Although many weight conscious individuals contend skipping meals is the best way to manage one's weight, it may be one of the worst. A "fast-all-day, feast-all-night" eating pattern is often seen in overweight individuals. Skipping breakfast and/or lunch usually results in people being so ravenously hungry when dinner rolls around that they eat significantly more than they would have if they had eaten during the day. Furthermore, when overwhelming hunger strikes, people typically grab whatever food is available, rather than preparing a healthy, well-balanced meal. The cycle continues the following day when these guilt ridden calorie counters wake up with fresh resolve and minimal hunger, only to once again skip meals early in the day, and stuff themselves later in the evening. Eating regular, well timed meals (including breakfast) helps stabilize blood sugar, which in turn quells hunger, and helps people control their weight.

Breakfast is important for other reasons as well. Study after study has shown that people who eat breakfast are way ahead of breakfast skippers when it comes to nutrient intake. Breakfast eaters also come out on top in terms of mental and physical performance thanks to a better blood glucose (sugar) level. It turns out your brain and nerve cells require glucose for energy, so low blood sugar impairs your ability to think and react.

For optimal energy and better weight control eat more meals not fewer. If it has been over 3 hours since your last meal, and your next one is at least an hour away it is time for a healthy snack. Snack food needn't be synonymous with junk food. Use snacks to help round out your diet by eating the foods your body needs more of. Be a savvy snacker: combine fruit, vegetables, or whole grains (pretzels, tortilla chips, bread) with some lean protein for an A+ snack. (See the previous myth for more information on creating perfect snacks.)

SKIPPING MEALS: A CALORIE-WISE POUND -FOOLISH WAY TO MANAGE YOUR WEIGHT According to Barry Miller, M.D., a nationally recognized obesity specialist and medical director of the McLaren Hospital Optifast Weight Management Clinic in Flint Michigan, many chronic weight watchers starve themselves into obesity. How can that be? There are a variety of physiological and psychological factors that account for this seemingly paradoxical observation. Skipping meals signals the body that a famine is eminent. Your body responds by decreasing its calorie needs by 150 to 200 calories per day. (How many pounds will you gain each month if you cut your calorie needs by 200 calories per day, but don't change your energy expenditure?) Concurrently, your body produces more lipase, a fat storage enzyme, to ensure that you don't deplete your fat reserves too quickly. When people become physiologically famished their body craves calorie dense foods. People who stick to a nighttime eating pattern typically eat in excess of 2000 calories a day - too much for the average sedentary American to lose weight. After denying themselves food all day, nighttime nibblers reward themselves for their resistance. Once they get their minds into the reward mode it diminishes their resistance to overeating.