You can enjoy your meals while making small adjustments to the amounts of food on your plate. Healthy meals start with more vegetables and fruits and smaller portions of protein and grains. And don’t forget dairy—include fat-free or low-fat dairy products on your plate, or drink milk with your meal.

10 Tips To Enjoying Your Meal

1. Get to know the foods you eat. Use the MyFitnessPal app to find out what kinds of foods and how much to eat and to get tips and support for making better food choices.

2. Take your time. Be mindful to eat slowly, enjoy the taste and textures, and pay attention to how you feel. Use hunger and fullness cues to recognize when to eat and when you’ve had enough.

3. Use a smaller plate. Use a smaller plate at meals to help with portion control. That way you can finish your entire plate and feel satisfied without overeating.

4. If you eat out, choose healthier options. Check and compare nutrition information about the foods you are eating. Preparing food at home makes it easier to control what is in your meals.

5. Satisfy your sweet tooth in a healthy way. Indulge in a naturally sweet dessert dish—fruit! Serve a fresh fruit cocktail or a fruit
parfait made with yogurt. For a hot dessert, bake apples and top with cinnamon.

6. Choose to eat some foods more or less often. Choose more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and fat-free or 1% milk and dairy products. Cut back on foods high in solid fats, added sugars, and salt.

7. Find out what you need. Get your personalized plan by using the MyFitnessPal app to identify your food group targets. Compare the foods you eat to the foods you need to eat.

8. Sip smarter. Drink water or other calorie-free beverages, 100% juice, or fat-free milk when you are thirsty. Soda and other
sweet drinks contain a lot of sugar and are high in calories.

9. Compare foods. Check out the Food-A-Pedia to look up and compare the nutrition information for more than 8,000 foods.

10. Make treats “treats,” not everyday foods. Treats are great once in a while. Just don’t make treat foods an everyday choice. Limit sweet treats to special occasions.