phase where staying thin was incredibly important to me, so this situation was a five-alarm fire.

As I racked my brain for explanations, I realized the main thing that had changed was that I was no longer eating eggs for breakfast. I love eggs—ever since I started eating breakfast in my 20s, eggs have always been my breakfast of choice.

→ How to make boiled eggs: How To Boil Eggs Perfectly Every Time

I traded in my cereal for two easy-to-pack hard-boiled eggs and my midmorning snack attacks ended immediately. I kept whole-wheat toast and plain yogurt with fruit in the office refrigerator to round out the morning meal, but I swore off cereal for breakfast and haven’t looked back since. It’s now one of those things I never, ever buy.

It turns out that it isn’t just me who thrives on eggs in the morning. The research shows that people who eat eggs for breakfast lose more weight than people who don’t.

Today, my favorite thing to eat in the morning is a simple skillet full of vegetables sautéed in olive oil folded into some scrambled eggs with cheese. Another go-to is fried eggs with sprouted whole grain toast. And of course I still love a nice hard-boiled egg or two. It’s the kind of breakfast that lets me work until one or two in the afternoon without feeling like I want a snack.

→ Make great scrambled eggs: How To Make Creamy Scrambled Eggs

Is it possible to talk about the fraught space of food, body, and weight in a healthy, thoughtful way? We think so, and we’re presenting a monthlong column exploring one food-lover and food writer’s journey towards finding her own personal balance. Joy Manning is joining us this month with her own stories, practical tips, recipes, and perspective on the real-life struggle between loving food and loving your body.

→ Read the intro to Joy’s column: Is There a Healthy Way to Love Food and Watch Your Weight? Introducing One Food-Lover’s Story