Weight-loss tips & tricks

Muscle & Fitness/Hers, July, 2003 by Beth Sonnenburg

1 PUT-IT-BACK STRATEGY: Once you've poured a cup of cereal, for example, stick the box back in the cabinet, recommends Sheri Barke, MPH, RD, a nutritionist in Valencia, California. You'll be less likely to absentmindedly pour yourself another bowl.

2 PLAN-AHEAD STRATEGY: If you know you have an event such as a restaurant dinner or lunch coming up, think about it beforehand. Plan what you'll order and keep reinforcing your strategy along the way.

3 To-GO STRATEGY: "Just last night my sister ordered a pasta dish and nicely asked the waiter to pack half of it up in a doggie bag before-hand," says an M & F HERS staffer. "He didn't look at her like she was a freak--and he even flirted a little." Or you can use the excuse that you're taking the food home for someone else.

4 SANDWICH STRATEGY: "I always consider a sandwich to be the perfect lunch," says Debra Water-house, MPH, RD, author of Outsmarting the Female Fat Cell--After Pregnancy (Hyperion, 2003). "Have half the sandwich at lunch with a piece of fruit, and eat the other half in the afternoon." The balance of carbs and protein throughout the afternoon should carry you comfortably until dinner.

-- Beth Sonnenburg, MPH