Avoid unplanned eating

Having regular low-calorie snacks throughout the day along with regular smaller meals is a good way to manage your hunger. Plan snacks as part of your overall calories for the day, and avoid eating unplanned calories.

• Do not sample the food while cooking.
• When tempted to snack between meals, substitute a glass of water with lemon and snack on carrot or celery sticks. Avoid soft drinks—they add a lot of calories.
• Try a noneating activity, such as taking a bath or reading a book, when you feel the urge to snack.
• Do not eat after 7:00 in the evening.

Limit alcohol

Alcohol provides a lot of calories and no nutritional benefit. Calories from alcohol also tend to form fat around the waist or stomach. The number of calories in an alcoholic drink depends on the amount of alcohol it contains. The following are estimates of the number of calories in alcoholic drinks.

• Beer: 148 calories in 12 fl oz (355 mL)
• "Lite" beer: 99 calories in 12 fl oz (355 mL)
• Wine: 106 calories in 5 fl oz (148 mL)
• Gin, vodka, whiskey, and other "hard" liquor [1.5 fl oz (44 mL)]:
  • 97 calories (80 proof)
  • 110 calories (90 proof)
  • 124 calories (100 proof)
• Mixed drinks:
  • Bloody Mary, 115 calories
  • Eggnog, 490 calories
  • Gin and tonic, 171 calories

Drinking 1 beer at dinner every night adds 4,144 extra calories to your diet per month. This is a little more than an extra 1 lb (0.5 kg) per month. If you drink, limiting alcohol will help you lose weight.

Make mealtimes pleasant

A meal is more than just eating food. It can also be a social event, a time to communicate with family and friends, and a time to relax.

• Eat slowly and enjoy the food.
• Do not watch television or read while eating.

Use a meal plan to help control what you eat

• Plan meals ahead of time (What is a PDF document?) .
• Eat when you are hungry and stop when you are comfortably full.
• Limit how much you eat out, especially early in your weight-loss program.