The Eat-What-You-Want Guide to Losing Weight

Reviewed By:
Susan Janoff, MS RD LD/N

What's your plan to lose weight? Are you going to give up sweets for a month? Padlock your fridge? Refuse to sip another martini? Don't bother. The best way to peel away pounds and get the body you want is to eat what you want in moderation. Here are seven tips on how to dig into the foods you love without sabotaging your weight loss goals.

1. If you want the cookie, have the cookie. If you really want a treat, you should indulge. Once something is off limits, you'll want it more than anything and you'll eat everything else you can to compensate for that forbidden snack. In other words, if you don't let yourself have the cookie, you might eat three rice cakes with almond butter and jam instead and still want more. But when you have what you want, you satisfy your emotional need for a specific food and usually end up eating less. 

2. Are you enjoying your food? There you are, eating what you want. Are you eating it slowly enough to ask and answer the question "Am I enjoying this?" If you've already swallowed a few bites before responding to the question, slow down. After you've eaten a small portion of your meal, ask yourself the question again. When eating goes from fun and satisfying to rote, it's time to make some changes in your diet and focus more on the food in front of you.

3. Butter your bread. Before you on the table are a bread basket and a tub of butter, and you're hungry. Don't skip the butter just because it contains fat. Fat fills you up and satisfies hunger. And butter on bread tastes fabulous. Half a roll with butter is ultimately more satisfying and tastier than two rolls without. But your don't need a lot of butter--just a little will taste just as good as a lot.

4. Cut it in half. It's a restaurant's job to give you more food than you need, so be prepared to leave leftovers on your plate or take them home. Try eating only half to two-thirds of what you're served (depending on how hungry you are). At that point, you'll probably be full and won't feel the need to continue eating. But don't feel guilty when you do clean your plate. It's not the end of the world.

5. Put space between you and temptation. It's never easy to stop eating when you have plates of leftover food in front of you. If dinner is over, clear the plates away from the table before you allow yourself to start picking. If you're done eating before everyone else, try to position the food you're most likely to crave as far away from you as possible. When indulging in an after-dinner treat, scoop out a small serving and leave the kitchen before you sit down to eat it. Never devour ice cream directly from the pint!

6. Don't sip your calories. A sugary sports drink, a sparkling "natural" fruit soda, a giant latte and an appletini are all packed with extra calories. When you're trying to drop a few pounds, go easy on the drinks. Choose flat or sparkling water with a squeeze of lemon, regular coffee with milk, or wine instead of a fruity, fancy cocktail. Drink your wine slowly, savoring each sip, and stay away from beer.

7. Get your fruits and veggies. At every meal, have some fresh fruit and vegetables, which are full of nutrients and extremely filling because they have lots of water and fiber. They also taste darn good, so enjoy them often!

For more information on getting the weight off, visit the Losing Weight message board.