The best cereal for weight loss: Healthy choices to start your day

Whether you’re serving it up with a dash of cow’s milk or stirring through a dollop of coconut yoghurt, there’s rarely a more refreshing or convenient way to start your day than with a bowl of cereal.

This breakfast dish is a staple for many households all around the world, and is often touted as a vital source of fibre, protein, and essential vitamins and minerals, but how healthy are breakfast cereals really?

And with so many varieties available, how can you determine which might be the best to help you lose weight and keep the weight off?

Can you eat cereal and still lose weight?

The short answer is: yes!

In fact, many studies have shown that a healthy breakfast such as wholegrain cereal contributes to weight loss and weight maintenance, with one study in particular finding that people who’ve kept off more than 13 kilograms of excess weight for a year are more likely than others to have had breakfast [3].

It certainly lends credibility to that age-old anecdote that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but healthy breakfast cereal has been found to have many other benefits beyond weight loss too.

Ready-to-eat, high-fibre cereals, including oats, porridge, muesli and wholewheat biscuits, are all foods included in the whole grains family, which is one of the vital food groups.

Whole grain cereal is naturally nutritious and is a source of good carbohydrates, protein, fibre and a diverse range of vitamins including the B vitamins folate, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, iron, vitamin E, zinc, magnesium and phosphorous [1].

As a result, these healthy cereals can reduce the risk of developing several health conditions [1] and have also been found to help reduce abdominal obesity and other forms of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and hypertension [2].

What to look for in weight loss-friendly cereal

That said, not all breakfast cereals are made equal, and there's a big difference between the healthiest cereal on the shelf and what's effectively your junk food cereal.

You don’t need to hit your boutique grocer to find the former, with your average grocery store stocking many breakfast cereals that fit the good health bill.

Finding the right one for you will ultimately depend on your taste but in particular, when it comes to weight loss-friendly breakfast cereal options, you should look for a cereal that is:

• Rich in whole grains, in particular, a cereal made of corn, whole wheat, whole grain oats, wheat flour or brown rice, but…
• Low in refined grains, which can lead to a spike in your blood sugar levels.
• Rich in fibre, ideally with 5 or more grams per serve. Fibre lowers blood sugar and cholesterol, making it a really important component of any healthy diet.
• Rich in protein, especially if you’re hitting the gym regularly as protein supports your muscle recovery. Aiming for something with a minimum of 5 grams per serve is a good place to start.
• Low in sugar probably feels like it goes without saying when it comes to both finding a healthy cereal and losing weight, but it bears repeating. Looking for a breakfast cereal with no more than 5 grams of added sugar per serve is ideal, although can sometimes be a challenge to find given the prevalence of sugary cereals.
• Low in sodium, especially as sodium can have a negative impact on your heart, so look for one with no more than 200mg per serve.
• With low calories. It might sound like another obvious one, but even healthy cereal can be surprisingly high-calorie if you’re not paying attention to the serving size. Most cereals do list a serving size as just under a cup, which can be less than you think. Using a measuring cup or scale to serve yourself, and finding cereals with less than 150 calories per serve can be a great way to make sure you’re eating in moderation [2].

What is the best cereal for weight loss?

When it comes to the best cereals for weight loss, you don’t need to get too fancy. In fact, many healthy breakfast cereals may even be ones you're already familiar with.

In particular, some of the best cereals for weight loss efforts are:

Shredded Wheat or Wheat Biscuits

Made from 100% whole wheat, wheat biscuits are some of the healthiest breakfast cereals around.

While it’s got a slightly higher calorie count at 162 calories per serve, it boasts a healthy 5.5g of protein, 5.5g of fibre, just 0.3g of sugar and just 22mg of sodium, making it a pretty perfect start to a healthy day.

All Bran

You’ll regularly see All Bran at the top of any healthy breakfast search, and this wheat bran cereal boasts a mammoth 10.8g fibre, 5.6g protein, and just 134 calories per serve, making it a great option if you’re having digestive issues in particular.

All Bran does have 7.2g of sugar per serve, and 380mg of sodium, which undermine some of its health benefits. That said, the perks of bran flakes as a high-fibre cereal can outweigh the negatives.

Original Cheerios

With a base ingredient of wholemeal oats, your standard Original Cheerios can be a great option.

With just 140 calories per serve, 5 grams of protein, 2 grams of sugar, and 190mg of sodium, the only recommendation this particular offering doesn’t match is in dietary fibre, of which it has just 4g.

Carmen’s Fruit Free Muesli

Any muesli without dried fruit, particularly one with a range of whole grain oats, nuts such as almonds and pecans, and seeds such as sunflower seeds, can be a great option for weight loss.

Carmen’s Fruit Free Muesli is an ideal example in this case. While it’s slightly higher in calories at 213 calories per serve, it levels out with 6g protein, 5g fibre, 4g sugar and just 6mg of sodium.

Rolled oats

And the best cereal of all is something you might not even think of as a cereal.

Rolled oats regularly score an A when it comes to a healthy diet grade, with only 144 calories per serve, just 20mg sodium and 0.1g sugar they can be a dream for supporting weight loss, even if they fall a little short of the recommended amounts of protein (4.5g) or fibre (4g).  

Unhealthy cereals to avoid

When it comes to cereals to avoid, it can be best to start with the question: how much sugar is in this?

Sugar is one of the main factors when it comes to weight gain — among many health issues — so the question is a pertinent one to be asking as you make dietary lifestyle changes.

Following that, avoiding cereals with refined grains, refined wheat, refined corn, and too much salt is also recommended.

Just as some of the healthiest breakfast cereals might be ones you were already familiar with, so might be some of the least healthy:

• While Original Cheerios made the list of healthy cereals, their popular little sister, Honey Nut Cheerios unfortunately misses the mark. While it’s still made on wholegrain oats and is low calorie at 140 calories per serve, it only has 3g of both protein and fibre respectively, 525mg of sodium, and 12g of sugar.
• One you might not expect is Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, which might be low in calories and sugar at just 113 calories and 2.4 grams of sugar, yet it comes with less than 1g of fibre, just 2.1g of protein, as well as 330g of salt and a surprising amount of saturated fat.
• Another popular cereal worth avoiding is Kellogg’s Coco Pops. At a whopping 386 calories per serve, 17g of sugar, 640mg of sodium, and just 3.8g of fibre, the only thing this cereal has going for it is its 6.3g of protein per serve. Made on a base of rice, sugar and cocoa powder, it misses the mark for those important whole grains too, making it another to leave on the grocery store shelf.

Healthy ways of enjoying cereal

If the thought of swapping out your Honey Nut Cheerios for your Originals doesn't stir your appetite, don’t forget there are lots of ways that you can spruce up your healthy breakfast cereals in a way that doesn’t just help you to lose weight but can even add other nutritional health benefits.

• Consider adding fresh fruit like blueberries, raspberries, bananas, apples or oranges to deliver an extra burst of flavour and some added vitamins and minerals.
• Add some healthy seeds or nuts for an extra pack of protein to kick off your day, from chia seeds to slivered almonds or pepitas.
• Think about swapping out your full cream dairy milk with either low-fat milk or a plant-based milk (such as almond, soy, coconut, or oat), or even getting some full-bodied texture with non-fat Greek yoghurt or coconut yoghurt.

For more ideas or guidance on how to adjust your diet for weight loss and weight management, Juniper’s Weight Reset Program is here for you.

Designed to target your metabolism with a combination of weight loss treatments, dietitian advice and exercise ideas, Juniper helps you not just turn off the food noise and feel fuller for longer, but track your health in a way that will have you seeing results long-term.