Some of my techniques:
- Take dietary fiber. This helps you eat less, helps keeps you regular, and helps lowers your cholesterol - a virtual wonder-substance. Metamucil ain't just for old people any more.
- Eat breakfast. When I skip breakfast then I'm ravenous at lunch and ravenous at dinner as well. When I eat breakfast I find that I'm not so ravenous at the later meals in the day. I'm currently on a 1200/1500/1800 calorie rotation. I rotate calories so as to not decrease my metabolism too much and so as to avoid the tendency to get ravenous and "snarfy" that occurs when on a reduced calorie diet for too long. On my 1200 days I have 200 calories for breakfast, 300 for lunch, and 700 for dinner. On 1500 days it is Breakfast 400, Lunch 300, Dinner 800. On 1800 days it is Breakfast 400, Lunch 300, Dinner 1100.
- Chew slowly, take little bites. No really - I'm serious here. One of my historical problems is that I wolf my food down. I end up eating double helpings before my brain has relayed the message that I'm full. By eating slower I've found that I feel full after just one portion intead of having seconds or thirds.
- I don't stick to some special kind of diet (i.e. low carb, low-fat, etc.). If you strictly count calories then you'll naturally start avoiding high-carb stuff because it is just too expensive from a calorie standpoint to make it worth eating. The problem comes when you don't strictly count the calories - 50 for mayo, 110 for an ounce of cheese, etc. 100 for half a chocolate-chip cookie, etc. The next thing you know you're easily 500 calories over your daily limit. The downside of calorie-counting is that it is a hassle and takes a lot of effort. It's also virtually impossible to do if you eat out a lot so if you eat out a lot then you may be better off with some type of specific diet plan.
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