To eat better your focus should turn to your shopping list. Simply plan out what you buy at the supermarket before you go there. Turning up with no plan sets you up for failure, especially when you pass through the snacks isle and temptation is niggling away at you. A few minutes of pre-planning will mean better food choices.

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2. Balance your intake of fat

There is no fun in obsessing over every little bit of fat and how many grams it weighs. A better approach is to learn to balance out high fat foods with lower fat options.

The good news is this: There is room for high fat foods in every diet even if losing love handles and overall weight loss is your primary focus. As long as there is a balanced approach and healthy foods are eaten most of the time.

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3. Learn to understand key differences between hungry and thirsty

Experts say we often think we are hungry when the reality is we may be thirsty instead. A great tip here is to drink a glass of water (which should be cold) as soon as the hunger urge comes on. Often the urge to eat goes away and you are getting the health benefits of flushing toxins out of your body with the consumption of six plus glasses of water a day.

I like the idea of having a glass of water before every meal, one mid morning, mid afternoon and one after the evening meal to balance my water intake nicely. This is very practical. Remember drinking lots of water in effect means you should eat less.

A great way to be if you want long term eating lean principles.

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4. Slow down - Enjoy everything you consume

A bad habit for many people is to eat their food so quickly that they do not even taste what is in their mouths. This results in less satisfaction and of course the tendency is to eat more either immediately or later on when you are unfulfilled.

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5. Do not ever skip a meal - It simply does not work

Deprivation does not work - period! Never has and never will. The key is to eat the bad stuff occasionally. You can still lose a healthy amount of weight by following these steps consistently and just cheating a little tiny bit every now and then. After all eating should be enjoyable and not a painful exercise. A tip here is to eat smaller portions of the foods you really like (that may in fact be bad for you).

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