People struggling with obesity should seek medical evaluation and guidance. For others who wish to lose weight, researchers have offered these tips:

• Begin only if you feel motivated and self-disciplined. Permanent weight loss usually requires a lifelong change in eating habits combined with increased exercise.

• Exercise and get enough sleep. Especially when supported by 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night, exercise empties fat cells, builds muscle, speeds up metabolism, helps lower your settling point, and reduces stress and stress-induced craving for carbohydrate-rich comfort foods (Bennett, 1995; Kolata, 1987; Thompson et al., 1982).

• Minimize exposure to tempting food cues. Food shop on a full stomach. Keep tempting foods out of the house, and tuck away special-occasion foods.

• Limit variety and eat healthy foods. Given more variety, people consume more. So eat simple meals with vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Healthy fats, such as those found in olive oil and fish, help regulate appetite (Taubes, 2001, 2002). Water- and vitamin-rich veggies can fill the stomach with few calories. Better crispy greens than Krispy Kremes.

• Reduce portion sizes. Serve food with smaller bowls, plates, and utensils.

• Don’t starve all day and eat one big meal at night. This common eating pattern slows metabolism. Moreover, those who eat a balanced breakfast are, by late morning, more alert and less fatigued (Spring et al., 1992).

• Beware of the binge. Drinking alcohol or feeling anxious or depressed can unleash the urge to eat (Herman & Polivy, 1980). And men especially should note that eating slowly can lead to eating less (Martin et al., 2007).

• Before eating with others, decide how much you want to eat. Eating with friends can distract us from monitoring our own eating (Ward & Mann, 2000).

• Remember, most people occasionally lapse. A lapse need not become a full collapse.

• Connect to a support group. Join with others, either face-to-face or online, to share goals and progress updates (Freedman, 2011).