Healthnotes Newswire (March 13, 2008)—Breakfast, the so-called “most important meal of the day,” is some people’s favorite meal—but it is also the most-skipped meal of the day. Is that such a dietary crime? Will your cornflake-deprived body wither away in a nutritional decline? Some people manage just fine without food in the a.m., but the majority of folks would benefit from eating breakfast.

Eating breakfast will make you smarter. Kids who eat breakfast, in particular, tend to focus better, which in turn leads to increased mental performance. This has been studied and shown to be the case over and over, even in adults. Just because you scarf down a sausage biscuit every morning doesn’t mean you are ready to perform brain surgery, but eating a healthy breakfast does improve concentration.

Will eating a healthy breakfast help make you thinner? Possibly, since people who skip breakfast tend not to be as successful with weight management as those who regularly eat a morning meal. So many people think they are doing themselves a calorie-saving favor by skipping the first meal of the day, but they gorge later and overcompensate.

It is the number of calories consumed that determines weight loss, so again, eating a 650-calorie sausage, egg and cheese biscuit will not facilitate thinner thighs. But people who eat a small, healthy breakfast tend to resist snacking and overeating later, not to mention jumpstarting a more revved-up metabolism. It’s worth a try anyway.

You do have time. One of the biggest excuses people use for skipping breakfast usually doesn’t hold up. You don’t have to eat when the roosters crow, but it is a wise idea to eat within several hours of waking up. If you can’t stomach much, a piece of low-fat cheese and some fruit or a leftover piece of chicken would do fine. Pouring a bowl of cereal and eating does not require a huge chunk of time. You just need to wake up a little earlier. While some scoff at this ludicrous idea, you will look forward to it once your body adjusts to the change.

Not hungry in the morning? You should be. Many people aren’t hungry in the morning, because they eat too much at night. There’s only one way to fix that. First of all, cut back on portions at dinnertime. I know, easier said than done, but make a conscious effort to limit yourself. Then abstain from night snacking, especially in the middle of the night. Going to bed not stuffed means waking up with a healthy appetite.

Some good ways to start your day: Good ol’ eggs and bacon can be skinnied-up. Scramble eggs or Egg Beaters with lean ham or bacon bits and low-fat cheddar with a slice of whole-grain toast. Whole-grain or high-fiber cereal, as opposed to Captain Crunch, will give you sustained energy and the fiber you need. Yogurt with toppings of cereal and/or fruit is quick and portable. In the frozen section, look for Eggo low-fat, whole-wheat waffles, which are great alone and much healthier than Pop-Tarts or cereal bars.