1. Do not starve your body. Your body will think it is starving and will store more fat. Your body will win the battle if you stop eating. Think this over carefully.

2. Eat breakfast. You miss breakfast and you have denied your body the energy it needs to start the day. You are then playing catchup all morning and will no doubt give in to the assosrtment of work place sugar filled goodies.

3. Eat every three hours. You will actually eat smaller portions throughout the day by eating more often. This feeding technique keeps your hunger switch in check and stops you from gorging.

4. Cook with olive oil . It may be more expensive than big tubs of crisco, but olive oil is exponentially better for you because it contains high amounts of monounsaturated fat (mainly oleic acid) and polyphenols. Research indicates that polyphenols may have antioxidant characteristics.

5. Keep your meals simple. There’s no need to spend two hours in the kitchen. Heat up some noodles, bake some chicken, eat a vegetable , be done with it.

6. Do not count calories, just understand them. Counting calories discourages us from sticking to our healthy eating patterns. Do we really think we are going to count every calorie, every day, for the rest of our lives? All you need is to understand and have a rough idea of whether you are consuming the right amounts of food.

7. Eat more chicken and fish, less beef and pork.

Let’s face it, beef and pork are great tasting because of the fat. Reduce your servings of these two meats and become creative with the white meat, chicken and fish. Opt for the lean portions of beef and pork too.

8. Eat desserts

only on Sunday. Find alternative products to satisfy your sweet tooth during the week. There is no reason to eat a large portion of a dessert. If you are not going to avoid desserts, try eating one or two bites, very slowly. Savor and enjoy the sweetness. Otherwise, eating fruits will also satisfy your sweet cravings.

9. Absolutely no doghnuts or cake at work. If you partake in each employees birthday celebration, you will be eating desserts morning and afternoon and then taking some home with you. Just say no.

10. Do not drink soda pop. Soda’s serve zero purpose in our nutritional lives. Soft drinks disrupt our bodies nutritional needs by offering nothing to our thirst and hunger switches. When our bodies are craving nutrition or water, we input liquids that provide nothing in the way of nutrition or hydration. Opt for plain water instead.

Changing our eating patterns need not be drastic at all. Stop your unhealthy habits and cultivate healthy ones. With just a few adjustments in tactics we can reduce our weekly calorie intake by 30 percent, which will equate to a loss of 1 to 2 pounds per week.