We're overweight and have tried very hard to lose the extra weight and no matter what we do or how many diets, diet pills or gimmicks we try, it hasn't worked. Your doctor tells you the same thing every time you ask about weight loss and it is to exercise and watch what you eat. What that means to me is that he wants me to get off my duff and actually move and to reduce my calorie intake.

What I've learned when trying to reduce my calorie intake is to figure out a game plan. I've learned over time that if you reduce the amount of calories you are eating, your body ends up thinking you are in "starvation mode."

To lose weight, I think we all know we have to reduce the calories we are eating, but some people may already be eating a very low amount of calories and may actually need to increase their calorie consumption.  The reason for this is that your body is made to survive at all costs.

Our body is very smart and if you suddenly go eating 700 to 800 calories per day, your body starts thinking that you cannot find any food, are lost in the desert, etc and it starts to conserve those calories.  What do you think happens?  You don't lose any weight! It's trying to protect you from starving to death. If you are on a reduced calorie diet and are no longer losing weight, I would consult your doctor to find out if you should add more calories to your diet or not.

The above example does actually happen to some people...but for most of us... we eat a lot more than our bodies can burn off. So we have to follow a reduced calorie diet that will work for us.  One of the easiest ways of doing that is to cut out the fattening stuff. Come on, if you're like me, our common sense tells us not to eat fried foods, ice creams, cakes, etc.  When I first started dieting, all I did was cut out soft drinks and started drinking water at every meal.  Just doing this, I lost 10 pounds in 2 months.

Using your common sense, we know we should eat more vegetables and fruits. So, spend your time at the grocery store in the produce section finding vegetables and fruits you like. Eat the fruits as a snack when you are hungry in between meals.  Eat plenty of steamed or raw vegetables and make sure you are consuming a moderate amount of lean protein.

Avoid the man-made foods such as breads, pretzels, chips, cakes, pasta, etc. Go for the nature-made foods such as carrots, fresh fruits, lean meats, nuts, broccoli, etc.

One other trick i've learned to lose an extra 10 to 15 pounds is to eat smaller meals.

Eat some breakfast, a small snack such as fruit before lunch, eat a small lunch, another fruit or vegetable as a snack mid-afternoon, and then have dinner.  If you eat smaller meals like this, you keep yourself feeling full or satisfied throughout the day and you actually end up eating less calories by doing so because when you get to lunch or dinner, you are not starving and end up stuffing your face as I used to do.