What you drink counts in your calories for the day

It's easy to forget that fruit juice, sodas, sweetened ice tea, and café mocha, all add up. Water is always your best bet as a refreshing drink. Add a slice of lemon or lime for flavor. Or a crushed strawberry, a few raspberries or a peach slice. You can keep a pitcher of ice water on your desk, or kitchen counter and it will remind you to drink more. Keep single serving bottles in the freezer to grab on your way out. Put the bottled water in front of the juice, milk, and sodas and you'll be tempted to drink the water instead of the other liquids. Just cutting out two sodas a day can significantly drop your calorie count.

Plan for your snacks

Plan for your snacks so you won't be hitting the vending machines or the cookie jar. There are lots of prepackaged alternatives at the grocery store that offer low fat, low calorie, but tasty snacks. Prepackaged costs more than the big bags but you get portion control in return. You can also package up your own snacks. Keep the calorie count to about 100. Fresh fruit and veggies are a given, but you can also have popcorn without the butter, saltine crackers with low fat cheese, a cup of soup, a handful of nuts, or pretzel sticks. Put your selected snacks in a zip lock bag and place in the fridge, when you feel the urge, they'll be ready and waiting.

Sensible Eating Habits

Have breakfast. Skipping breakfast leads to low blood sugar mid morning which results in cravings for sugary foods to pump the blood sugar back up. A vicious cycle results and continues throughout the day. Your breakfast should consist of whole grains, a protein source and fruit. It doesn't have to be fancy. A slice of whole wheat toast spread with a tablespoon of low fat peanut butter and an apple will do just fine. Or you could mix ½ cup of nonfat cottage cheese with chopped fresh peaches and a couple of whole wheat crackers. Another possibility is a scrambled egg served on an English muffin with a glass of orange juice.

If you work outside the home, brown bag your lunch. It's tempting to run out to the nearest fast food joint for a high fat, high carb lunch. If you pack your lunch you have control of what you eat and won't be tempted by a burger and fries. If you have a fridge and microwave at your office, and who doesn't these days, you can serve up a delicious salad and soup lunch. As an added benefit you will save money. The average fast food lunch these days costs around $7.00. And you can use the time you save to run errands, relax or take a walk around the block