18 Party Dress Diet Tips

1. Don't skip breakfast

Saving calories by starving yourself until lunchtime is a favourite trick with some dieters. But studies show if you don't eat within an hour or so after waking up, you'll tot up far more calories by the end of the day.

2. Go to work on an egg 

US nutrition experts claim eating eggs for breakfast can save 400 calories from your overall daily food intake - boiled, poached or scrambled, they'll leave you feeling fuller for longer than many other breakfasts, say scientists.

3. Drink your milk 

Have a glass of milk if you still feel hungry after breakfast. Experts from Tufts University in Massachusetts say drinking milk helps stave off midmorning hunger pangs and helps you feel full right up until lunchtime.

4. Straighten up

Want to feel fuller faster? Then sit up straight when you're eating, say Australian researchers. Sitting upright allows food to get into the lower part of your stomach where it sends signals to your brain that you're full. So when you slouch, you eat more because you don't feel so full.

5. Sip yourself slim

Drinks contain calories too - even though it doesn't seem like they fill you up in the same way that solid foods do. Research shows most people drink at least six beverages a day, so make them healthy and low calorie - fruit juice, for example, may be healthy but it contains calories too. Substituting one glass of orange juice a day for plain water could add up to a weight loss of 12lb over a year.

6. Turn up the brightness

Don't lower the lights when you eat, say researchers from the University of California, as it encourages bingeing. Dim light, they say, allows you to let go of inhibitions, which may make you eat more.

7. Go nuts 

Eating almonds can help you lose weight, say several studies, including one published in the International Journal of Obesity. The researchers discovered people who added almonds to their diet lost more weight than others who didn't, despite the fact that they ate the same number of calories as the non almond-eaters.

8. Feast on fish

Researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, discovered African tribes people who regularly eat fish have lower blood levels of leptin, the hormone that stimulates your appetite, than those who hardly ever eat fish. Scientists believe lower leptin levels may help you lose weight, so eating fish could help keep your appetite under control.

9. Take time

Experts agree it takes about 20 minutes for your brain to realise your stomach is full, so don't dive into dessert straight after your main course. If after 20 minutes you're still craving something sweet, share a pudding with a friend.

10. Have a starter

If you're trying to eat less, have a salad before your meal. A study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association claims people who have a large salad starter eat 12 per cent fewer calories in their meal overall than those who skip their first course. Just don't load the salad up with high calorie dressings and croutons.

11. Eat when you drink

Ever wondered why crisps and peanuts are so popular in pubs? Drinking on an empty stomach, say experts, makes your blood sugar rise too quickly, which means you'll feel ravenous when they drop again soon afterwards. Make it a rule to drink alcohol only with meals, and you'll automatically cut down on unnecessary calories.

12. Switch to brown

Eating wholegrain versions of foods such as bread, pasta and rice could shave inches off your waistline, say experts. One study from Tufts University in Boston even claims people who eat primarily white flour foods gain a half inch more around their middle each year than others who eat wholegrain varieties.

13. Don't give up dairy

Several studies suggest eating three servings of cheese, yoghurt or other milk products a day helps you lose weight and burn body fat. Experts reckon it's something to do with the calcium in dairy foods - when you don't get enough, your body believes you're undernourished and starts storing fat.

14. Put sweets out of reach

Who'd have though being lazy could be a good thing? Researchers at the University of Illinois found office workers who had bowls of sweets on their desk ate more than twice the amount than colleagues whose sweets were placed just six feet away.

15. Switch off

According to a report in the journal Eating Behaviour, watching TV makes you eat more snacks, which won't do you any favours if you're watching your waistline. The theory is that watching telly while you eat takes your mind off how much you're munching.

16. Drink from tall glasses

The type of glass you drink from could help you cut back on some of those liquid calories - a US study discovered people drink 76 per cent more liquid when they use short, wide tumblers compared to tall, slim glasses (though, amazingly, they believed they were drinking less).

17. Eat smart

Try this tip from the Pritikin Longevity Center in Florida. Fill up on the fewest calories possible by eating the lowest calorie parts of your meal first and finishing with the most fattening ingredients. So for instance, start by eating the salad and veg, then finish with potatoes and meat. By the time you get to the more calorific foods, you'll have less room in your stomach.

18. Get plenty of sleep

Have you ever noticed that you're constantly hungry whenever you're tired? Experts think lack of sleep affects the levels of two hormones that control your appetite, so when you've had a bad night's sleep you naturally want to eat more.