You know the drill when it comes to losing weight – take in fewer calories, burn more calories.

1. Treat high-calorie foods as jewels in the crown. Make a spoonful of ice cream the jewel and a bowl of fruit the crown. Cut down on the chips by pairing each bite with lots of chunky, filling fresh salsa. Balance a little cheese with a lot of salad.

2. Eat five or six small meals or snacks a day instead of three large meals. Studies show that even if you eat the same number of calories distributed this way, your body releases less insulin, which keeps blood sugar steady and helps control hunger.

3. Use vegetables to bulk up meals. You can eat twice as much pasta salad loaded with veggies like broccoli, carrots, and tomatoes for the same calories as a pasta salad sporting just mayonnaise. Same goes for stir-fries and add vegetables to make a fluffier, more satisfying omelette without having to up the number of eggs.

4. Avoid white foods. There is some scientific legitimacy to today’s lower-carb diets: Large amounts of simple carbohydrates from white flour and added sugar can wreak havoc on your blood sugar and lead to weight gain. But you shouldn’t toss out the baby with the bathwater. While avoiding sugar, white rice, and white flour, you should eat plenty of whole grain breads and brown rice.

5. Eat fruit instead of drinking fruit juice. For the calories in one kid-size box of apple juice, you can enjoy an apple, orange, and a slice of watermelon. These whole foods will keep you satisfied much longer than that box of apple juice, so you’ll eat less overall.

6. Get up and walk around the office or your home for five minutes at least every two hours. A brisk five-minute walk every two hours will parlay into an extra 20-minute walk by the end of the day. Take a walk before dinner. You’ll do more than burn calories – you’ll cut your appetite. The 20 minutes of walking reduces appetite and increases sensations of fullness as effectively as a light meal.

7. Serve individual courses rather than piling everything on one plate. Make the first two courses soup or vegetables (such as a green salad). By the time you get to the more calorie-dense foods, like meat and dessert, you’ll be eating less or may already be full (leftovers are a good thing).

8. Pack nutritious snacks. Snacking once or twice a day helps stave off hunger and keeps your metabolism stoked, but healthy snacks can be pretty darn hard to come by when you’re on the go. Pack up baby carrots or your own trail mix made with nuts, raisins, seeds, and dried fruit.