Eat Breakfast

No one wants to be just average. So make it a point this holiday season not to gain the national average 5 to 7 pounds of unnecessary body fat. Instead, take this challenge. Work at maintaining your current weight while indulging in all your holiday favorites.A number of studies done by Janet Polivy, Ph.D. show you'll do better at maintaining your weight if you don't diet. She concluded that, for dieters, eating a forbidden food (a delicious Christmas cookie?) can trigger out-of-control eating, probably because they think they've "blown it."

In a county dotted with dairy farms and a huge egg-laying operation, it should be no surprise that yet another Carroll school has won the statewide Breakfast Quest contest.Mechanicsville Elementary School in Gamber celebrated its award yesterday with a visit from state and local officials, and an appearance by "That Milk Thing," the blue fur-suited mascot of the dairy industry.It is the second county school to win in the past four years. Manchester Elementary won the designation in 1994.The award is for creative ways students and teachers find to educate children and families about the importance of a nutritious breakfast.

THE FALL SEASON officially arrives this weekend.Kick off the day early tomorrow with an all-you-can-eat breakfast at Magothy Chelsea Community Lutheran Church, Third Street and Beach Avenue in Magothy Beach.The Ladies Guild will serve eggs any style, pancakes, creamed chipped beef, French toast, sausage, home-style potatoes, toast, biscuits, juice, fruit and beverages from 7 a.m. to 10: 30 a.m.The cost is $4.50 for adults and $2.50 for children ages 4 to 12. Children under age 3 are admitted free.

When school bells ring, does the breakfast bell ring at your house, too?Children who eat breakfast perform better in school due to increased problem-solving ability, and better memory, verbal fluency and creativity. They're also less likely to be absent, according to the American Dietetic Association's Child Nutrition and Health Campaign.So how are your kids getting their learning advantage?The ideal approach would be for the whole family to sit down together for 15 minutes and indulge in a three-food-groups meal.

A FEW WEEKS ago, Forbes magazine reported that the Democratic National Committee was using overnight stays at the White House as a perk to entice wealthy donors to make six-figure contributions. David Brinkley of ABC News, picking up on the item for his Sunday morning television show, joked that even though a contribution of $130,000 would get you a night in the Lincoln Bedroom, "Be warned. I am told Lincoln's bed is hard and lumpy."The White House wasn't amused. Ann F. Lewis, the deputy manager of President Clinton's re-election campaign, fired off an indignant letter to Brinkley in which she pointed out that many others have slept in the Lincoln Bedroom, including "the cook from Clinton's old governor's mansion in Little Rock, a theology student with his wife and two children, and an old friend who is not well, and the president's pastor and his wife, and none of them paid as much as a dime," Brinkley said on the following week's program.

Breakfast is getting more nutritious, but fewer people are taking advantage of it, according to a breakfast trends analysis published recently in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.Here's the good news. Consumption of low-fat milk, whole grain bread, high fiber cereal, fruit and juice is up in the '90s compared to the '60s. Consumption of whole milk, bacon, eggs, white bread, low fiber cereal, butter and margarine is down for the same period.Now here's the bad news. Those with more than a high school education were more likely to eat breakfast in the '60s, and they still are in the '90s.

THE Ladies Guild of Magothy Chelsea Community Lutheran Church will offer an all-you-can-eat breakfast from 7 a.m. to 10: 30 a.m. tomorrow.The menu features eggs, french toast, creamed chipped beef, potatoes, sausage, toast, biscuits, juice, fruit and beverages.The cost is $4.50 for adults, $2.50 for children 12 and under. Children 3 and younger can eat free."Tomorrow will be our last breakfast until fall," said Annie Webb, guild spokeswoman.Proceeds from the breakfasts will be used for improvements to the Sunday school.

Hard to imagine, but every hour kids sit in front of the television munching chips or cookies is like eating in their sleep -- a double whammy of junk food in, no activity out."Children watch on average 25 hours a week," says Dr. Isobel Contento, professor and nutrition education program coordinator at Teachers College, Columbia University. "That's the equivalent being asleep in terms of energy expenditure."But very soon, those same sofa spuds will be bombarded with messages about good nutrition -- on TV, at school and in the grocery store -- thanks to joint government-industry-health group programs and several individual efforts.

Santa Claus is coming to town, and you can find him around the Gamber fire hall over the next few weeks.Naughty or nice, if you're up early enough Saturday, between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m., you can breakfast with St. Nick in the fire hall.Since Santa likes to spread the goodwill around, the price for children is one canned food item or more, to be given to the needy. Admission for adults is $3.50.William Bollinger Sr., who will play the role of Santa, has done it for years. He loves it and has his own Santa outfit, right down to the gloves.

Three kinds of people celebrate Thanksgiving.The first kind sees it as a celebration unrelated to nutrition. They plan their menu and never count the cost. They may be folks who never think about nutrition anyway, or they may be pretty careful most of the time, but enjoy a food-centered holiday when the time is right.People in Group One enjoy their dinner, especially if they gather with like-minded family and friends. They glory in the taste, texture and color of foods without ever mentioning calories or fat.The second group sees Thanksgiving as a time to celebrate, but enjoys modifying the classic meal to meet chosen or health-imposed restrictions.