• Replace sugar containing drinks.  The best option is to drink water and/or unsweetened tea.  Also fat-reduced milk should replace whole fat or 2% milk.  Diet drinks have not been shown to help decrease weight gain.
• Reduce the serving size of your meals. You may want to use smaller plate sizes.  If you get hungry with that, you may have four small meals per day.  Also, for children, serve the food on their plate instead of letting them pile it on.
• Consume the majority of your calories early in the day.  Eating breakfast regularly has been associated with improvement in weight problems.
• Eat slowly and delay time to second helpings; people tend to feel full after a delayed time.  Eating faster increases the chance of over-eating.
• Limit fast food intake to no more than once per week.
• Food consumed should have a low “glycemic index” (<55).  Foods with a high glycemic index include refined white flour and processed sugar.  For a more thorough list and explanation, see http://www.glycemicindex.com.
• Do not snack when full.  If you do snack, use fruits and vegetables.
• Limit saturated fat intake.  Saturated fat is the main cause of high cholesterol.
• Try to consume 25 to 30 grams per day of fiber.  This comes from fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.  This will help decrease hunger and cholesterol.  The following website contains a nice chart on fiber content of many foods: http://www.slrhc.org/healthinfo/dietaryfiber/fibercontentchart.html.
• Limit time engaged in sedentary activities such as watching TV or being on the computer to 2 hours per day.  There is a clear association between TV/computer time and weight gain.  It is advisable to remove computers and TV’s from the bedroom.
• People should engage in vigorous physical activity for at least 30 minutes per day.  This has been shown to greatly improve the body’s use and metabolism of glucose and increase HDL’s (the “good” cholesterol).    It may be helpful to link a child’s exercise with an activity that is sedentary.  For example, a child may watch TV if they are on the treadmill for the first 30 minutes.

Thanks to Dr’s Correll and Carlson, 2006.