Mix It Up.

Your meals should be a balanced combination of foods. Everything you eat is basically made of carbohydrates, fats and protein. Despite what some fad diets pontificate, you need all three. Atkins may help you lose weight by cutting out carbs, but ultimately the body can't maintain itself like that, so you go back to your old eating habits and fatten up again.

Your best bet is a good balance of dairy, meats, grains, fruits and veggies. You can learn how to do this by logging on to Fitday.com or following Michi's Ladder, the eating guide that comes with workout videos. 

Water: Hunger's Placebo.

You're supposed to be drinking 8 cups of water a day. If you need it, drink more. Turkey sandwich not filling enough? Wash it down with a glass of water. Drinking a glass before your meal will fill you up in advance.

And no, Crystal Light is not a substitute. Besides the potentially dangerous aspartame, it's loaded with chemicals and preservatives. It's okay to drink every once in a while, but it shouldn't replace water. If you just can't get past the taste of H2O, try it with a squeeze of lemon.

Frying, Bad! Steaming, Good!

Battered, fried fish just doesn't cut it as a healthy fish dinner. Frying drenches your meat and vegetable with fats and oils. Yes, you need some fat, but a constant stream of fried food will give you more grease than you could ever use. Also, it's all saturated fat, which means your body doesn't know how to process it. Examples of good, polyunsaturated fats that your body is better suited to digest are avocados and uncooked (read: not fried) virgin olive oil.

Be Kind to Yourself.

If you make a mistake and eat something you shouldn't have, well, that's okay. Pick yourself up and start again. Also, don't be a complete fascist. I consider myself a healthy eater and I have a beer or two on the weekends. On my birthday, I always eat a piece of mud pie. The trick is moderation. I don't drink five beers every night. If I eat ice cream, I eat one scoop as opposed to an entire Ben and Jerry's container.

At first glance, eating healthy can seem like an impossible goal. Indeed, making the transition can be tough, but if you're patient and follow a few simple guidelines, you'll find your way. Soon you'll find yourself eating right and feeling great. From there on, the rest is a piece of cake—just make it carrot cake. 

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