you sit down to a meal, try eating slowly. It helps if you have someone to talk to over the dinner table, but if you're eating alone try working while you're eating, or reading a book, or putting together a puzzle even. Something that allows you to take a bite or two, then be preoccupied for a few moments before you take another bite.

4. Try also cutting your portion sizes. One of the reasons

Modern day society and technological advances have seemed to create an unusual handicap with people in general: Many of us no longer know how to listen to our body, and understand what it's saying.

And this is actually one of the biggest causes of obesity today. You see, too many people don't understand how to know when their body needs food... or when it's had enough. In fact, it's fairly common for people to eat when they're not actually hungry. Some people eat when they're sad, lonely or bored. And some people even eat when they're actually thirsty instead.

This problem escalates when these same people don't seem to know when they're body tells them they've had enough. How often have you sat down to a meal and cleaned your plate... only to discover 10 minutes later that you're stuffed? If you're like most of us, you're more than stuffed - you're actually quite bloated and feeling a bit "icky".

If you eat food when you're lonely or bored - but not hungry or in need of food - you're bound to put on extra weight. Likewise, if you eat food when you're simply thirsty - and again not in need of food - you'll put on weight. So, here are a few tips you might want to try...

1. When you get the urge to eat, try drinking a glass of water first. Then wait 15 minutes or so, to see if that solves the problem.

2. When you find yourself rummaging the cabinets for "munchies", stop and ask yourself a few questions. Are you bored? Sad? Lonely? Is there something you can do that might solve the problem? Someplace you can go maybe or a friend you can call?

3. When you sit down to a meal, try eating slowly. It helps if you have someone to talk to over the dinner table, but if you're eating alone try working while you're eating, or reading a book, or putting together a puzzle even. Something that allows you to take a bite or two, then be preoccupied for a few moments before you take another bite.

4. Try also cutting your portion sizes. One of the reasons

mon for people to eat when they're not actually hungry. Some people eat when they're sad, lonely or bored. And some people even eat when they're actually thirsty instead.

This problem escalates when these same people don't seem to know when they're body tells them they've had enough. How often have you sat down to a meal and cleaned your plate... only to discover 10 minutes later that you're stuffed? If you're like most of us, you're more than stuffed - you're actually quite bloated and feeling a bit "icky".

If you eat food when you're lonely or bored - but not hungry or in need of food - you're bound to put on extra weight. Likewise, if you eat food when you're simply thirsty - and again not in need of food - you'll put on weight. So, here are a few tips you might want to try...

1. When you get the urge to eat, try drinking a glass of water first. Then wait 15 minutes or so, to see if that solves the problem.

2. When you find yourself rummaging the cabinets for "munchies", stop and ask yourself a few questions. Are you bored? Sad? Lonely? Is there something you can do that might solve the problem? Someplace you can go maybe or a friend you can call?

3. When you sit down to a meal, try eating slowly. It helps if you have someone to talk to over the dinner table, but if you're eating alone try working while you're eating, or reading a book, or putting together a puzzle even. Something that allows you to take a bite or two, then be preoccupied for a few moments before you take another bite.

4. Try also cutting your portion sizes. One of the reasons

tuffed? If you're like most of us, you're more than stuffed - you're actually quite bloated and feeling a bit "icky".

If you eat food when you're lonely or bored - but not hungry or in need of food - you're bound to put on extra weight. Likewise, if you eat food when you're simply thirsty - and again not in need of food - you'll put on weight. So, here are a few tips you might want to try...

1. When you get the urge to eat, try drinking a glass of water first. Then wait 15 minutes or so, to see if that solves the problem.

2. When you find yourself rummaging the cabinets for "munchies", stop and ask yourself a few questions. Are you bored? Sad? Lonely? Is there something you can do that might solve the problem? Someplace you can go maybe or a friend you can call?

3. When you sit down to a meal, try eating slowly. It helps if you have someone to talk to over the dinner table, but if you're eating alone try working while you're eating, or reading a book, or putting together a puzzle even. Something that allows you to take a bite or two, then be preoccupied for a few moments before you take another bite.

4. Try also cutting your portion sizes. One of the reasons

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1. When you get the urge to eat, try drinking a glass of water first. Then wait 15 minutes or so, to see if that solves the problem.

2. When you find yourself rummaging the cabinets for "munchies", stop and ask yourself a few questions. Are you bored? Sad? Lonely? Is there something you can do that might solve the problem? Someplace you can go maybe or a friend you can call?

3. When you sit down to a meal, try eating slowly. It helps if you have someone to talk to over the dinner table, but if you're eating alone try working while you're eating, or reading a book, or putting together a puzzle even. Something that allows you to take a bite or two, then be preoccupied for a few moments before you take another bite.

4. Try also cutting your portion sizes. One of the reasons

you sit down to a meal, try eating slowly. It helps if you have someone to talk to over the dinner table, but if you're eating alone try working while you're eating, or reading a book, or putting together a puzzle even. Something that allows you to take a bite or two, then be preoccupied for a few moments before you take another bite.

4. Try also cutting your portion sizes. One of the reasons so many people eat more than they need to is because they have a "clean the plate" syndrome. They don't want to waste good food, so if it's on the plate they feel obligated to eat it. A way around this is to make your first helping of food half the size you'd normally get. Then if you go back for a second plate, make that one half-sized too. This way, you'll be giving yourself longer to eat, plus eating less in total.

Now I know some people feel deprived when they give themselves half portions - even if they do allow themselves a second plate. So one way to avoid this problem is to use smaller plates. I personally prefer to use a small sandwich plate or side dish plate instead of a full-sized dinner plate. This allows you to "fill" the plate, not feel deprived, and still eat less all around.

And before you go for the second plate of food, look inside yourself: Are you actually still hungry? Pay attention to the answer, because often you're not. Instead you're getting more food out of habit maybe, or because it tastes so good. If you're not sure though, make yourself wait 15-20 minutes. If at that time you still feel a bit hungry then go ahead and eat more. Often though, you'll find you're not hungry anymore after all.

It may take a bit of time, patience and practice to start recognizing the messages your body is sending. But keep at it and you may be surprised at what you find... and how much weight you lose in the process too.