If losing weight were easy, everyone would be thin. But, while weight loss is challenging, it's far from impossible. Here, we look at some of the most common expert advice for smart weight loss and healthy eating and provide some practical tips to help you actually follow that advice in your daily life.

Aim Low, Go Slow

You've heard it a million times: Don't try to go from super-sized to svelte in just a month or two. Crash diets may work at the start, but few people stick with them. The trick is finding a way to take pounds off and keep them off. How to do that? By setting small goals for changes you can stick with over the long term.

"No matter how somebody does it, it's ultimately eating less and doing more physical activity that is going to make a difference," says nutritionist Charlotte Hayes, MMSc, MS, RD, CDE, of Atlanta, Ga. "We often ask people to make smaller alterations in their lifestyle--kind of tweak it a little bit--to improve energy balance long term."

Try keeping track of what you're eating for about three days. Figure out about how many calories you're eating each day. Then cut that by 500 calories a day to lose about a pound a week.

Or take it even easier: Cut 250 calories a day, and you'll lose half a pound a week. That may not sound like much, but over a year, it's 26 pounds.

Trimming 250 calories might be easier than you think, but to be honest, it's probably harder than it sounds. Leaner cuts of meat mean fewer calories. Low-fat foods are usually lower cal, too. A single dinner roll can carry 140 calories. A couple of slices of Cheddar cheese can pack in 150 to 200.

Pick up a "calorie counter" from your local bookstore. It will tell you the calories, fiber content, carbohydrates, and other nutrition information for a huge number of foods. The Diabetes Carbohydrate And Fat Gram Guide, 2nd edition, by Lea Ann Holzmeister, RD, CDE, provides similar information and is available from the American Diabetes Association online bookstore at http://store.diabetes.org.

Make small changes that you can live with. "You're not being asked to cut out your favorite foods," says Ann Albright, PhD, RD, chief of the California Diabetes Prevention and Control Program, who is currently on leave serving as a senior policy fellow in the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General. But "instead of having three scoops of ice cream, you have one."

Downsize your portions of other foods, too. In the United States, we've let portion sizes get out of control. Think of the way restaurants heap food on your plate. Remember how small Coke bottles used to be?

Importantly, don't think of what you're doing as a temporary diet that you will abandon when you reach a particular target weight.

"This is not a 'diet,'" says Madelyn Fernstrom, PhD, CNS, an associate professor and director of the weight management center at the University of Pittsburgh. "It's a lifestyle change that you never fall off."

Remember, too, that exercise is crucial. "The overriding factor for helping you sustain weight loss is to be in a regular physical activity program," Albright says.

Get The Fat Out

Most weight-loss plans call for cutting down on your fat intake. But that doesn't mean cutting out fats completely. You don't have to give up flavor to lose weight.

Try a substitution strategy. Look for no-fat or low-fat alternatives. Experiment to see which ones work for you.

Hayes used to make an artichoke dip with garlic and Parmesan cheese and "a whole cup of mayonnaise. That's 16 tablespoons," she says. But she's found that she can substitute fat-free mayo and "you wouldn't notice a lick of difference." Fat-free sour cream works just as well in her holiday sour cream coffeecake, too.

If you just can't bond with the no-fat version of a given food, try a reduced-tat version. You'll probably want to try low-fat, not no-fat, cheese, for example. Nonfat cheeses just don't have much flavor.

And for some types of baking, you may want to stick with butter (for flavor) or stick margarine (for consistency) instead of light forms of either product. But Fernstrom notes that a light butter or light margarine might work as well in some cases.

For non-baking purposes, such as flavoring vegetables, Fernstrom says, an artificial butter spray "has plenty of flavor but not the fat or the calories. It fools your taste buds into giving you a buttery taste."

Where's The Beef?

Eat lean meats. This is a common tip guaranteed to draw groans from beef lovers and those who just don't like chicken and fish. But not to worry. As with fat, it's not an all-or-nothing proposition.

"Who wouldn't love a delicious filet mignon, or a big strip steak, or a T-bone?" Fernstrom says. But if that's what you want, she says, you'd better restrict yourself to about four ounces. "That's about the size of the palm of your hand, or a computer mouse."

It's true that well-marbled cuts of beef don't figure prominently in most diet plans. Weight-loss instructions tend to favor fish or chicken--and that's skinless chicken, not breaded, deep-fried drumsticks.

But if you don't like fish or chicken or just want more variety, you can still get a satisfying meal without breaking training.

Try pork. Pork tenderloin can be quite lean, Hayes says. Or switch to veal. Get ground chuck for homemade hamburgers, but don't fry them. Grill them so the fat runs off. Choose leaner cuts of beef, such as top round, that have to be cooked longer to tenderize them.

"I tell patients this all the time: Get a crock pot," Fernstrom says. "Get some of these leaner cuts of beet, put them in with some vegetables, and let it cook all day."

Fear Of Fiber

Fiber--the tough, indigestible (to humans) carbohydrate that gives plants their shape--bulks up the contents of your stomach, moves waste through your intestinal tract, and helps you avoid constipation. It may also prevent certain cancers, reduce cholesterol, and lower blood glucose (sugar) levels. No wonder most nutrition experts sing its praises.

A 2002 Institute of Medicine study recommended 30 grams of fiber a day for men over age 50 and 21 grams a day for women over 50. It called for higher levels, 38 and 25 grams respectively, for men and women 50 and under.

But few Americans get even 20 grams of fiber a day, Albright says. So even if you're not trying to lose weight, you should try to boost your daily fiber intake.

Fruits and vegetables are prime sources of fiber, especially whole fruits and raw vegetables. Instead of orange juice at breakfast, have an orange. Or an apple. For an afternoon snack, try carrot sticks with a low-fat dip.

Whole-wheat bread and other whole grains, such as unmilled rice, are good fiber sources, too. If you think brown rice tastes like sawdust, Hayes suggests making a pilaf by mixing brown and white rice. You'll get less fiber than with brown rice alone, but more than you would otherwise.

In most cases, Hayes says, substituting or adding in moderate amounts of more healthful ingredients instead of taking an all-or-nothing approach helps people stick to dietary changes.

Some breakfast cereals are rich in fiber, of course. But, let's be honest, they're not always as rich in flavor. If you don't like the taste or consistency of high-fiber cereals, choose a cereal you do like, and sprinkle some bran cereal or a fiber supplement over it. You'll increase your fiber intake without having to choke down something you find unpalatable. Soup is also a good place to sneak in some fiber supplement. You'll never even notice it.

Popcorn packs fiber, too, usually about a gram a cup, although some brands offer a full day's quota in a single serving. If you're trying to lose weight, you shouldn't drench it in butter. You can sprinkle on a little Parmesan cheese, though, for flavor.

However you increase your fiber, do so gradually, and give your gastrointestinal system time to adjust. If you haven't been getting much fiber, and you suddenly start downing 20 or 30 grams a day, you're likely to end up with gas, bloating, cramps, and diarrhea.

Drink Up

Your body needs plenty of fluids. That's especially true when you are raising your fiber intake. The general suggestion is for eight 8-ounce glasses a day--at least half of that as water.

Drinking fluids helps your digestion, keeps your hair and skin lubricated, gives you a sense of fullness without adding calories, and promotes a sense of well-being, Fernstrom says. "Our bodies are really attuned to our salt and water balance," she says, and water is the best natural thirst-quencher.

If you don't like the tap water in your area, get some bottled water or consider buying a tap water filter. It may seem like an extravagance, but if it improves your health, it might be worth it.

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