Beth Battaglino Cahill: Hi! I am Beth Battaglino Cahill, Executive Director of HealthyWomen. Are you trying to drop a few pounds? Then you need to know that dieting is out and smart eating for weight loss is in. That doesn't mean deprivation. The best ways to cut excess weight include making changes you can live with forever.

Dr. Brian Wansink from Cornell University has offered some great tips for weight loss that we would like to share with you. In fact, these are so simple, they are downright sneaky. You can slip them into your daily eating plan without any stress and they will help you loose pounds as well as keep the weight off.

Take out a ruler and measure your plate. The size of American dinner plates has grown in recent years. Many are now 12 or even 14 inches wide. Great for loading up, but not so good for encouraging healthy eating. Big plates result in big portions and making, since most of us are conditioned to eat what's on our plates.

Instead, get out those old 9 or 10 inch luncheon plates you may have received as hand-me-downs or buy some inexpensive new ones. You'll serve yourself less food, but still feel satisfied.

Make your second helping all veggies. You may have heard the advice to mentally divide your dinner plate in fourths and fill two of those sections with vegetables and/or salad, one with a starch and one with the meat or other protein. That works well as a guideline. But if you're still hungry and want more, commit to making your second helping all veggies.

Serve from the stove and not at the table. The reason this sneaky tip works for weight control is simple. When you sit and look at food, you take more and eat more. Promote better food choices by keeping only the cooked vegetables and salad on the dining table.

Eat breakfast everyday. Eating breakfast improves weight loss efforts and helps to keep weight off long-term. When you've skipped that starter meal, hunger hits stronger, often well before lunchtime. To quiet hunger you might reach for something calorie-loaded without much nutritional benefit, such as a doughnut or two, muffin or bagel. Whole-grain cereals like oatmeal will carry you through the morning. And if you top the oatmeal with some blue berries or slivered almonds, all the better.

Green tea has been found to help with weigh loss. So why not add tea to our meal. Other great breakfast options, try nonfat yogurt, eggs or peanut butter for protein, with whole-grain toast.

If you reach for soda or some other high calorie drink, reach for a tall thin glass. You'll pour less and drink less, thus cutting calories yet still being satisfied. You can still use your wide glasses for water and other calorie-free drinks.

So I hope these tips will help you eat smarter and reach your weight loss goals.