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1. Include two fruits and/or vegetables at every meal and snack. You’ll meet your daily quota of 5 to 9 servings, feel full, and automatically cut back on fat and calories. [It’s as simple as adding blueberries and a glass of OJ along with cereal for breakfast, a salad and a glass of V8 juice to accompany a turkey sandwich at lunch, two steamed vegetables at dinner, and a few pieces of fruit for snacks.] I’ve had clients lose up to 30 pounds adopting this one trick alone!

2. Eat breakfast. People who eat breakfast are much less likely to overeat later in the day. A healthful breakfast only takes 5 minutes and is as simple as juice, fruit, and cereal.

3. Bring foods with you. Pack one snack for each 4 hours you’ll be gone. Pack your briefcase, glove compartment, or desk drawer at work with oranges, apples, yogurt, bread sticks, string cheese, and other quick-fix healthful snacks.

4. Eat regularly. Plan a mini-meal or snack every four hours. That way you will be comfortably full after a meal, avoid feeling ravenous, and be less like to overeat in the long run.

5. Eyeball portions. A 1 /2 cup serving of rice is the size of your fist, an ounce of cheese is the size of a large marble, a 3-ounce serving of meat is the size of a cassette case, and 2 Tbsp of salad dressing is the size of a ping pong ball.

6. Divide your plate. Fill 3/4 of your plate with vegetables, grains, beans, and fruit; the other 1/4 can be extra-lean meat or nonfat milk or milk products. Said another way, take three bites of plant-based foods for every one mouthful of meat or milk.

7. Have a specific plan. Approach all food-related situations with a specific plan as to what and how much you will eat, how you will refuse unwanted food offers, and what you will do instead of overeating.

8. Include your favorite foods. If you love a glass of wine in the evening or a cookie at the mid-morning break, then drop something else during the day or walk an extra mile at lunch. If cheddar cheese is your downfall, use the sharpest type and slice it thin, then cut fat calories elsewhere.

9. Drink water. Meet your daily quota of 6 to 8 glasses, curb appetite, and possibly avoid late-night cravings by keeping bottled water in the refrigerator or filling a container with 8 glasses of water and drinking one glass every one to two hours.

10. Eat slowly. It takes up to 20 minutes for signals from the stomach to reach the brain; if you are wolfing down food, you could be stuffed before those signals hit. Instead, put the fork down between bites, focus more on the conversation, take small bites, or wait 15 minutes before going back for seconds.

11. Cut 100 calories each day. Lose one pound a month by simply replacing that candy bar with an orange and banana, the 1 /2 cup granola with 2 cups of Cheerios, or 1 /2 cup of frozen broccoli in cheese sauce with 1 /2 cup steamed fresh broccoli.

12. Take a supplement. Your vitamin and mineral needs remain the same no matter what your calorie intake. A broad-range multiple vitamin and mineral supplement will fill in the nutritional gaps on those days when calories drop below 2,000.

13. Lose weight gradually. You are more likely to lose fat weight and maintain the loss if you take it slow - no more than 2 pounds a week. Better yet, forget the scale and monitor your weight by how your clothes fit or by the notch on your belt.

14. Focus on health, not your waistline. Eat for health and you automatically adopt the best weight-management diet in the world. Successful diets fit easily into your daily routine and nourish your body, soul, and tastebuds.

15. Use Timesavers: Buy pre-cut and bagged lettuce for a salad, baby carrots for a stew, pre-cut fruit for a snack, the pre-made hummus as a dip or sandwich spread, or steam frozen plain vegetables for dinner.

16. Choose minimally processed foods. Grab the potato, not the chips; the corn, not the corn oil; the whole wheat bread, not the doughnut; and the plain green peas, not the frozen peas in cheese sauce and you’ll automatically cut calories and fat, without feeling hungry.

17. Move. Besides exercising daily, take the stairs instead of the elevator, ride your bike, walk up the escalator, stretch while standing in line, use a hand-help basket instead of a grocery cart, and throw out the "labor-saving" devices.

18. Eat consciously. Don’t nibble while cleaning up the kitchen, taste-test while cooking, eat from the serving bowl, or graze from someone else’s plate.

19. Cut out or limit alcohol. Alcohol stimulates appetite and erases your willpower. Limit wine, beer, or other alcoholic beverages to special occasions. Serve these beverages in small glasses and intersperse alcohol with calorie-free beverages.

20. Throw it out. If those brownies or homemade cookies beckon to you, get rid of them...now! Drown them in water, dump them down the disposal, feed them to the dog, or bury them under garbage in the trash.

21. Brush your teeth. This can stop the cravings or uncontrollable grazing from the refrigerator by eliminating the taste of food from the mouth and signaling the body that eating is over.

22. Add beans to a salad. Healthy salads and soups are more satisfying and will help curb hunger pangs longer if you add a handful of kidney beans, 3 ounces of grilled chicken breast, or other stick-to-the-ribs items.

23. Sweeten with spice. Use sweet-tasting spices, such as cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla, rather than sugar to desserts and snacks to add flavor, but no calories.

24. Try one new food every day. New foods and tastes liven up any menu and help prevent the boredom and discouragement that comes from repeatedly eating the same foods. Add mangos to a chicken dish, raspberries or winter pears to a salad, jicama to the vegetable platter, or jalapeno relish to a grilled cheese sandwich.

25. If you can’t live with it, don’t buy it. Just say ‘no’ to tempting foods at the grocery store if they are likely to beckon you to indulge at home. Also, store tempting foods out of sight.

26. Don’t open the menu. Order off the menu low-calorie items, such as steamed vegetable platters, grilled chicken salads, or sliced tomatoes. Or, order from the soup, salad, and low-fat appetizer sections and skip the entrees altogether.

27. Go spicy. Overeating and food cravings can be an underlying search for flavor. Add chilies to chicken sandwiches, salsa to scrambled eggs, or curry to sauces. Try hot cuisines, such as Thai, Sichuan, or Indian.

28. Stay busy. Keep your hands busy by sewing, manicuring your nails, addressing envelopes, or exercising during your crave-prone time of day, such as watching TV or reading.