You work out hard in the gym and get in those 10,000 steps a day, but the scale still isn’t budging. What gives? It’s time to take a long, hard look at your meal habits and see what needs to be modified. Here are three simple fixes to get you back on track:

• Make breakfast king. There’s an old saying that goes, “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper.” To maintain a healthy weight, your first meal should always be the largest. Studies have shown that those who eat a good early breakfast weigh less than those who skip it. Think of breakfast as the “on” switch for your body — it’ll get your metabolism moving and provide the necessary energy boost.

• Stop skipping meals. People trying to lose weight often think that skipping a meal is a fitness shortcut. Less food, fewer calories and big weight loss, right? Wrong! When you skip a meal, you are sabotaging your body. No food to digest slows down your metabolism, and your body will break down its next meal slower and store the food as fat. Plus, skipping a meal causes your blood sugar to drop, which leads to feeling sluggish and tired. Yikes. For weight loss success, eat throughout the day.

• Nix nighttime nibbling. Mindless late night munching can pack on the pounds and fast! After dinner it’s OK to have some sort of treat — you’re human after all — but after that, no more. If you are consciously aware of that creep to your cupboards come 9 p.m., use strategies to stop the snacking. While you’re watching TV at night, get out of the kitchen, chew gum or brush your teeth. And when temptation really hits hard, drink decaffeinated tea or a glass of water, and then decide if you’re still hungry.

Focus on these three meal modifications next week and see how your body changes. Odds are the results will be positive!

— Fit Tips are provided by Life Fitness, designing and manufacturing exercise equipment for fitness facilities and homes worldwide. For more information on Fit Tips and other fitness advice and expertise visit lifefitness.com/blog.