by Heather Russell

Created on: July 28, 2007   Last Updated: June 29, 2009

Overeating is a fact of life. We all have desserts we wish we hadn't eaten, meals that would have satisfied at half the size, and bags of potato chips that magically disappear during late-night reruns. While the occasional bout of overeating is nothing to worry about, those extra calories do add up. Luckily, all it takes is a little mindfulness to improve your habits and make sure that you're eating appropriately for your body.

At home:

If you're the person in charge of shopping and cooking for your home, you're in a prime position to make some positive changes in your eating habits.

Prevention point #1: Shopping

Avoid buying big bags of cookies or chips; they may be a better value, but they easily lead to overeating. Many big-name snack food brands now offer their products in "100 calorie" packs. If you can't justify spending the extra money on prepackaged snacks, create your own single-serving packs by separating a big bag of chips or cookies into snack-sized baggies as soon as you get them home.

Prevention point #2: Cooking

When you're cooking for yourself or your family, only cook for that meal. Pay attention to portion size as you plan your meals. If you like to have leftovers for the next day's lunch or dinner, pack up the leftovers into containers before you serve the meal; if the extra food isn't readily available, you'll be less likely to go back for seconds.

Prevention point #3: After meals

As I said earlier, part of avoiding overeating is changing your habits. If it's your habit to go straight for some kind of dessert after dinner, whether you're hungry or not, work on changing that habit. Wash, dry, and put away the dishes as soon as you've finished your meal. This activity keep your mind off eating again, and not having the dishes lying around means you'd have to pull out a new set to take another helping of food. This extra effort required may be enough to make you think twice about taking an unneeded portion.

At restaurants:

Going to a restaurant often seems like an excuse to overindulge. While you should absolutely choose your meal based on enjoyment as well as health, there are also steps you can take to make sure that you don't regret your night out.

Prevention point #1: Rethink the word "meal."

Spend a little extra time perusing the appetizer menu, and consider ordering one of these smaller dishes instead of a full-sized entree. Often, appetizer menus feature smaller version of entree dishes, and they also

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