Eat More, Get Slim?

A good way to avoid weight gain as you age? Eat.

People who eat meals at regular times tend to have smaller waists than people who sometimes skip breakfast, lunch, or dinner. This healthier eating pattern can keep your body younger, too: Regular eaters are also less likely to develop metabolic syndrome or insulin resistance -- conditions that can pave the way for heart disease and diabetes.

We're not saying you should eat when you're not hungry. The key is not skipping meals when you're hungrier than a model during Fashion Week (you shouldn't let yourself get that hungry, anyway). That leads to spontaneous inhalation of bread baskets when you finally sit down to dinner. It also predisposes you to reach for waist- and health-busting sweet or salty foods. When you skip a meal, your taste buds become more tuned-in to both sweet and salty flavors, but not so much to bitter ones, like broccoli, brussels sprouts, and lots of other veggies.

The best place to start your healthy eating habits is with a good breakfast -- the most frequently skipped meal of the day. Pick something you like -- it can be as basic as a slice of 100% whole-grain bread with a teaspoon of peanut butter (or apple butter or walnut butter) -- and have it every day. Automating that meal not only gets you into a routine that helps you get out of your home quickly but also prevents you from facing too many choices -- a situation that can derail your good eating habits.

What do red pepper flakes, exercise, and avocados have in common? They help you eat less and lose weight -- along with these other 12 tips.