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"Despite what your barista says, a jug-sized latte, even with all that milk and sugar, isn't a meal. \\\"For most [busy women](/fitness/workouts/2012/03/busy-girl-buffer-moves-slideshow), breakfast is based on convenience, which can backfire nutritionally,\\\" says Bonnie Taub-Dix, R.D., author of *Read It Before You Eat It*. Your brain needs certain nutrients early on for all-day concentration and problem solving.\\n\\n### Anatomy of a Perfect Breakfast\\n\\nA too-big start can make for a too-big you. Shoot for getting 25 to 30 percent of your daily calories: about 400 if you're [trying to lose](/drop10), 500 if you're maintaining or 625 if you're very active. Here's the ideal breakdown.\\n\\n__53% carbs:__ \\\"During the night, while you sleep, you burn through your stores of blood sugar, which is your body's preferred fuel source,\\\" says David Grotto, R.D., author of *101 Optimal Life Foods*. \\\"Carbohydrates replete these stores quickly.\\\" But [simple carbs](/health/2011/07/sneaky-sugar-offenders-slideshow) (muffins, doughnuts, sweetened cereal) are a no-go: They burn fast and trigger crashes and cravings. Instead, opt for complex ones (oatmeal and whole-wheat bread) that are [high in hunger-fighting fiber](/fooddiet/2011/09/superfoods-for-fiber-slideshow), digest slowly and [give you sustained energy](/fooddiet/2011/12/energy-boosting-foods-slideshow). __Your goal: 35 grams to 65 g carbs; 6 g fiber__\\n\\n__27% fat:__ Go for the heart-healthy unsaturated fats found in nut butters or whole nuts, avocado and olive oil. Avoid the saturated fat in butter, bacon and full-fat cheese. Fat digests slowly, preventing those midmorning munchie attacks. __Your goal: 7 g to 15 g fat__\\n\\n__20% protein:__ \\\"[Protein](/fitness/2012/02/secrets-to-firing-up-your-metabolism-slideshow) makes you feel full longer by turning on and upping levels of natural hunger-busting hormones, like cholecystokinin, and keeping the hunger-inducing hormone ghrelin in check,\\\" Grotto says. You may need to combine multiple sources (e.g., egg whites, nonfat yogurt and skim milk) to get enough. __Your goal: 15 g to 25 g protein__\\n\\n### Excuses, Shmexcuses\\n\\nIn our Facebook poll, nearly 30 percent of you said you skip breakfast at least once a week. Eat it!\\n\\n__Cop-Out #1: You're on a diet.__ Friendly reminder: Shunning breakfast can lead to weight *gain*. \\\"It makes you more likely to snack impulsively later,\\\" explains Cindy Moore, R.D., a nutrition consultant in Cleveland. But beginning your day with healthful foods helps [steady your blood sugar level](/health/2011/07/your-body-on-a-sugar-binge-slideshow) and regulate hunger hormones, which means you munch less and curb weight creep.\\n\\n__Cop-Out #2: You have zero a.m. appetite.__ That's fine. Start small, then. \\\"Your goal should be progress,\\\" says Heather Mangieri, R.D., a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She suggests having a wedge of cheese or a piece of fruit, and building from there over time. \\\"It will reset your internal hunger clock and eventually train your body to want food in the morning.\\\"\\n\\n__Cop-Out #3: You work out first thing.__ Worried about getting hit with stomach cramps? \\\"It's true that high-fat, high-protein foods can linger in the gut and bounce around during exercise\u2014not exactly comfy,\\\" Mangieri says. So split up your meal: Have a [fast-digesting carb-rich snack](/fitness/2011/10/exercise-and-appetite) such as a banana 30 minutes before the gym; afterward, finish up with some fat and protein to keep your metabolism stoked.\\n\\n### SELF Staff Confessions\\n\\nWe asked the pros for pointers on some of our staffers' a.m. noshes. Lessons learned.\\n\\n\\\"I'm eating proteins, like [nonfat Greek yogurt](/fooddiet/2010/03/20-superfoods-slideshow#slide=14), egg whites and roast turkey or lowfat ham.\\\" *\u2014Sandra Wilson-Hess, bookings editor*\\n\\n\\\"Protein is definitely important, but be careful not to overdo it and sacrifice other key nutrients in the process,\\\" Grotto says. \\\"Wilson-Hess can round out her meal by losing the meat and adding some lower-sugar fruit such as berries for fiber and antioxidants.\\\"\\n\\n\\\"I have a cup of [blueberries](/fooddiet/2011/04/healthy-berries-slideshow) with 1/2 cup vanilla almond milk, melon and green tea.\\\" *\u2014Kristen Saladino, senior market editor*\\n\\n\\\"Although all of Saladino's meal ingredients are individually healthful, they're also dense with carbs and lacking the protein she needs to stay full throughout the morning,\\\" Taub-Dix says. Trading the almond milk and melon for nonfat plain Greek yogurt mixed with an ounce of almonds will exchange some carbohydrates for protein and healthy fat that will satisfy long-term.\\n\\n\\\"A Fiber One or Kashi bar with yogurt is my standby.\\\" *\u2014Allison Baker, associate editor*\\n\\n\\\"Breakfast bars are convenient, but because they're low in water content, they're not very filling,\\\" Moore says. Baker could make her meal better by including a piece of water-dense fruit and sprinkling 1 tbsp sunflower seeds over her yogurt for some healthy, satiating fat.\\n\\n\\\"I get two whole-wheat pancakes topped with 1/2 cup blueberries, doused in honey.\\\" *\u2014Marissa Stephenson, fitness editor*\\n\\n\\\"Keep the blueberries, lose one pancake,\\\" Taub-Dix says. And scale back the honey to a drizzle, then add a scoop of lowfat ricotta to dial down sugar and pump up calcium. \\\"Ninety percent of women don't get the 1,000 milligrams of calcium they need daily,\\\" she says. The mineral tells cells to burn fat instead of storing it, and it helps regulate blood pressure. We absorb calcium better in smaller doses than larger ones, so breakfast is a smart time to work in one of three daily servings.\\n\\n__[8 Grab-And-Go Breakfast Ideas](/fooddiet/2012/05/healthy-breakfast-ideas-slideshow)__  \\n  \\nPhoto Credit: Peter Schafrick"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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