How to eat less and do more

Counting calories can be depressing. Even worse is trying to count grams of fat or carbohydrates or trying to add up the calories in the foods you eat, as so many diet plans insist you should do. It's much simpler to just follow common sense and eat less while moving more.

In fact, for steady, healthy, lasting weight loss, there's no better way. And the best foods for a healthy heart are ones you need for a healthy weight. Here are some simple strategies to help you making the change to lifelong healthy eating.

Pay more attention to your portions, particularly of fresh and unprocessed foods. You may find you're eating more fruits and vegetables than you thought (which is good), or you may be underestimating how much pasta, ice cream or snack foods you eat, and consuming more calories than you realized.

Skipping a morning meal leaves you so hungry that you can justify eating anything later on. Weight-loss winners tend to eat in the morning.

The main reason for nighttime binges is not eating enough during the day. Try filling up on the "slimming" parts of your meal — salad, vegetables and broth-based soups. Eat more caloric meats and starches last so you need a little less of them.

Cutting out one sweetened drink a day — whether a soft drink or sweetened tea — could help you to lose just over 11 kilograms (25 pounds) in a year.

A food diary will reveal what you're really eating and help you to spot the times of day when you're skimping or overdoing it.

Join a weight-loss support group online or locally. Or enlist the support of family and friends. Plenty of research shows that dieting with a friend helps both of you to stick with it, especially in the tough first few weeks.

Remember these simple strategies to help you eat less and do more so that you can make the change to lifelong healthy eating.