If you tend to skip your meals regularly, you probably have a million reasons why – maybe you’re not hungry enough or you’re too busy. The truth is, if you skip your meals, you will be hungrier the next time you eat – and you will over-eat.

So, eat regularly, at least every four or five hours.

You may love your potatoes and meat, but it’s all about portion size, say experts. A plate built around meat and starch is out of balance, and plate after unbalanced plate leads to extra kilos around your waist and hips.

Instead, fill have your plate with green, leafy vegetables, beans or any other non-starchy vegetable. Start lunch and dinner with a salad. This will prevent you from over-eating.

Unless you’re sipping water, be mindful of beverages and their hidden kilojoules through sweetness not labelled as sugar – such as fructose, dextrose and sucrose.

Have a large glass of water before meals, suggest experts, as it helps you feel fuller faster.

Carbs are not bad, despite what some diets say, say experts. Eating carbs doesn’t make you fat, but eating too many of the wrong types of carbs makes you fat.

Keep a portion of any pasta, rice or other carbohydrates to about half a cup. Serve your plate in the kitchen and never eat a carb snack direct from the bag or container. Measure it first.

Some of the highest fat and kilojoule foods we eat aren’t foods at all, say experts. They’re the extras we add to flavour the food such as butter, gravy, mayo and salad dressings. Just by trimming those things from your daily diet, you could shave 2093kJ a day and lose half a kilo a weeek.

Always ask for dressings and other extras to be put on the side. And remember to ask for low-fat versions.

Choose lean cuts, remove the skin from poultry and ensure that whatever your protein is, it should be one of the smallest thing on your plate.

Limit your intake of red meat to less than twice a weak while increasing your fish intake to twice a week. Fish should be baked, grilled or steamed.

You need fat to lose weight because fat promotes satiety and adds flavour. Without fat in your diet, you’re more likely to be constantly hungry and to overeat, say ex[erts.

Limit your fat intake to 25 per cent of your daily kilojoules and limit your cheese intake too, to one serving of 30g a day.

You need a plan for losing weight. Before going out, you need to think about where you are going and what you are going to eat. Grab a protein bar and carb snack like a slice of cheese and an apple just before you step out. Start with a salad and avoid dessert and bread.

Choose what foods you’re going to eat base on its nutritional value and health benefits. By eating healthy foods that are rich in nutrients, you’re sure to lose weight pretty effortlessly.

Before you plan a shopping trip or order out, look up the nutritional value of the foods you’re considering and ask yourself if your list matches up with your needs and goals, suggest experts.

And by juicing, we mean drinking fresh vegetable juice! Experts claim that juicing is one of the best thing.Cucumber, kale, carrot, ginger…it is good for you. It gives you  energy, and actually tastes good!

Text: Bauer/ Good Health/ Additional Reporting: Shenielle Aloysis