People often tell me they don’t eat breakfast. Some of the reasons they give are: “I don’t have time”, “I don’t like breakfast foods”, or “I’m just not hungry”. So what’s the deal with ‘breakfast is the most important meal of the day’, and yet fewer than half of us eat breakfast regularly?

Studies have clearly shown that skipping breakfast can have negative health consequences, for both the young and the old. Children and teens seem to perform better in school if they eat breakfast, but the biggest decline in breakfast eating begins in the teens, maybe associated with ideas about weight control (especially for girls)….and the habit then continues into adulthood.

The real truth is that people who skip breakfast are MORE likely to gain excess weight. Eight in 10 adults who maintain a weight loss of at least 30 lbs for at least a year reported that they faithfully eat breakfast each day (National Weight Control Registry). Not eating breakfast can result in overeating, and choosing less healthy foods, later in the day; and it is hard to make up those important nutrients missed in the breakfast meal.

So it’s a smart move to “break-that-fast”, and eat, whether after sleeping/fasting all night or sleeping/fasting all day (for those that work at night). No matter when breakfast time is, we need to re-train our brains to listen to our body, which is screaming, Feed Me!

Here are some ideas: Try to limit before-sleep snacking; I don’t know about you, but this is when I tend to pick the least healthy foods anyway. Eat a lighter dinner meal. Start with a light breakfast; a piece of fruit or cheese, a smart trail mix. And, while the choices should be healthy ones, they don’t have to be typical breakfast foods. Dinner or lunch leftovers might fill the bill! A healthy dinner-type food beats eating a high sugar cereal or one of those ‘healthy’ breakfast bars out there (read those labels!). Pick portable foods that can be eaten while traveling to work – you’ll get to sleep a few extra minutes!