The days of eating “a healthy breakfast with one item from each of the four basic food groups” are over. On the other side of the plate, Pop Tarts don’;t cut it either. Still, eating something in the morning cuts hunger and provides enough energy to make it through the first part of the day. Most agree that schoolchildren who are denied breakfast have trouble concentrating, lack energy, and fall behind in their studies.

On the other hand, if you eat a big meal late at night, you feel sluggish and gain weight because there’;s not enough time to work off the calories before bed. What’;s a body to do?

That’;s how the expression, “Breakfast like a king (large), lunch like a knave (medium), and dinner like a pauper (small)” came about. The theory is to eat when you need the energy and practically fast when you do not. Informal diet advice adds that you should never eat after 8:00 p.m. That gives your metabolism four hours to work before you hit the sack.