"Staying well-hydrated helps your body function properly, and it also helps make sure you don’t overeat," Pam Bede, M.S., R.D. with Abbott’s EAS Sports Nutrition, tells SELF. But it's not just that staying hydrated keeps you from overeating. According to Maxine Yeung, M.S., R.D., owner of The Wellness Whisk, sometimes you may feel hungry when, in fact, you're actually thirsty. Basically, no harm can come from drinking a glass of water.

The way you prepare your food can drastically change its effects on your health.

Grilling, broiling, frying and deep-frying are all popular methods of preparing meat and fish.

However, during these types of cooking methods, several potentially toxic compounds are formed, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and heterocyclic amines (HCAs) (36Trusted Source).

All of these compounds have been linked to several diseases, including cancer and heart disease (37Trusted Source, 38Trusted Source, 39Trusted Source, 40Trusted Source).

Healthier cooking methods include baking, broiling, simmering, slow-cooking, poaching, pressure cooking, stewing and sous-vide.

These methods do not promote the formation of these harmful compounds and thus make your food healthier (41Trusted Source, 42Trusted Source, 43Trusted Source, 44Trusted Source).

Nevertheless, there is nothing to say you can’t enjoy the occasional grill or deep-fry, but try to use those methods sparingly.

A good way to ensure that you eat your greens is to eat them as a starter.

By doing so, you will most likely finish all of your greens while you are the hungriest and be apt to eat less of other, perhaps less healthy, components of the meal.

This may lead you to eat fewer and healthier calories overall, which may result in weight loss.

Furthermore, eating vegetables before a carb-rich meal has been shown to have beneficial effects on blood sugar levels.

It slows down the speed at which carbs are absorbed into the bloodstream and may benefit both short- and long-term blood sugar control in people with diabetes (61Trusted Source, 62Trusted Source).

The importance of good sleep cannot be overstated.

Sleep deprivation disrupts appetite regulation, often leading to increased appetite, which results in increased calorie intake and weight gain (84Trusted Source, 85Trusted Source, 86Trusted Source).

In fact, people who sleep too little tend to weigh significantly more than those who get enough sleep (87, 88Trusted Source).

Being sleep deprived also negatively affects concentration, productivity, athletic performance, glucose metabolism and immune function (89Trusted Source, 90Trusted Source, 91Trusted Source, 92Trusted Source).

What’s more, it increases your risk of several diseases, including inflammatory diseases and heart disease (93Trusted Source).

Therefore, it is important to try to get adequate amounts of good-quality sleep, preferably in one bout.

Berries are very healthy and packed with nutrients, fiber and antioxidants.

Most varieties can be purchased fresh, frozen or dried.

Although all types are relatively healthy, the dried varieties are a much more concentrated source of calories and sugar, since all the water has been removed.

A 3.5-ounce (100-gram) serving of fresh or frozen berries contains 32–35 calories, while 3.5 ounces of dried strawberries contain a whopping 396 calories (94, 95Trusted Source).

The dried varieties are also often covered with sugar, further increasing the sugar content.

By opting for the fresh varieties, you will get a much juicier snack that’s lower in sugar and a lot lower in calories.

A potato comes from the ground, an egg from a hen. But where did that Pop-tart come from? "Unprocessed, whole foods will give you the most benefits," Berman says. Processing takes out nutrients such as antioxidants and fiber. What's worse is that a lot of processed foods tend to sneak in things that aren't really necessary like extra sodium and sugar. There's nothing wrong with indulging the occasional processed food craving (sometimes a bag of potato chips is too hard to resist!). But if you're trying to shop healthier altogether, be on the lookout for products that have been minimally processed.

When you sit down to a meal, try to savor every bite. Especially the first few, because those are the bites you're going to enjoy most. "There is a toning down of taste buds after the first few bites," says Linda Bacon, Ph.D., professor of nutrition at City College of San Francisco. That's not the only reason to take it slow while eating. It takes your brain about 20 minutes to realize your stomach is full. If you're throwing back food like there's no tomorrow, odds are you're going to accidentally eat past the full and wind up totally stuffed.

The easiest way to make sure your inter-meal nibbling stays on track is to have healthy snacks on hand for when hunger strikes. You can keep these nonperishable goodies in your desk drawers, or these energy-boosting nibbles in your gym bag. Simply keeping a bowl of fresh fruit on your kitchen counter will bring your snacking to the next healthy level.

"A smoothie with only fruits and fruit juice is essentially dessert!" Rebecca Lewis, in-house R.D. at HelloFresh, tell SELF. Smoothies can definitely be a healthy meal option, provided you're using vegetables in addition to those fruits, and high-protein, high-fiber ingredients like almond milk and chia seeds. Unfortunately a lot of smoothies (especially store-bought varieties) tend to pack in sugar. In fact, a small size at common smoothie stores like Jamba Juice can often contain more than 50 grams of sugar. To be sure you don't end up with a total gut bomb, consider making smoothies yourself. Or double check the ingredient list at your favorite shops and supermarkets.

There are two important strategies to employ when you go grocery shopping: make your shopping list ahead of time and don’t go to the store hungry.

Not knowing exactly what you need makes room for impulse buying, while hunger can further exacerbate your impulses.

To make sure you don’t give in to your impulses, plan ahead and write down what you need beforehand.

By doing this and sticking to your list, you will not only buy healthier items but also save money and have healthier foods around the house.

 You might be tempted to continue working through your lunch break now that your co-workers aren’t physically there. Bu don’t do it! Being distracted during a meal can lead to over-eating and decreased satiety (satisfaction and fullness) from the meal. Instead, take a break from work to sit down at a table to enjoy your lunch and relax for a few minutes. You’ll enjoy the meal more, and it may even help you feel more prepared for the rest of your work day.

. Never eat out of the bag or original container, as it’s much harder to control portions that way. Check the serving size on the container if you need extra guidance. For meals, try the healthy plate method: Fill half a 9-inch plate with non-starchy vegetables, one-fourth the plate with a lean protein (poultry, seafood, beans, eggs, tofu, cottage cheese or Greek yogurt) and one-fourth the plate with a high fiber carbohydrate (fruit, whole grains or starchy vegetables).