You heard it from your mom and your doctor, you read it on every dietary guideline poster pasted on the walls of your elementary school cafeteria growing up... "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day". So why do so many people still skip it? I can't speak for those who claim that they "don't have time". Anyone can arrange an extra three minutes to grab something from the fridge on the way out of the door. In the dieting world, however, there is a stigma around the idea that the fewer calories one eats the better, and therefore it isn't uncommon to see people who are watching their weight opt for a black coffee in the morning and choosing to stick it out until lunchtime before eating any actual food.

On the flip side, maybe you LOVE breakfast! Maybe it's your favorite meal of the day! Unfortunately, you might be going a little bit overboard on the calorie load for first thing in the morning, and you might be choosing the wrong kinds of foods to allow yourself to feel and function its best. Don't worry this article is for you too. You don't have to give up your favorite meal of the day in order to accomplish your weight loss goals, but you may want to consider modifying it by choosing some healthier options and learning to control your portion sizes.

The deeper we look into the way that our bodies actually work and function, the more clear it becomes that skipping breakfast can actually harm weight loss goals just as much as eating too big of one. Skipping breakfast can lead to excessive hunger and cravings so that by the time lunch and dinner come around, choices regarding the type of food and portion size one eats may be so poor that far more calories are consumed than are saved by skipping a light morning meal in the first place. Additionally, many studies show that there are healthy breakfast choices out there that will actually jumpstart your metabolism when consumed early on in the day, allowing your body to burn more calories throughout the day than it would have if it was left empty.

I'm not much of a breakfast eater myself, so trust me I understand if you're appalled at the thought of having a heavy, greasy, full meal in the morning. Nobody is saying you should spend hours preparing some elaborate feast for yourself at 8 am. You really shouldn't in fact. Here we're talking about more of a quick, healthy, light meal that will boost your energy, curb your early afternoon cravings, and (with the help of the suggestions on this list) boost your metabolism and help you shave off those last few pounds in order to look and feel your absolute best!