I'm not a big breakfast eater. I like something light, like a bowl of fruit, and I never load up a plate full of morning foods. There are benefits to eating hefty helpings in the early hours of the day, though. A big breakfast helps you eat less later and can help you lose weight too. Just don't go wild. No doughnuts, cinnamon rolls, or piles of pastries. Nope, a healthy and balanced big meal is your ticket to success.

When obese dieters in one study ate a 600-calorie breakfast of protein and carbohydrates, including scrambled eggs, diced turkey, whole-wheat toast, and a banana, they lost more weight than dieters who ate only half that much. That's a good amount of calories in the AM, but it's likely this this large morning meal helped curb cravings later in the day.

RealAge offers these breakfast basics: Never skip breakfast, eat no later than one hour after you wake (even if you are not hungry), and put eggs on the table when you serve breakfast -- they really are a health food, you know.