These simple shortcuts can help slim you down:
1. Eat dessert. A small amount can signal that the meal is over. A piece of high-quality chocolate is a good choice.
2. Get a milk mustache. Consuming 1,800 milligrams of calcium a day could block the absorption of 80 calories. Jump-start your calcium intake by filling your coffee mug with skim or 1 percent milk.
3. Spice things up. Capsaicin, the substance that puts the hot in hot pepper, temporarily boots your metabolism. (To diminish the "hot" effect of spicy foods, milk or yogurt is better than water.)
4. Go organic. That's where you're likely to find bread and cereal with fiber counts that put conventional choices to shame.
5. Keep the skin on. Speaking of fiber, a lot of it's in the peel, whether it's potatoes, apples or pears. Even oranges: Don't eat the whole peel, but keep the pith, the white, stringy stuff. It's packed with heart-healthy compounds called flavonoids.
6. Buy precut vegetables. They cost more, but you're more likely to eat them. Low-energy snacks should be as easy as possible so you have no excuse not to eat them.
7. Always snack at 3 p.m. Having a low-calorie bite mid-afternoon can stave off cravings for high-cal foods that might crop up later. An ounce of nuts or two sticks of string cheese weigh in at about 170 calories.
