11 eating habits to keep your waistline small

Whether you need to lose weight or you're just tired of leaving the table feeling sluggish, the following tips will help you to curb your appetite and eat just enough — and no more.

• Try to be a bit pickier about what goes into your mouth.
• If it doesn't look good, don't eat it. Thin people never eat cold leftovers. Follow their example.

Never out of the bag, package or box. It's too easy to overeat when you have an unlimited amount.

A pause will give your brain time to get the fullness signal and make it easier to just skip it.

• Don't keep a huge tub of ice cream in your freezer.
• Scoop the appropriate serving size into individual containers and freeze. And buy only single-portion snacks.

Make it a habit to immediately cover and refrigerate what you can re-use and toss what you can't.

• Pick the best food available wherever you are, at the store, restaurant or a farmers market.
• Consider what's most nutritious, attractive, reasonable and what you feel like eating.

• When you're eating, put your fork down, chew, then swallow before talking.
• This forces you to slow down while eating and feel full sooner.

• It's likely you have been overlooking some calories.
• Seeing all that you eat in black and white will help to keep you from overeating.

• Don't stop at the bakery or the corner store for "a little something" on your way home.
• This kind of unhealthy eating contributes to weight problems.

• Today's small was once a medium or large. Eat slowly. Savour the flavours.
• Remember that ordering the small size leads to wearing the small size.

• When you're looking for food, set your kitchen timer or smartphone alarm for 20 minutes.
• If you still want to eat when it rings, fine. If not, it means the urge has passed.