14 healthy tips on how to shed pounds

Plenty of exercise and balanced eating -- that's the advice of many nutritionists when it comes to maintaining a healthy body weight. Problem is, sometimes to whittle your middle you need to get a little more creative with your diet. Let us help. Here are 14 simple eating better strategies that will help you shed pounds -- and keep them off. 

1. Be the Chef: A University of Texas study found that subjects took in an extra 226 calories and 10 grams of fat on the days they ate out. While a separate study determined that we underestimate calories in restaurant meals we believe to be "healthy." The takeaway? To save calories, you should prepare more of your own meals where you can control portions and ingredients.

2. Berry Good: Potassium-rich bananas seem to be the go-to fruit for many athletes. But berries, with fewer calories and more disease-fighting, muscle-repairing antioxidants, should play a bigger role. Toss them into yogurt, cereal and post-workout shakes.

3. Dynamic Duo: According to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, you are more likely to lose weight and keep it off if a friend joins you in your pursuit. The Web site www.weightlossbuddy.com can put you in contact with like-minded dieters.

4. Keep a Journal: Writing down everything you eat will make it easier to pinpoint dietary downfalls. Research shows that those who keep a food journal are less likely to overindulge.

5. Crunch Time: The white coats at Pennsylvania State University have found in several studies that if you start a meal with low-calorie, fiber-and-water-rich foods like salad and fruit you are likely to consume fewer calories during the subsequent meal. That's because these types of foods are filling and help regulate appetite.

6. Cooking Lean: Instead of frying, employ leaner cooking methods such as poaching, grilling and broiling more often when you are cooking meats. Further, add broth to the frying pan instead of cooking oil. That simple change can save you more than 100 calories.

7. Pump Up The Volume: Studies confirm that if you swap out higher calorie fare such as pasta for some water-rich, low-calorie foods like vegetables, you'll take in fewer calories -- yet be just as satisfied with the meal that now has a larger overall volume. A half cup of pasta with 1 cup of bulky broccoli comes in at 75 fewer calories than one cup of pasta.

8. Snail's Pace: Eat your meals in slow mo. Nutrition scientists at Rhode Island University discovered that women who wolfed down their pasta in nine minutes took in 67 more calories than those you savoured their meal for three times as long. Eating slo-o-owly gives your body a chance to realize it is full.
 
9. Breakfast Club: Michigan State University scientists found an inverse relationship between breakfast consumption and obesity. Noshing on a hearty breakfast promotes satiety that results in fewer mid-day vending machine attacks.

10. Eat, don't drink, your fruit: Posh fruit juices like pomegranate seem to be the food of the moment, but you can get all the nutrition with far fewer calories from eating the real thing. Make the switch from apple juice to a fresh apple and you'll pocket 45 calories. Not to mention 3 grams of appetite-quelling fiber.

11. Heavy Handed: It's easy to overeat cheese, but not if you weigh your portion first. Food scales force you to think about how much you're eating. And that's 340 calories for 3 ounces of cheddar. Weigh-out a more appropriate single ounce and you'll slash 225 calories. 

12. Downsize Tableware: Bigger plates and fat glasses trick you into believing you're getting smaller servings. Do your waistline a favor and stock your kitchen with smaller plates and bowls and thin glasses.

13. Spice of Life: Spices are a calorie-free way to jazz up any meal (the same can't be said for oily marinades). Try using rubs on chicken, beef and fish.

14. Shut-eye: An American Journal of Epidemiology study found that those who slept for 5 hours or less were an average of 5 pounds heavier than subjects who grabbed 7 hours of pillow time. Insufficient sleep increases the levels of a stress hormone called cortisol which promotes hunger and surreptitious  midnight cookie jar raids.

Matthew Kadey is a Canadian-based dietitian and writer who runs Well Fed Man (www.wellfedman.com)