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Order the starters. Begin meals with a broth-based soup or low-fat salad of no more than 150 calories, and you'll eat less of the main course, says Barbara Rolls, PhD, the Guthrie Chair of Nutritional Sciences at Penn State. These foods are low in calories, but high in protein, fiber and filling vegetables.Put out the fire. Reduce trans and saturated fats and processed foods, which stimulate inflammation in the liver and contribute to diabetes, high cholesterol and hypertension, says Dr. Oz. Eat more natural foods and inflammation-quenching omega-3 fats.
Drink up. Studies show that for some it's easier to lose and maintain weight with meal replacements, such as Slim-Fast or Ensure, than trying to estimate the calories in meals.
Avoid long labels. "Eat a lot of foods with one ingredient," says Katz. "A banana's only ingredient is banana." When buying products in a bag, box, bottle or jar, it's usually good to look for short lists on the labels.
Eat naked. Load up on fruits and veggies, but make sure they're not covered in fat, salt or sugar. And pick unsalted, raw (not roasted) nuts.
Cut the fat. Protein and carbs have four calories per gram. Fat has nine. "When you eat less fat, you consume fewer calories without eating less," says Dean Ornish, MD, founder of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California.
Go whole grain. Refined carbs (white rice, pasta, bread) are quickly absorbed and converted into fat, so choose whole grains instead.
Get wet. Eating food with high water content, like broth-based soup, fills you up more than sipping water with your food.
Use the 2/100 rule. Eat fiber-rich foods to reduce the number of calories it takes to feel full, says Katz. Choose bread, cereal and crackers with at least two grams of fiber per 100 calories.
Dump liquid calories. Cut calories in a cup, says Barry Popkin, PhD, director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Obesity at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "From 1965 to 2002, the average American added 227 calories a day to his diet from beverages." Cut out one soda a day, and you can drop about 13 pounds in a year.
Start early. Eating breakfast is key, says James O. Hill, PhD, cofounder of the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR), which tracks people who have lost more than 30 pounds and kept it off. "It makes you better able to manage food during the rest of the day," he says. But what you eat still matters: You can't start your day with doughnuts and expect to lose.
Eat more often. You should never feel starved, says Dr. Oz, who eats small meals every two hours or so. If you eat often, and pick healthy foods, you'll feel full longer.
Find your favorites. Choose a few healthy foods that you enjoy, and stick with them. Have high-fiber cereal for breakfast, and black bean soup with a whole-wheat roll for lunch a few days a week. "Then you eat because you're hungry -- not because you want to taste new tastes," says Dr. Oz.
Watch the weekends. Popkin found that adults ages 19 to 50 eat an extra 115 calories per weekend day. That's Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
You're in Charge
It's what, not how, you lose "There are many ways to lose weight," says Hill. It doesn't matter how you do it, as long as you get the nutrients you need. The key is keeping it off. People in the NWCR do this by staying active and weighing in often.
Take charge. We want to feel in control of what we eat, says Dr. Ornish. "That goes back to the first dietary intervention, when God said not to eat the apple. It didn't work -- and that was God talking." The fix? "Instead of saying, 'These are forbidden foods,' say, 'I'm going to eat healthier. If I indulge one day, it doesn't mean I've failed. It means I'll eat healthier the next.' "'
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