To lose weight and eat healthier, learn how to replace unhealthy snacks by better alternatives. Forget about candy or even worse, eating a real meal when you should be snacking instead. Healthy snacks include fruits, yogurt or nuts. You should eat if you really need it and avoid spoiling your appetite for the next meal.

Never let yourself get too hungry. Keep a small container of fresh, raw vegetables, plain raw almonds or cut-up fruit to munch on whenever you start to get hungry. Small, healthy snacks throughout the day keep your energy up and help you resist the temptation to go crazy with high-calorie food.

When losing weight you may want to eat a nice meal at a restaurant. Just keep in mind that portions are often very large. You may need to ask the waiter to bring you a take-out container and place half of the meal into it. Then, not only have you cut back on calories, you have a perfect lunch for the next day.

When dining out at a restaurant, ask for a to go container when ordering. This way you can immediately put half of the food away before starting to eat. If you leave it on your plate you are very likely to finish it. Some restaurant entrees contain enough calories for the whole day so never eat the whole thing!

When choosing foods to eat on a diet, pick items that have a high fiber content. Fiber will help fill you up faster than a comparable amount of sugar or fat. It is also healthier, and will help keep things "moving", which can be a problem when you first start out on a diet.

One way to help yourself lose weight is to eat sugar. Actually, what I really mean is to avoid sugar substitutes. Fake sugar can cause real cravings for sweet things and too many of those can cause weight gain or just curb your weight loss. Some sugar substitutes can also have nasty side effects. So go ahead, eat your sugar, just do it in moderation.

If you want to lose weight you need to stop drinking soda pop. Colas, even diet colas, cause weight gain. If you currently drink many sodas each day, begin by cutting the amount you drink. Reduce the amount until you are only drinking one can per day. Then you can cut it down to one every other day, then eventually stop drinking pop completely.

Keep your doctor informed if you start taking weight loss supplements. Your doctor may advise against certain supplements because of your personal health issues. He or she may also want to monitor certain blood levels and other health tests just to make sure that you are staying healthy while losing weight.