Experts agree that being too heavy is bad for your health. Having too much fat can lead to serious health problems. More than 300,000 lives could be saved each year if everyone in America maintained a healthy weight! Next to smoking, obesity is the most common preventable cause of death in the United States.

Modify your diet

Calories are the basic unit of energy within food. When you eat, your body converts calories into energy. Your body uses what it can and stores the rest in the form of fat. You should eat a low-calorie diet if you want to lose weight.

A calorie is a calorie, whether it comes from a brownie or a serving of raw broccoli. The difference between them is the number of calories, nutrients, fat, and other ingredients in a typical serving.

Always eat regular meals, including breakfast

Skipping meals delivers a double whammy to your weight loss efforts. When you skip meals, your body goes into "starvation mode," signaling your body to conserve as much energy as possible — this builds up body fat. Skipping meals is also likely to make you very hungry for your next meal, which could cause you to eat more. In fact, eating smaller amounts more frequently — as often as six times per day — may be best for losing weight. Bottom line: Eat meals and snacks at about the same time every day.

For significant weight loss, you need to make sure you are burning more calories than you consume. This usually requires commitment to a disciplined exercise program. However, there are also many small, simple steps that can help your weight loss efforts every day.

There are other quick and easy things that can really help. For example, brush your teeth after every meal. You may be less likely to snack, especially on sweets, when you have that fresh, clean feeling in your mouth. And another quick tip — don’t shop for groceries when you are hungry!

Here’s another easy step: define your portions. Serve your ice cream in a bowl instead of eating it from the carton; put your chips on a plate instead of eating them from the bag. If you are not keeping track, it is easy to eat more than you wanted.