Know this: Missing meals is not a good way to drop pounds.
Research has repeatedly shown that people who eat at regular intervals, starting with breakfast, are better nourished, think more clearly and report fewer mood swings than those who eat erratically. Meal skippers are more prone to weight problems probably because once they do eat, they eat too much of all the wrong stuff. People often think they can save calories by skipping meals, but if they kept food journals they'd find that they more than make up for those saved calories at other times of the day.

Once meal skippers do eat, they find it very difficult to stop, consuming way more calories than people who eat more frequently. Researchers at the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) report that spacing food evenly throughout the day is key to weight-loss success. Weight maintainers eat every four to five hours, regardless of whether it's a weekday, weekend or holiday.