You don't have to make sacrifices! Whether you want to lose your first 10 pounds or those last, hard to lose 10 pounds, just follow these simple guidelines to boost your efforts. You'll find these tips are not just good for a quick jump start of a stalled program but lay the ground work for a balanced and flexible plan to use for as long as you want.



1. Track everything that you eat and drink. Don't worry about the calories. Just note what you eat and how much. By making yourself more aware of what you eat you start to plan more healthy meals and snacks.

2. Go meatless (and cheese less) for at least one lunch and dinner every week. Meals built around whole grains, vegetables and beans are great alternatives and will increase fiber while reducing fat intake.

3. Treat yourself only three times a week with goodies containing sugar. Avoid chocolate, ice cream, desserts, cake, pastries, cookies, etc. at other times.

4. Restrict your use of eggs, nuts and red meats and substitute lower fat proteins at most meals. These can include chicken, fish, beans, cottage cheese, or low fat yogurt.

5. Reduce your consumption of all pure or added fats by half. This means using half as much butter or spread on your bread, toast, muffins and potatoes; half the usual amount of mayonnaise or sauce on your salad; and half the oil in the frying pan every time.

6. Drink water instead of sodas, juices, milk drinks or alcohol. Diet soda should also be minimized as the sweet after-taste encourages you to crave sugar. For a refreshing morning starter try hot water with a slice of lemon.

7. Get used to skim milk! Reduced fat milk still contains fat. Also choose lower fat cheese and yogurt. If you use yogurt, check the label to make sure that it does not contain sugar.

8. Eat fruit - at least twice every day. Fresh, in season fruit is a real treat for dessert or between meal snacks.

9. Use whole grains wherever possible. The fiber will give you a fuller feeling and aids digestion. White flour contains nothing of value.

10. Have a minimum of two servings of vegetables at lunch and dinner. Veggies also make a healthy between meal snack.

11. Don't wolf your food. Learn to eat slowly and chew each bite. You will get more satisfaction out of the food. Your body is slow to register when you are full, so it is easy to over eat if you eat fast.

12. Carrots make a good snack and grated carrot makes a great snack. Grated carrot is much more satisfying than a whole carrot. Strange but true.

13. Don't watch the TV at meal times. Whether snacks or meals, studies have shown that we eat larger portions in front of the TV. This is probably because we are much less aware of what we are eating when we are distracted.

14. Consume food that you have to chew. This will increase your fiber intake, and the act of chewing will make you feel more satisfied. This means eating fruit instead of drinking juice. If you have soup, make sure it is chunky.

15. Don't just grab something to eat when you feel hungry. If you do, you will probably grab a high calorie, quick satisfaction food. Plan your meals and snacks ahead of time. Plan your shopping by making a list of what you need and sticking to it.