Whenever I'm on a diet and I learn a new tip or trick that has helped someone else be successful, I get pretty excited. It's almost like buying a brand new shirt...except way better, because it's the gift that keeps on giving.

I, personally, don't have many tips and tricks that I can share with you, unfortunately, but I thought maybe if I write this post, a few people might want to share some of their tips with each other.

A few that I know for cutting calories and keeping weight down include:

-ripping the inside out of your bread and bagels (thought of this post this morning as I was eating my ripped out bagel :) ). You get the taste of the bread/bagel with less than half the calories.

-drinking water with lemon/lime/ginger instead of soda. I'm not exactly sure if all the myths about soda-even diet-being so bad for you, but I know water is nothing but good for you, so by adding a little flavor to your water, you get the illusion of a non-water drink, with the water benefits.

-eat your big meals earlier-that way you have more time to burn the calories off

-put less food on your plate. By portioning less food on your plate, you are less likely to eat more food!

-frozen bananas and grapes. Eat these frozen treats instead of ice cream (the bananas actually taste a lot like ice cream when they are frozen).

These are somewhat scattered dieting tips, but I live by most of the above after hearing them from other sources. The tips have also definitely helped me lower my calorie intake while dieting, which means they have been succesful for me so far.

What do YOU think? What are some dieting tips that have worked for you that you can share with us buddies? ;)