Sensible Diet

Start your diet with a food diary. Record everything you eat, what you were doing at the time, and how you felt.

This record tells you about yourself, your temptations, and the emotional states that encourage you to snack.  Having this record may help you lose once you can see how much you eat.

Instead of eating the forbidden piece of candy, brush your teeth.

If you're about to cheat, allow yourself a treat, then eat only half a bite and throw the other half away.

When hunger hits, wait 10 minutes before eating and see if the hungry feeling passes.

Set attainable goals. Say, "I want to lose 5 pounds a month" instead of "I want to lose 50 pounds."

Get enough sleep but not too much.

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Try to avoid sugar. Highly sweetened foods dramatically raise then lower your blood sugar, which tends to make you feel hungry and crave more to eat.

Drink six to eight glasses ofwater a day. Water helps cut down on water retention because it acts as a diuretic.

Taken before meals, water also dulls the appetite by giving you that "full feeling."

Diet with a buddy. Support groups are important, and caring people can help one another succeed. Start your own support system, even with just one other person.

Substitute activity for eating. When the cravings hit, go to the "Y" or health club if possible; or dust your furniture, or walk around the block. Get moving!

If you eat when you're angry, activity is especially helpful to avoid unwanted eating.

If the pie on the counter is just too great a temptation and you don't want to throw it away, freeze it.

If you're a late-night eater, have a small carbohydrate, such as a slice of bread or a cracker before bedtime to cut down on cravings. Keep an orange slice or a glass of water by your bed to quiet the hunger pangs that wake you up.

If you use food as a reward, stop! Establish a new reward system. Buy yourself a non-edible reward.

Write down everything you eat - everything - including what you taste when you cook.

If you monitor what you eat, you can't go off your diet.

Weigh yourself once a week at the same time. Your weight fluctuates constantly and you can weigh more at night than you did in the morning, a downer if you stuck to your diet all day.

Make dining an event.  Eat from your own special plate, on your own special placemat, and borrow the Japanese art of food arranging to make your meal look lovely. This trick  helps chronic over-eaters and bingers focus on and enjoy their food instead of consuming it unconsciously.

Don't shop when you're hungry. You'll tend buy more fattening food. Avoid finger foods that are easy to eat in large amounts.

Avoid consuming large quantities of fattening liquids, which are so easy to overdo. And this includes alcoholic beverages.

Keep plenty of crunchy foods like raw vegetables and air-popped fat-free popcorn on hand. They're high in fiber, satisfying and filling.

Leave something on your plate, even if you are a charter member of the Clean Plate Club. It's a good sign that you can stop eating when you want to, not just when your plate is empty.

Lose weight for yourself, not to please your husband, your parents or your friends.

Make the kitchen off-limits at any time other than mealtime.

Always eat at the table and never while watching TV set or listening to the radio.

Concentrate on eating every mouthful  slowly and savoring each morsel.

Chew each bite from 10 to 20 times! Count!

Never skip meals.