I wanted to share 7 nutrition tips that experience has shown me to be effective. They might surprise you.

1. Eat tastier food – It’s actually quite the win-win. When you eat better tasting foods, your brain is more satisfied. This flavorful contentment elicits positive brain-chemistry changes to prevent you from over-indulging. Perhaps you’ve experienced this firsthand when visiting an expensive restaurant. With often smaller portions, you can achieve the same enjoyment with higher quality ingredients and combinations. So get creative when you cook. Use lots of spices and herbs in your meal preparation, and don’t forget how fruits and vegetables can enhance proteins and fats.

2. Stop drinking juices – But for years, I’ve heard that orange juice is good for me. Well, you can thank the clever marketing campaigns. They came really close to the truth: oranges are good for you. In their natural form, oranges are filled with fiber, which has the benefit of slowing the body’s absorption of sugar – including the sugar in the orange itself. The problem with juices is that they take all the sugar from fruits, often multiple fruits (and/or certain vegetables), and put them on a liquid superhighway to your blood.

3. Learn to share – We teach our kids this character trait, but when it comes to restaurants, we adults too often fall into the “mine” mentality. With the average restaurant meal containing 1128 calories, not to mention appetizers or desserts, it is definitely more than one person needs. Of course, you can run into the “but I don’t want that” problem, so here’s an idea to solve the issue of differing cravings. Let your spouse silently choose 3 different menu options that they would enjoy while you do the same. After you both have your picks, discuss them out loud and see if you have a match.

4. Become friends with fat – You’ve got to be kidding, right? After years of avoiding this horrific substance, we are now asking you to consume it? Yep. Yesterday’s truth has become today’s misconception. It turns out that avoiding fat like the plague creates a large void that is readily filled with worthless starches. The roller coaster this alternative puts your blood sugar on throws you into an addictive ride that ends in consumption of even more calories than had you eaten the fat in the first place. So don’t fear it, but try to choose the best options: like avocado, nuts, seeds, and fish oils.

5. Buy more groceries – Let me get this straight. You want me to purchase more food so I eat less? Exactly, but don’t miss where you need to purchase food from – the grocery store. Remember the 1128 calorie restaurant meal? Having lots of groceries on hand reduces the frequency with which you go out to eat. You should be shopping for food every single week. If what you are buying lasts longer than that, you are buying the wrong stuff. Be sure to hit the store on a full stomach. Grocery shopping while hungry never ends well. Pack your house with healthy (and tasty) food and watch the weight come down.

6. Drink away the pounds – I’m sorry, but I don’t mean alcohol. And we already discussed the problem with juices. I’m speaking of good old water. And that’s key: don’t drink the new, fluoride-rich stuff that can challenge your thyroid and joints. (Although that’s quickly becoming the “old” water.) Though dentists can use the substance topically to produce collagen expansion and harden teeth … research shows that internalized fluoride is nothing but a systemic poison. Purified water (like reverse osmosis) is a good option to help you shed the pounds. Often times, our body misinterprets thirst signals for hunger. Staying well hydrated results in less calorie consumption.

7. Be the annoying person – You know that guy or gal who is always having the waiter, waitress, or even barista customize their order? Yeah, it’s time-consuming and sometimes a little embarrassing. Well, I have bad news: It’s time to become that person. You’d be amazed at how many calories (and therefore pounds) these modifications can save you over a year’s time. Getting your salad dry, skipping the mayo on your sandwich, leaving the barbecue sauce off your brisket, and rejecting the extra pumps of syrup in your tea or coffee can do wonders for your weight. Sure, you’ll go through a slightly disappointing time of transition if you love some of those things. But before long, you’ll create a new routine and, believe it or not, eventually come to prefer the new way.