Don't skip breakfast on the morning of an important interview or meeting. Skipping breakfast can lower your body's ability to cope with the stress that lies in wait for you later in the day. Starting the day out on the right nutritional foot is important.

Research shows that eating a nutritious breakfast (low-fat, moderate-carbohydrate) makes you more alert, more focused, and in a much better mood than if you have a high-fat, high-carbohydrate breakfast. What should you eat? Avoid sugar and the usual high-fat villains (ham, bacon, sausage). A cup of coffee won't hurt, but don't go overboard with caffeine. A low-fat, high-fiber, multi-grain cereal with low fat milk will get you off to a good start. Oatmeal is fast, too, and fills you up and keeps you full. Studies out of Pennsylvania State University have shown that oatmeal provides you with a sustained, long-lasting release of energy — longer, in fact, than any other kind of breakfast cereal.