For a very powerful meal of the day, breakfast might be surprisingly tough to do proper. No, you don’t must craft an elaborate unfold each morning à la TV mothers (whats up, Skyler White!), however you additionally shouldn’t deal with it as a complete afterthought.

“It’s straightforward to downplay breakfast,” Thanh Thanh Nguyen, MS, RDN, a registered dietitian at Mendinground Vitamin, tells SELF. Transferring away from that mindset is essential, although: It’s “a chance to gasoline ourselves and have a satisfying meal to set ourselves up for achievement,” she says. For most individuals, breakfast represents the beginning of the day—and also you wish to get off on the precise foot. By consuming breakfast, you possibly can assist enhance power, cut back mind fog, and set your self as much as make extra conscious consuming selections all through the day, Amber Younger, MS, RDN, the founding father of the North Carolina–primarily based apply Redefined Vitamin, tells SELF.

However there are some breakfast dangerous habits that may cease you from profiting from that meal. Under, the commonest errors registered dietitians see folks make—and why avoiding them is essential to feeling primed to tackle the remainder of the day.

1. For starters, you skip breakfast utterly.

Whereas some folks naturally may not really feel hungry within the a.m., opting out of breakfast completely isn’t your best option. Your physique has already drawn on the surplus sugar (glucose) saved in your liver and muscle groups to maintain every part buzzing alongside in a single day, so by the point you get up, you’re just about “operating on empty,” Nguyen says. Which means: You want gasoline—meals—ASAP to replenish these shops and provide the power you want to your day. With out it, your physique could also be enjoying catch-up, “making an attempt to get invaluable power and vitamins that have been missed very first thing within the morning,” Younger says.

This might trigger you to make meals selections afterward that may not be very best, in line with Younger. We regularly discover ourselves reaching for sugar-rich carbohydrates once we want a pick-me-up as a result of they supply a sudden burst of power, however that quickly tapers off into the notorious “sugar crash.” Not solely does it really feel crappy to hit a wall so early, however that crash, in flip, can disrupt your power ranges and productiveness for the remainder of the day.

To be clear, carbs will not be “dangerous” by any means, in line with Younger, however they need to ideally be balanced by the opposite two main macronutrients at mealtime: wholesome fat and protein. In the event you don’t really feel like one thing tremendous hearty, a smoothie or protein shake may be extra palatable. In the event you determine to mix your personal moderately than purchase a premade product, components like milk (dairy or soy), protein powder, and chia seeds will serve you nicely, Nguyen says—they’re each filling and straightforward to include. Simply be sure the ultimate product nonetheless has the precise steadiness of macros!

2. Or in case you’re already a scrupulous breakfast-eater, you don’t go fairly large enough.

This one’s for all the parents on the market who take a granola bar or one other small, transportable packaged snack to eat on the go and determine it’s higher than nothing. You’re not improper, however hear up: That little rectangle of oats, seeds, and sugar doesn’t a full breakfast make! In truth, it’s seemingly “solely going to final you midway by way of the morning,” Nguyen says. That is true even when your mini meal has the steadiness of macros you’d need: You continue to want sufficient energy (power!) to sort out every part in your to-do record.