1. Watch what you eat. Keep a watchful eye on every thing that goes in. Sometimes the garnishes can richer than the food itself. Accompaniments too can be very rich. Remember that it is the easiest thing in the world to eat something without realizing that it was something that you should not have eaten. Selective memory you know.

2. Fix times to have meals and stick to it. Try to have food at fixed times of the day. You can stretch these times by half an hour, but anything more than that is going to affect your eating pattern, the result will either be a loss of appetite or that famished feeling which will make you stuff yourself with more than what is required the next time you eat.

3. Try not to snack between meals, but if you must have a snack make sure it is a healthy one. If you travel a lot try to find healthy snacks and not junk food.

4. Go easy on the tea and coffee. They are pretty much harmless if you don’t add a lot of cream and sugar to them. It is the cream and sugar that becomes fattening. Think of it this way, when you have a cup of coffee or tea with cream and two cubes of sugar, you are essentially eating a piece of chocolate cake every time.

5. Count the calories as you eat, but don’t overdo it. It’s a good idea to have an idea of the calories that most food items have. If it is a packed thing then the label is sure to have the calories that the substance has.

6. Stay away from all things fried. If it is breaded, it is better that it is baked. Fried foods are immersed in fat and oil. Even after the excess oil has been drained away, there is still oil absorbed into the food item itself.