Turn your weaknesses into strengths: fifteen easy ways to stop sabotaging your diet

It's 8 o'clock Monday morning, and I'm already behind schedule. Too late for breakfast, I grab a carton of O.J. and I'm out the door. An hour later, I'm sitting at desk, starving. So I start on M&M's and granola bars from the office vending machine, my resolve for a healthy day of eating shot to pieces--and its not even 11 a.m. Does this scenario sound familiar? Probably a little too familiar. Sadly, it's little bad habits like these that are sabotaging your commitment to better health. But we're here to help you. We take 15 of the most common diet weaknesses and show you how to turn them into strengths. It's not as painful as you might think.

1 Skipping meals

THE FIX You might do it deliberately to save a few calories or unintentionally because you're on the road. Either way, it's going to backfire. "People who skip meals become so ravenous they end up eating more when they finally do eat," explains Kristine Napier, M.P.H., R.D., author of The Girl of Health (Pocket Books, 2001). "You're so famished you can't even tell when you're full." To make matters worse, when you let yourself become that hungry, you make poor food choices. The same goes for waiting too long between meals, which is why most experts advise eating five or six small meals a day rather than three large ones. It keeps you from getting too hungry, Napier says, and it keeps your metabolism going and your energy up. It's also easier for your body to digest and burn smaller amounts of calories throughout the day than a large number at just one sitting. Skipping breakfast is the worst thing you can do because it slows the rate at which you burn calories for the entire day. "Metabolism slows while we sleep, and the process of digesting food revs it up again," explains Barbara Rolls, Ph.D., professor of nutrition at Penn State University and author of Volumetrics Weight Control Plan (Quill, 2000). But if you're one of those people who can't stand eating first thing in the morning, at the very least you should eat a cup of whole grain cereal and skim milk. Other good options are protein shakes and nutrition bars, which you can take with you on your morning commute.

2 Belonging to the clean plate club

The FIX It's a safe bet that when you were a kid your mother told you to eat everything on your plate. But smart eaters know to watch the portions and eat only until satisfied. By the same token, restaurant portions are often much larger than a home-cooked meal. Consider this: Restaurant pasta dishes often have more than a half-pound of pasta, the equivalent of two servings and 400 calories (and that's before they pile on the sauce, cheese and anything else). Your best line of defense is to ask the waiter to wrap up half before you start eating.

3 Grazing the grocery store samples

THE FIX Even if you can forger about the germs, you shouldn't forget how fast these calories (and fat grams) add up. Half a cookie here, some cheese ravioli there, chips and dip ... it's a feast of fat. And before you know it, you've eaten an entire meal, though no one ever counts it as one. In this situation, abstinence is the best policy. To bolster your willpower, never shop hungry. Make a list of what you need and stick to it.

4 Munching in front of the TV

The FIX It's amazing how quickly a bag of chips can disappear while you're watching doctors perform a heart transplant on an episode of ER. That's because when you're planted in front of the tube, you tend to eat faster, eat more and eat unconsciously. So try exercising during your favorite sitcoms, doing Kegel exercises or just having a cup of tea. If you must munch, substitute a lower-fat food, like air-popped popcorn, or a beverage, such as sparkling water.

5 Eating too fast

THE FIX It takes 20 minutes for your stomach to register that it's full, which means the faster you eat, the more you consume. This leads not only to overeating, but to that uncomfortable bloated feeling you get after you've wolfed down your food. So take a seat, chew slowly and put down your fork between bites. Take the time to actually taste the food--you'll enjoy it more.

6 Eating as soon as you get home from work

THE FIX The obvious solution, of course, is never to go to work. But for those of us whose last name isn't Trump or Gates, the next best thing is to stop yourself from making an immediate beeline for the fridge. If you stand in front of the refrigerator ravenous, you're likely to make poor food choices and consume more than you realize. So slow down. Have a glass of water with lemon, change your clothes, check your messages, flip through the mail, give Bootsie a little pet-- whatever.

Then head for healthy snacks: pre-cut fruits and vegetables and hummus, baba ganouj or salsa to dip them in.

7 Filling up on bread

THE FIX One of the smartest things you can do when dining out is to ask the waiter to leave the bread in the kitchen. It's crusty, warm and hard to resist, which is why it's easy to polish off the whole loaf--about 800 calories. But all those calories (and fat, if you use butter) add up, as do the pounds, especially when you factor in an appetizer, salad and entree.