Like a cocktail party, a cheese tasting works just as well for intimate get-togethers (a book-club gathering or end-of-week work celebration) as it does for larger events (such as an anniversary or birthday party). The three party-planning principles listed below are the same no matter how many guests you are entertaining; just add some wine and a few condiments, and you’ll soon be ready to take your friends, family or co-workers on an edible adventure they will remember long after they leave your living room.

1. Choose up to five interesting cheeses
“Any more than five cheeses and the palate becomes confused,” says Los Angeles-based cheese expert Barrie Lynn, founder of The Cheese Impresario.

For variety, you may want to pick a cow’s-milk cheese, a goat cheese and a sheep cheese. But you would do just as well with a tasting featuring several types of blue cheeses or a grouping of cheeses from the same geographic region, like Wisconsin. A little goes a long way when it comes to this flavorsome food, so count on just 4-6 ounces of cheese per person.

2. Round out your buffet spread with an  assortment of condiments
These can include wildflower honey, artisanal jams, fresh and dried fruit, nuts, seeds, and unusual breads and crackers.

3. Pop open a bottle of bubbly
Italian Prosecco can stand up to just about any cheese. A grown-up nonalcoholic sparkler that’s herbal-based, like Britain’s Aqua Libra, is also a nice touch.

ONLINE RESOURCES

No cheese shop near you? Check out these terrific links:

For more about cheese, visit wisdairy.com. This educational site offers complete information on how cheese is made, including a video so you can learn all about the process.

Or shop online at one of these fine cheese retailers:
Artisanal Premium Cheese
The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills
Murray’s Cheese

Don’t crash diet. If you fast in the weeks before your trip, you’ll just end up slowing your metabolism, which leads to rapid weight gain when you start eating normally during your trip.

Stroll around the airport. Nix the moving sidewalks and stroll laps around the terminal when you have a roller bag. Window-shop while you kill time. Anything to make up for the calories you won’t burn sitting on a plane.

Bring healthy snacks for the flight. Nuts, protein bars or fruit are great choices. Or eat a satisfying meal, such as a sandwich or salad, prior to departure.

Drink water. Hunger and thirst can feel similar, and since air travel dehydrates you, drink plenty of water before and during the flight. And minimize alcohol and caffeine consumption on travel days.

Plan snacks ahead. If your hotel has a fridge, find a local market and get some cottage cheese and fruit to snack on. Bring nuts, fruit or energy bars when you go sightseeing.

Live a little! Feel like having dessert or wine? Skip the bread and potatoes. Splurge on regional food items and house specialties, not chips or junk food.

Skip sugary beverages and cocktails. Margaritas and daiquiris contain up to 500 calories and can easily pack on 1-2 pounds a week. Is it really worth it? Treat yourself to one on your first day; then avoid drinking your calories for the rest of the trip.

Stay true to your eating plan. Stick with protein-based meals and snacks, high-quality carbohydrates and reasonable portions most of the time.

Get extra physical activity each day. Swim, snorkel, bike the countryside, go for walks after dinner, go dancing.

Back home, go food-shopping ASAP. It’s important to get back on track with your nutrition program right away. By filling the fridge with healthy food as soon as you return, it guarantees you’ll stick to your plan.

Myth No. 1: Occasionally following a fad diet to quickly drop pounds is OK.
Fact: Many fad diets are developed by folks with no science or health background. Some fad diets can even be harmful to people with certain health problems. When trying to lose weight, consult a registered dietitian who can customize a healthy eating program that works for you.

Myth No. 2: Children or pregnant women should not follow a vegetarian or vegan diet.
Fact: A healthy vegan/vegetarian diet is safe for both children and pregnant women. Consulting a registered dietitian is a good way to make sure the correct amount of calories, vitamins and minerals are being consumed for healthy growing bodies.

Myth No. 3: Margarine has fewer calories than butter.
Fact: Regular stick margarine and stick butter contain the same number of calories: about 35 per teaspoon. Look for margarines that are free of artery-clogging trans fats, and choose partially hydrogenated oil-free margarines such as Earth Balance or Smart Balance. Use butter sparingly since it’s high in unhealthy saturated fats.

Myth No. 4: A rich, creamy chocolate sundae before bedtime is more fattening than the same sundae eaten at lunchtime.
Fact: Timing has no direct effect on how your body uses calories — what you eat, not when, makes the difference. No matter when they’re eaten, excess calories can add up to extra body fat.

Myth No. 5: Potatoes and bread are fattening.
Fact: By themselves, neither is high in calories — 88 calories for a medium potato and 70 calories for an average-size slice of bread. And potatoes (including sweet potatoes) and whole-grain bread are great sources of carbohydrates; both are high in fiber and, therefore, filling.

The ADA recommends getting your nutritional information from those who know it best: a registered dietitian or other knowledgeable health-care provider. For a list of ADA-recommended resources, including books and websites, log on to eatright.org. Take the time to know the facts and you’ll be on your way to making informed decisions — and losing weight — based on science, and not the next celebrity diet fad.

The survey found that there were six “diet disconnects” that reveal how much (and how little) Americans know about diet and exercise. Read on to learn what the survey found and what you need to do to refresh your diet know-how.

1. On Calories

The Good News: Seventy percent report that they are trying to improve the healthfulness of their diet in order to lose weight.

The Bad News: Only 11 percent know the number of calories they should consume each day.

The Solution: American Dietetic Association spokeswoman Susan Moores, M.S., R.D., believes that calorie consumption is a significant piece of the weight-management puzzle. “The reality of it is that many people would prefer to not count calories,” she says. “Many people are unaware of not only how much they should have, but how that number equates to the foods they are eating and drinking.” For your daily recommended intake of calories, go to calorie-count.com.

2. On Diet & Exercise

The Good News: A clear majority (84 percent) report being physically active, for health benefits, at least once a week.

The Bad News: Nearly half (44 percent) who report being physically active say they do not “balance diet and physical activity” to manage their weight.

The Solution: For weight loss or maintenance, once a week is simply not enough. Most health-care professionals recommend you work out at least 30 minutes five times a week.

3. On Breakfast

The Good News: Ninety percent agree that breakfast is an important meal to achieve a healthful diet.

The Bad News: Less than half (49 percent) report eating breakfast every day.

The Solution: Whip up your breakfast in the form of a smoothie to save time. Check out our “Saturday Morning Smoothie” recipe for inspiration.

4. On Fats

The Good News: Concern about the types and amounts of fats consumers include in their diet is up from a year ago (72 percent vs. 66 percent), and they are specifically trying to consume less trans fat.

The Bad News: Consumers are unclear about which fats are healthful. For example, Americans report trying to consume less polyunsaturated fat, one of the fats recommended for health benefits.

The Solution: Limit saturated fats, trans fats and partially hydrogenated oils (found in prepackaged or fast foods). Choose monounsaturated fats (found in olive, canola and peanut oils and avocados) and polyunsaturated fat (found in safflower, sesame, soy and sunflower-seed oils and nuts). Foods with omega-3 fatty acids (found in flaxseed oil and fish) are also a good choice.

5. On Carbs

The Good News: More than 70 percent say they are trying to consume more carbohydrates like whole grains.

The Bad News: More than 50 percent remain concerned with the amount of carbohydrates they consume, which is not surprising given the attention to fad diets that promote decreased consumption of carbohydrates.

The Solution: If you are trying to lose weight, choose high-fiber carbohydrates (found in whole-grain foods) that take longer to digest, leaving you feeling fuller, longer. “I’m glad that consumers are understanding the importance of healthier carbs like whole grains and fiber as part of a balanced diet,” says Melina Jampolis, M.D. “I would definitely advise against consuming less than three servings a day of whole grains long term if you are aiming for optimal health.” For more reasons why you need carbs in your diet, click here.

6. On Health Benefits

The Good News: Consumers agree that consuming specific foods and beverages can provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition.

The Bad News: More than 50 percent of Americans say they currently do not consume foods or beverages that deliver these benefits.

The Solution: Let’s face it — you know a piece of fruit is better for you than a Twinkie. The best way to change your habits is to make smart choices at the grocery store. For a comprehensive list of healthy foods to buy at the market, check out our shopping list.

Most diets fail because people simply do not have the time or energy to follow them for the long term, says San Francisco-based Melina Jampolis, M.D., a board-certified physician nutrition specialist. Here, excerpted from her book The No Time to Lose Diet (Nelson Books, 2007) are 25 simple, real-world suggestions for staying on track, while still enjoying summer’s pleasures.

6 Smart Weekend Tactics

You’ve worked hard Monday to Friday and now you deserve to loosen up, right? Resist the urge to “let go” entirely on Saturdays and Sundays, however, or you’ll slow your diet progress considerably. Even when your routine is less structured, always:

•    Eat a satisfying breakfast before heading out the door.

•    Carry a protein bar, a small bag of nuts or a piece of fruit with you, no matter where you are.

•    Think ahead. Consider what your healthy eating options will be in advance. It’s much harder to take the time to find a healthy meal or snack when you are famished and everything sounds good.

•    Plan out your evenings too. If you are going out to dinner, cut back on starches and fat during the day since you will likely eat more of both when dining away from home.

•    Drink wisely. Alcohol can lower willpower and make healthier choices seem far less appealing. Some of my patients prefer to eliminate it, but avoiding alcohol completely is not necessary for most. Some people actually make better choices if they have a glass of wine with dinner. It seems to help decrease anxiety-driven eating. Keep in mind, however, that alcohol has almost double the calories per gram of carbohydrates and protein. If you do choose to drink over the weekend, you need to cut calories elsewhere.

•    Extend your exercise. I’m always astounded when patients tell me they did not exercise over the weekend because they “just wanted to relax.” Instead of eating an extra 115 calories a weekend, like the average adult American, challenge yourself to burn an extra 115 calories. You could lose 5 extra pounds in one year — without doing anything else!

9 Smart Party Tactics

When the weather’s warm, almost every occasion seems like a special event — and excuse to forgo your eating plan. Here’s how to keep weddings, graduation parties, company picnics and Fourth of July barbecues from sabotaging your weight-loss efforts.

•    Never go to a party starving. Eat a protein-based, high-fiber snack or mini-meal beforehand to take the edge off your appetite. Try turkey slices wrapped in a low-carb tortilla, or nonfat yogurt mixed with 1/4 cup of high-fiber cereal. If you plan to drink alcohol, you may want to include a little fat in your snack (like nuts or string cheese) to slow its absorption into the bloodstream.

•    Bring your own food. Instead of hoping for healthy eating choices, supply your own. A vegetable tray with lowfat dip is always welcome at a barbecue.

•    Survey the scene. Before hitting the buffet line at a wedding, check out the entire spread to figure out ahead of time your best options and potential splurges. By doing this, you will optimize your eating choices instead of mindlessly putting things on your plate.

•    Don’t go back for seconds. After filling your plate, park yourself away from the food table for the rest of the night. The closer you are, the more tempted you will be to grab a few more mini quiches or cookies.

•    Go for the H2O. Drink plenty of water beforehand, and alternate a glass of water or sparkling water (not juice or soda, which has loads of calories) with each alcoholic beverage. Also, avoid sugary mixers such as juice and soda, as these add hundreds of sugar calories.

•    Use the two-thirds strategy. Fill two-thirds of your plate with lean protein and veggies. Use the remaining one-third for the special, not-so-good-for-you items. Don’t avoid them — you’ll just feel deprived and overeat later! And don’t waste calories on the fillers: rolls, chips, cheese and crackers that you can eat anytime.

•    Make trade-offs. Skip wine at one event and skip dessert at another. If you have a little pasta or bread, limit yourself to one glass of wine instead of two.

•    Get rid of temptation. If you’re the host, be sure to send guests home with the leftover cake and other goodies.

•    Dress the part. Don’t wear loose-fitting clothes. If your clothes are roomy,  you will be less aware of your expanding waistline.

10 Smart Vacation Tactics

It’s your vacation, so don’t try to lose weight. Just maintaining your current weight is a reasonable goal.

•    Don’t crash diet. Tempting as it may be to try to drop 5 or 10 pounds by going on a fast in the weeks before your vacation, you’ll just end up slowing your metabolism, leading to rapid weight gain when you start eating normally during your trip.

•    Stroll around the airport. It always amazes me to see people take the moving walkways when they have a roller bag. Why not burn a few extra calories and walk wherever you can? Window-shop while you wait, or just walk laps around the terminal. Anything to make up for the calories you won’t burn while stuck on a plane.

•    Bring healthy snacks for the flight, like nuts, protein bars or fruit. Or eat a satisfying meal, such as a sandwich or salad, prior to departure.

•    Drink water. Hunger and thirst can feel similar, and air travel dehydrates you, so drink plenty of water and minimize alcohol and caffeine consumption on travel days.

•    Plan snacks ahead. If your hotel has a fridge, find a local market and get some cottage cheese and fruit to snack on. Or bring nuts and fruit to the pool or sightseeing.

•    Live a little! If you feel like having dessert or wine, skip the bread and potatoes. Splurge on unique, regional food items and house specialties, not chips or junk food.

•    Skip sugary beverages and cocktails. Margaritas and daiquiris contain up to 500 calories and can easily pack on 1–2 pounds a week. Is it really worth it? Treat yourself to one on your first day; then make the choice not to drink your calories for the rest of the trip.

•    Stay true to your eating plan. Stick with protein-based meals and snacks, high-quality carbohydrates and reasonable portions most of the time.

•    Get extra physical activity each day. Swim, snorkel, bike the countryside, go for walks after dinner, go dancing or shop. Or, if you’re feeling especially motivated or adventurous, take an active vacation like tennis camp or a spa getaway.

•    Back home, go food shopping ASAP. It’s important to get back on track with your nutrition program right away. By filling the house with healthy food as soon as you return, you will have no excuse for not sticking to your plan.

The study, cleverly designated the A to Z Weight Loss Study, compared four popular diets: Atkins, Ornish, LEARN (a diet-and-exercise-oriented plan for behavioral change) and the Zone. Researchers assigned 311 pre-menopausal women to one of the four diets for an entire year. At the end of that year, they found that women on the Atkins low-carb diet lost significantly more weight and had an overall decline in heart-disease-risk factors. But before you ditch that apple for a block of cheese, it’s important to examine the whole story.

As a weight-loss doctor who also specializes in reducing patients’ heart-disease risk, I was not surprised by the findings, but very interested in speaking with the lead researcher at Stanford University, Christopher Gardner, Ph.D., to learn what might not have made it into the final published paper. Here are three important points from our conversation:

• The women on the Atkins diet drank the most water, which is emphasized in that diet more than the others due to the fact that dieters tend not to replace the calories from high-sugar liquids like sodas by eating more food. Therefore, they were likely to be the most successful at cutting total calories.
• The participants found the Zone diet the most confusing, which suggests that they probably did not fully comply with its rules. Gardner noted that all the dieters had some trouble sticking with the diets’ dictates, either because they were too complicated or too onerous.
• All four diets resulted in losses of 30 pounds or more for some participants, although twice as many participants lost large amounts of weight on Atkins.

Although statistics from the study do seem to point to Atkins as “the winner,” Gardner’s two final conclusions, which echo what I see in my own practice, were more complex: First, all diets work for some people for some period of time, but the weight loss can only be permanent if you find an eating strategy that you can live with long term; and, second, that lower-carbohydrate diets can improve some aspect of dieters’ health (heart health, in Atkins’ case) just by reducing the consumption of refined, processed carbohydrates.

So what should all this mean to you when you go to pick “the best” diet of the bunch? Based on Gardner’s study and other research, it appears that some diets do work better for certain women than others. Specifically, women who carry their extra weight around their midsection, aka “apple shaped,” may do best with a higher-protein, lower-carbohydrate approach. Apple-shaped women tend to handle refined and sugary carbohydrates less effectively than pear-shaped women, who carry their extra fat mostly in the hips, thighs and buttocks.

But excess fat around the midsection isn’t just a cosmetic issue; it’s also more dangerous from a metabolic standpoint and often leads to a condition known as insulin resistance — which simply means the body becomes less and less sensitive to the role insulin plays in regulating blood sugar. This condition, also known as “pre-diabetes,” increases the risk of heart disease and stroke and can eventually lead to full-blown diabetes and all its complications.

ARE YOU AN APPLE OR A PEAR?

To identify your body type and determine which diet you should choose, take this simple test.

1.    Have you been prescribed medication for high blood pressure?

2.    Have you been prescribed medication for high cholesterol?

3.    Do you have diabetes or high-normal blood sugar?

4.    Is your waist size greater than 35 inches?

5.    Do you have high triglycerides or low “good” (HDL) cholesterol?

If you answer YES to at least three out of five questions, you are considered an apple and a lower-carbohydrate diet is probably best. If you answer NO to at least three out of five questions, you are a pear and carbohydrate restriction is less important for you, which gives you the option of choosing a diet based more on lifestyle and food preferences. (No matter which shape you are, you should still limit refined carbohydrates for optimal health.)

WHICH DIET IS RIGHT FOR YOU?

Now that you know your body type, think about your lifestyle and eating habits. It is important to find a diet that you can stay on long term or the weight will creep — or flood — back on when you return to your old eating habits. And don’t forget about regular exercise. That is just as important as diet for keeping the weight off!

Diet: Atkins, South Beach
Description: Low-carbohydrate
Best for Body Type: Apple
Pros & Cons: Difficult for women who travel, entertain or dine out often

Diet: Ornish
Description: Very lowfat
Best for Body Type: Pear
Pros & Cons: Good for women who enjoy larger portions; hHard dining out

Diet: French Women Don’t Get Fat
Description: Portion control
Best for Body Type: Pear
Pros & Cons: Great for the foodie who loves to cook; not great for women with portion-control issues

Diet: Zone, Sonoma
Description: Lower-carbohydrate
Best for Body Type: Apple or pear
Pros & Cons: Slightly more time-consuming; less flexible for travel and dining out

Diet: Weight Watchers
Description: Portion control
Best for Body Type: Pear
Pros & Cons: Convenient, easy, on-the-go options; great for busy women

To a large extent, weight loss is a numbers game. To lose 1 pound of body fat a week, you need to create a 3,500-calorie deficit. That means cutting 500 calories a day out of your diet or cutting 250 calories and then burning an extra 250 calories through exercise (or any combination totaling 500). To lose half a pound a week (still a very respectable number), you could cut 250 calories per day or diet away 125 calories and exercise off 125 more (the equivalent of a 30-minute daily walk for a 140-pound woman). And so on.

On the flip side, however, if you eat just 100 extra calories per day (one more cookie, one extra slice of bread) you will gain about 10 pounds a year. Looking at it that way, America’s “obesity crisis” becomes less of a mystery. Small changes can really add up and result in big weight loss — or, more commonly, gain.

I ask all my patients to write in their journals daily, and I review the results with them every week until weight loss is steady, and then every other week. We continue the journaling until their weight loss is consistent. If they hit a plateau, I ask them to restart the journal again so that we can identify the little mistakes that are creeping in. Here are the five most common diet slip-ups that I see:

1. YOU DRINK YOUR CALORIES. We all know that many of the beverages that we consume contain calories, but what you may not take into account is how quickly those calories add up over the course of a day, a week or a month. The two biggest culprits I see are coffee drinks and wine.

At 240 calories, a large latte (with 2 percent milk) every day adds up to 1,680 calories a week — or more than a third of a pound gained. Cutting back to a small size can save you 630 calories a week. And those two glasses of wine a night (125 calories each) add up to almost 1,800 calories a week, or about half a pound of fat if you make no other adjustments to your diet. Cut back to one glass a night or limit yourself to one or two glasses on weekends only and you could save 900–1,500 calories a week.

So just by cutting back on coffee drinks and wine you could lose almost two-thirds of a pound a week without making any other changes to your diet.

2. YOU FAIL TO WATCH DIETARY FAT. Sure, everyone knows that fat contains more calories per gram than protein or carbohydrates (more than double, for those who aren’t sure exactly how many more). However, many of us don’t take into account that small amounts of added fat throughout the day can add hundreds of calories to our daily intake.

Salads are prime offenders in this area: By the time you’ve added nuts, olives, cheese and dressing on your lunchtime lettuce, you’re probably on par with the fat calories in a cheeseburger! And while you do need healthy fats from olive oil, nuts and avocado for optimal health, it is important to watch portions very closely. Don’t double up on fats — choose a sprinkle of chopped nuts or cheese, but not both. Pay close attention to oil-based dressings. Act like Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally and modify a dish as extensively as you need to in order to reduce its fat calories.

3. YOU CHOW DOWN ON “GOOD” FOODS. All foods — no matter how healthful — contain calories; you need to pay attention to portion sizes. A petite woman does not require a 5-ounce chicken breast for lunch and dinner; 2–3 ounces for lunch and 4–5 ounces for dinner is more than enough. Those extra 100–200 calories add up over time.

And just because fruit is loaded with antioxidants and fiber does not mean it is calorie-free. Fruit has about 2.5 times the calories per serving as most vegetables. So, again, if a petite woman eats a banana, a large apple and a bowl of grapes every day in addition to a balanced diet, those extra calories will contribute to slowed-down weight loss.

4. YOU TAKE TWO STEPS FORWARD — AND ONE STEP BACK. Let’s say you eat perfectly Monday through Thursday. Then the weekend comes and it’s a no-holds-barred 72-hour food frenzy. Granted, it’s difficult to be “perfect” all the time, but try to choose your indulgences wisely!

For example, on Friday night treat yourself to two glasses of wine and split a dessert with your husband on Saturday. But make smart meal choices the rest of the time (lean protein and vegetables are almost always a great option unless they’ve been buttered).

And make an effort to get more exercise on weekends. Walk for most of your errands. Build social activities around sports or workouts. Do whatever you can to burn a few more calories so that if you do indulge a little you won’t undermine all the hard work you put in during the week.

5. YOU OVERCOMPENSATE FOR EXERCISE. If you are exercising frequently, you tend to eat more regardless of hunger levels. And while it’s true that active, muscular women do need slightly more calories, it’s also easy to eat more than your level of activity warrants. In other words, you overestimate your calorie burn and underestimate your calorie consumption — and the result is stalled weight loss. After walking for 40 minutes on the treadmill, if you eat a 200-calorie nutrition bar that you normally wouldn’t have had, you probably negated the effect of your workout.

Working with my patients, I’ve noticed that women rarely are successful at losing weight from exercise alone. You need to reduce calories, too. Don’t splurge on Saturday night because you went for a long hike during the day. Treat yourself to a little something, but don’t completely wipe out the calorie deficit you created during the day!

Being a cheesecake-and-french-fry-eating couch potato may be the most obvious barrier to weight loss, but by no means the most common. As you can see from the five little mistakes above, simply being more vigilant about the small things over time means you can permanently achieve a healthy weight — and have a life too! Just remember the old adage, “small changes add up,” and you will stay fit and healthy!

Just more proof that exercise critical to any weight-loss plan, says Barbara Rolls, Ph.D., author of The Volumetrics Eating Plan: Techniques and Recipes for Feeling Full on Fewer Calories(HarperCollins, 2005). Rolls says the problem with extreme diets is that, in the long term, “cutting out or drastically restricting foods simply is not sustainable.”

You can, however, indulge in delicious and satisfying fare without gaining weight, Rolls says. How? Substitute lowfat versions of your favorite dressings or sauces. (Go to vivmag.com/caloriegame to see how your calories can add up!)

No matter how much you spend on weight-loss books, exercise machines and diet plans you are your own best friend and mortal enemy when it comes to stocking your fridge and cupboards, says Melina Jampolis, M.D., a board-certified internist and physician nutrition specialist. To make sure that the so-called bad stuff never makes it home, Jampolis, author of The No-Time-to-Lose Diet: The Busy Person’s Guide to Permanent Weight Loss (Thomas Nelson, 2007) offers her patients the following four smart supermarket-shopping strategies.
1. Eat first. “Never shop hungry,” says Jampolis. Fuel up pre-trip with a lean protein snack, such as turkey slices, fat-free cheese or an energy bar.

2. Don’t cut corners. “Shop the perimeter of the grocery store (fruits, vegetables, lean meats and dairy) and try to minimize time spent on the middle aisles filled with tempting snack foods,” says Jampolis. Choose apples over apple chips and deli-fresh fish or poultry rather than the frozen or TV dinner variety. (Click here for Jampolis’s personal shopping list.)

3. Read labels. Spend a little extra time comparing product labels. “There will always be nutrition trade-offs,” Jampolis says. For example, nuts are high in fat, but tree nuts such as almonds, Brazil nuts and walnuts contain mostly unsaturated fat (the kind that actually decreases low-density lipoprotein (LDL or “bad” cholesterol) levels. They are loaded with protein, fiber, folic acid, niacin, vitamins E and B6, and minerals like magnesium, zinc, selenium and potassium. On the flipside, just because something is labeled “low-fat” or “fat-free” doesn’t mean it’s healthy. Such products are often loaded with high-calorie sweeteners and fillers like high-fructose corn syrup.

4. Choose readymade right. For those of us who don’t have time to cook and plan meals and snacks, Jampolis recommends stocking up on healthful ready-to-eat or heat-and-eat options like pre-sliced vegetables and hummus (rather than chips and dip), canned tuna (rather than fish sticks or patties) and frozen vegetables (rather than high-sodium canned).

Keep in mind, “What lands in your cart lands on your shelves and in your refrigerator,” says Jampolis. “When you come home exhausted, if you don’t have healthy, convenient foods on hand, you will be much more tempted to go for the cookies or order a pizza!”

Heed Jampolis’s expert advice and you’re bound to drop a few extra pounds by adding the following healthy staples to your grocery cart.

• Eggs
• Fresh and frozen fruit
• Pre-cut vegetables and tasty lowfat dips such as hummus
• Lean protein (lowfat deli slices, canned chicken or tuna, cooked or frozen chicken and turkey breasts, frozen fish and shrimp)
• Low-sugar, lowfat yogurt (for breakfast, snacks, dessert)
• Lowfat cottage cheese (for breakfast or snacks)
• High-fiber cereal (aim for a minimum of 5 grams of fiber per serving)
• Frozen vegetables — get a variety of several bags for easy dinners
• Pre-made sauces (for quick and tasty vegetable or lean-protein toppings)
• Low-carbohydrate tortillas (“These are incredible,” says Jampolis. “You can wrap almost anything in them and they taste great!”)
• Dijon mustard (for a quick dip or dressing)
• Oil (olive, canola) and balsamic vinegar
• Nuts (choose tree nuts such as almonds, Brazil nuts and walnuts, which contain mostly unsaturated fat)
• Canned beans (for quick and easy salads and toppings)
• Salsa (“It’s great for easy recipes, healthy toppings, and quick, full-flavored salad dressings,” says Jampolis.)
• Cooking spray (“Use this to coat your pan for lower-fat stir fries, omelets and more,” recommends Jampolis.)
• lowfat, low-calorie salad dressing (“It’s better tasting than fat-free and research shows that a little fat may help increase nutrient absorption in vegetables,” says Jampolis.
• Reduced-salt chicken broth (for quick soups or sautés)
• Reduced-salt soy sauce (for sautés or dressings)