When you feel the urge to visit the refrigerator and get friendly with its contents – instead, find something active to do. If it is not the middle of the night, take a walk around the block. Or, take your child(ren) outside
and throw or kick a ball around. Do some house work – vacuum, dust, pick up around the house, or do some
yard work. The idea is to distract yourself, especially when you feel the urge to snack when it is not time to
eat and you really are not hungry. By choosing something that gets you moving, you burn additional
calories.

Whenever you feel a need to pick up that piece of chocolate – instead, brush your teeth. When your mouth
feels clean and fresh, you will be less tempted to put something in it.

Drink water – and lots of it. Drinking plenty of water is not only a healthy habit, it can help you with your
weight loss efforts. Keeping yourself well hydrated helps cut down on water retention. When you drink
a glass of water before eating, it can actually help dull your appetite thus helping you eat less.

If you have decided to go on a “diet”, do it with a friend. You can help each other succeed. Be sure
to provide support for one another – and, if you want to get a little competitive in your weight loss efforts,
go for it. Challenge each other to lose 1 to 2 pounds per week. It is important to note here that setting
attainable goals is the only way you will be successful in the long-run. Do not aim to lose 50 pounds. Instead,
set your goal at 5 pounds a month, until you reach your goal.

If you tend to “reward” yourself with food, establish a new system for rewarding yourself. Buy a new piece
of clothing, book, plant, flowers, or something for the house. The key is to stop finding an excuse to eat
when you are not hungry.

If you are someone who likes to snack in the evening, choose foods that are relatively low in calories. Good
choices would include air-popped popcorn, crunchy vegetables, rice cakes (they come flavored, now!),
a handful of pretzels, sugar-free Jell-O, or broth-based soup (not creamy!). By choosing foods that are not
high in calories, you will not do as much “damage” if you eat too much.

Do not weigh yourself every day. Your weight fluctuates constantly. You should only weigh yourself once a week or every other week. Be sure to do it at the same time of day. You typically weigh more in the evening than you do in the morning.

Never grocery shop when you are hungry. You will tend to buy more fattening foods when you are hungry.
Keep this in mind: If it is not in the house, you can’t eat it. Avoid buying foods you cannot resist.

Do not drink your calories! It is simply too easy to lose track of how much you are taking in. Weight loss is
about consuming less calories than you burn. Why not really enjoy your calories – chew them!

Finally, do not feel like you have to clean your plate. Stop eating when you feel full. Incidentally, slowly
eating your food will help you to eat less. If you eat too fast, your brain is unable to tell you are full in time
and you end up eating too much.