Food is supposed to be savored. But with the kind of lifestyles we have nowadays, it seems that food is now taken as a matter of course. Working lunches which put the focus on the meeting and not on the meal are fast becoming popular options to deal with deadlines and projects. We eat while watching television or while studying. Rarely is eating ever really focused on eating. The ease with which we can buy food also contributes to the problem. It's easy to grab a chocolate bar or go to a drive-thru when you're hungry. There's a 24/7 convenience store that can cater to your midnight food cravings of chips and dips. With all these, it's easy to understand why obesity levels have risen to gastronomic proportions in this country.

If you really want to stay fit and full, here are some diet tips to keep you right on track:

1. Go as natural as possible. When you eat foods that have undergone little or no processing such as fruits and vegetables, you fill yourself with fiber and complex carbohydrates. These foods are slowly digested and make you feel fuller for longer. Compared to highly-processed foods that are rich with empty calories, natural foods are more nutritious. Besides that, they require you to chew more before swallowing so your brain registers satiety before you indulge in another piece.

2. Choose bulky and water-rich foods since they fill you up quicker and make you feel full for longer. Thus, if you have to choose between grapes and raisins, go for the grapes. Also, choose foods that take a little more chewing so you feel full with less. Examples of these are crunchy salads and seeded fruits.

3. Don't allow yourself to grow thirsty. Always drink a full 8 to12 glasses of water a day and drink one or two glasses before each meal.

4. Choose smaller plates. Dinner plates have grown as large as our appetites. And because we have been reared to fill our plates when we put on the serving portions and finish everything that we put there, bigger plates naturally mean a higher number of calories ingested. Buy smaller plates and use these in your regular meals.

5. Make breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks all about the food. Don't watch television while eating and savor every morsel. Also, while it is good to dine in company, try to eat by yourself as much as you can as research has shown that people tend to eat more when they are in a group.

6. Strive for six to eight hours of sleep everyday. When you don't get enough sleep, your body produces hormones that continually signal hunger, making you want to eat more.

7. If you have just had a fatty meal, don't keep on gobbling up portions. It takes time before fullness registers with a fat-laden meal compared to a protein-filled one. Eat slowly and wait for the feeling of satiety to come.

8. Eat a piece of starchy fruit, such as an apple, before every meal. It will give you fiber that will significantly lessen the amount of calories you take when your main course arrives.