For those trying to lose weight, all the sermonizing can be a turnoff. Who doesn’t already know that vending machine chocolate bars are bad, that whole grain is good? That fad diets don’t work and getting fit doesn’t come quick?

There’s no magic formula for losing pounds and keeping them off, but there are strategies that work. The American Heart Association recently published the second edition of its bestseller No-Fad Diet (Clarkson Potter, $27.99), a no-nonsense bible for anyone looking to lose weight, eat healthier and move more.

It’s a collection of advice culled from a review of current research in nutrition, weight management and behaviour modification. Much of the same advice is available from the Dietitians of Canada and the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation, from Health Canada and Quebec’s health ministry: Exercise more and eat a healthy, balanced diet that is low in fat and includes a variety of food from each of the four groups.

No-Fad Diet puts it all together in a way that is simple and straightforward. At its core is the concept of energy balance: To keep from gaining weight, you must balance the calories you eat (calories in) with the calories your body uses up (calories out). To lose weight, change the balance in favour of “calories out.”

That’s it. No outlawed food combinations or powders, herbs, meal-replacement bars or pills. No three-week ab-building regimens. Just some commonsense advice for the road ahead.

Here’s a compilation of useful tips for losing weight from NoFad Diet, the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation and Nutrition Quebec, a healthy-eating blog by dietitian Charlotte Geroudet:

Think smart

Be aware of your inner voice. Think about how the running dialogue inside your head encourages or excuses bad behaviour. As in: “I’ll have these french fries now, but just a salad for dinner,” or “It’s too icy/cold/ hot/humid/late/early to go out for a walk.”

Practise saying “thanks, but no thanks” to colleagues who bring in baked goods or dinner-party hosts who offer yet another glass of wine.

Learn to recognize true hunger. Before each bite of food, ask: “Am I so hungry that I would eat this even if it were something I didn’t like very much?”

Be especially vigilant around people you love. Research shows that adults tend to eat more in the company of friends and relatives, especially if they are overweight.

Don’t be hard on yourself. It takes about six weeks to form new habits. Be prepared for pitfalls and setbacks. Hitting a plateau is part of the process-the body’s way of readjusting to a reduced food supply. If you stick with it, you’ll start losing again.

Keep a food diary. Know exactly what you eat and why.

Plan ahead

Good planning, not will power, is the key to successful, sustained weight loss.

Plan meals for the next few days to avoid “unconscious eating.” Shop with a detailed grocery list and don’t linger in the supermarket.

Cook extra. Leftovers are a great way to avoid the fast food perils of the food court at lunchtime.

Eat more soup. A container of homemade vitamin-packed soup in the fridge is also excellent “emergency food” for evenings when you’re ravenous but don’t have time to cook.

Set reasonable weight loss goals. Begin by aiming to lose 10 per cent of your body weight. Losing one to two pounds a week is healthy and sustainable.

Start with small steps. Make gradual, manageable changes. Have a low-calorie lunch twice a week. Cook a healthy dinner once a week. Every second day, replace ice cream with fresh fruit.

Or go full throttle. Some behavioural experts say that starting with a strict regime, as opposed to cutting back just a few calories, helps the new habits become ingrained. Then you can ease back after two weeks.

Choose the right strategy for you

A “switch and swap” approach works for some people. Replace margarine or butter on toast with all-fruit spread or unsweetened apple sauce; or use fat-free milk instead of whole milk.

For others, especially those who eat out or travel a lot, the “75 per cent solution” is better. Continue to eat most of the things you like-just less of them. Before beginning each meal, mentally draw a line on the plate to portion out threequarters of what you normally eat. If you always have a muffin for breakfast, eat three-quarters of it. If you eat four slices of pizza at your kid’s hockey game, cut back to three.

Find more nutritious, lower calorie alternatives

Get the most return from each calorie. Eat more vegetables and fruits, fibre-rich whole grains, fatfree and low-fat dairy products and fish and lean meat, as well as unsaturated fats and oils.

Visualize your plate divided into fourths, with two sections for vegetables and fruits, one for grains and starches, and one for a protein.

Eat slowly. It takes about 20 minutes for your brain to register the signal from your stomach that it is full.

Pre-empt restaurant regret. Eat something low in calories- an apple or a bowl of low-fat yogurt-before leaving for the restaurant if you are very hungry. Or drink a glass or two of water while waiting for your food to take an edge off your hunger. And ask the waiter to take away the bread basket.

Move more

Strap on a pedometer. Recording every step will give you a realistic idea of just how active-or inactive-you really are. Wear the pedometer for one week. Add up the daily totals and divide by seven to find out your average number of daily steps. (A daily range of 2,000 to 4,000 steps is considered inactive; 5,000 to 7,000 steps is considered moderately active; 10,000 or more steps is considered very active.)