THERESA: I'm a fan of Sally Squires "Lean Plate Club" column in the Washington Post. Today she offers some helpful advice on eating less and moving more, spinning off last week's news reports about American obesity as a national crisis. Here's a formula she suggests that isn't all the complicated: "Eat about 250 fewer calories per day and burn about 250 more per day with increased activity. The resulting 500-calorie deficit should produce a weight loss of roughly a pound per week." That's adding less than 30 minutes on a treadmill or stairclimber, and cutting back on one dessert item every day. She also notes that people who've lost weight successfully tend to eat a good breakfast. I know many women who skip breakfast or eat some sugary thing on the run first thing in the morning. I used to skip breakfast too, but now I enjoy a piece of heavy whole-grain toast with a little pumpkin butter, or oatmeal or yogurt with my morning coffee. What healthy breakfast items do the rest of you like?

APRIL: I eat a big breakfast so that I can avoid inhaling a huge lunch ir building toward a too-big dinner. I typically eat granola bars, oatmeal, cereal or a bagel. I love the carbs because I need the energy in the A.M.

YVONNE W: I like a lowfat smoothie in the morning (Dannen has one that's only 80 calories) with protein powder. Twice a week I will eat an egg substitute and one slice of turkey bacon. However, lately I'm starting to crave fruit in the morning.

JENICE: Heck, I hardly know what to eat any more. A smoothie and I'm starving by 11 a.m. Cereal or oatmeal and I'm worrying about the carb thing. Bagels just seem like too much bread. Still, I almost always eat breakfast no matter how hectic my morning. More out of habit than anything else. As long as I hit the gym from time to time, I'm okay.

THERESA: Oatmeal is filled with good carbs. It fills you up for a long time, and it's healthy fiber. I like it with raisins-- and don't care about the carbs in those either. As long as I'm eating whole grains or fresh fruit or some protein (eggs or yogurt) and not a lot of fat, I don't worry.

JENICE: What about protein? My former trainer was always harping on me to eat protein at every meal. So, when I'm on my game, I add protein powder to oatmeal. Sounds gross, but it's not that bad.

YVONNE W: Jenice, if you're interested in using protein to build muscle according advice from Bally's Fitness tip of the day.

- Protein doesn’t build muscle--exercise does! True, protein plays a key role in helping the muscles repair and rebuild once a workout has taken place. But you won’t gain any muscle mass simply by eating protein. You’ve got to strength train on a regular basis.

- Most of us don’t need to eat extra protein if we start exercising more. For most people who work out, 0.5 to 0.75 grams of protein per pound of body weight is plenty (e.g., 75 to 115 grams for a 150-pound person). Most of us get more than our required amount without even trying. And high-performance athletes, who do have higher protein needs (0.6 to 0.9 grams per pound), usually get ample amounts because they’re eating higher quantities of food anyway.

- Although you don’t need large amounts of protein, you should eat it frequently throughout the day. Protein should be part of almost every meal and snack. (One key exception: anything eaten within an hour before exercise should have just carbohydrates and no protein.)