Don’t skip breakfast—and make sure your first meal of the day contains filling foods that will fight off lunchtime overeating.

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RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—What you eat for breakfast could help you burn more fat during exercise later in the day. In addition to boosting your fat burning potential, foods that are low in the glycemic index (GI) are also high in fiber, and can fight off hunger so you don’t overeat at lunch, according to a new study published in The Journal of Nutrition. The GI refers to how quickly food is broken down into sugar that your body uses for energy or stores as fat.

THE DETAILS: In this very small study, British researchers gave eight healthy women either a high-glycemic or a low-glycemic breakfast 3 hours before a 60-minute lunchtime walk. Both breakfasts contained the same amounts of carbs, protein, and fat, but the low-GI breakfast (muesli [a low-fat granola] and milk, yogurt and canned peaches, and a small glass of apple juice) contained 2 more grams of fiber, compared with the high-GI breakfast (cornflakes and milk, white bread and jam, and a carbonated drink). Blood tests showed that the women burned 50 percent more fat during their walk after eating the low-GI breakfast than after eating the high-GI breakfast. Eating low-glycemic foods for breakfast also made the women less hungry and less likely to overeat during lunch.

WHAT IT MEANS: Skipping breakfast isn’t the answer if you want to become physically fit. But it is important to make the right choices at the breakfast table. While some of the foods used in the English study aren’t really common in America, there are many comparably low-GI choices you can put on your menu.

Here are some ways to eat smart and burn more fat:

• Find fiber in the morning. Instead of eating cornflakes with milk and white bread slathered with jelly, which spike your blood sugar and leave you hungry, try foods with fiber to keep your blood sugar steady and your belly satisfied. Good choices—such as old-fashioned oatmeal; fresh peaches, apples, and pears; dried apricots; whole wheat toast; and low-fat yogurt—can help prep your body for serious fat-burning up to3 hours after your meal.

• Work low Glycemic Index foods into your daily menus. If you work out later in the day, favor foods with fiber—such as lentil soup, beans, a roasted sweet potato, or fresh fruit and veggies—3 hours before you exercise to boost your body’s fat-burning potential. When you feel like snacking, reach for air-popped popcorn instead of pretzels for a lower GI alternative.

• Add a walk to your lunch menu. Try to sneak in a walk during your lunch break, so you can benefit from this fat-burning exercise. If you can’t do that, incorporate 5- or 10-minute mini-walks throughout your day—they’ll all add up!