A recent study published in the journal Obesity finds that eating breakfast, especially one with a healthy dose of protein, may be the key to controlling appetite all day long. For three weeks, the subjects either skipped breakfast or munched on breakfast meals containing cereal and milk (which contained normal quantities of protein) or higher protein options.
Brain scans showed that the regions of the brain that trigger the desire to eat were less stimulated later in the day, and even more so by the higher protein breakfasts. Eating anything is better than nothing, but if you tend to find yourself raiding the snack drawer in the afternoon or overeating at night, bolster your breakfast with such lean protein as non-fat Greek yogurt, non-fat cottage cheese, egg whites, or an on-the-go option like soy nuts.