Go for quality and not quantity

A small portion of food that tastes great will satisfy you far more than a huge plateful of food that lacks flavor. So ignore processed food and replace them with good healthy oneInvest in decent plans

It might cost a few extra pounds to splash out on non-stick pans but it could save more than a few pounds around your middle! Good quality non - stick pans enable you to create appetizing, tasty dishes using the minimum of oil and fat. In fact 1 tsp of oil contains 100 calories - cut this out every day for a year by using non -stick pan and you'd lose 10 lb!Low fat might not be low calories

Many foods are promoted as being low in calories. "A lot of sweet, low fat foods tend to be quite high in sugar and so the calories count may still be high. For example, a skinny blueberry muffin contains 5.3 g of fat compared to 26.1 g of fat in the classic version, making it a better choice for healthy eating. But the skinny muffin still provides 330 cal - around a sixth of recommended daily cal intake in most people. The classic muffin contains 520 cal.

Lose the "all or nothing "mentality

If you've ever polished off a huge slab of chocolate cake, decided you've failed on your diet and then eaten everything in sight you are a victim of 'all or nothing' thicking. This spells trouble your waistline. Instead of eating a whole cake cut down to a bite or maybe a piece.

Avoid indulging in pre-dinner grazing

Stars have their personal chefs to prepare low-calories meals but for most it s left for them to decide. It's easy to cut off slither of cheese or nibble on a slice of ham while preparing meals. This means consuming as many calories as in your meals. A match box -sized piece of cheddar cheese contains 125 calories - you could lose 6lb a year if you stop munching on three times a week while cooking. So the next time you are cooking chew sugar free gum.

Think more, not less

Set goals on eating more healthy food rather than cutting back on not so healthy snacks. Rather than eating fewer crisps and biscuits, make it your goal to have an extra portion of fruit a day. By filling up on healthy foods you'll have less room for high- fat snacks.

Eat your favorite foods

It's fine to succumb to your favorites, whether it's pizza, a glass of wine or a bar of chocolate- the key is moderation. A diet that's too restrictive won't last. You'll soon get bored, feel deprived and end up craving those foods you've been denying yourself of.