If you change nothing more in your daily regimen than just doubling your intake of fruits and vegetables, you’ll be on your way to losing weight, says nutritionist Elizabeth Somer. Sure, it seems like this move would only add calories, but Somer notes that once you start gobbling up extra produce, you’re almost guaranteed to eat less of your usual (fattening) fare.

2. Don’t guesstimate portion size

We rarely estimate our calorie intake correctly, says Brian Wansink, professor of marketing and nutritional science at Cornell University and author of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think. One way around this is to stick to the recommended serving size or eat individually packaged items. Also, toss the oversize dishes and bowls and big eating utensils in your kitchen: They can make portions look deceptively small.

3. Don’t ban snacks

Going too long without food is a recipe for a binge when you finally sit down at the table. Snacking “bridges the hunger gap between meals,” says Heidi Skolnik, co-author of The Reverse Diet: Lose 20, 50, 100 Pounds or More by Eating Dinner for Breakfast and Breakfast for Dinner. “Plan your snacks so you’ll choose healthful ones, like celery and peanut butter, or an apple and string cheese.”

4. Don’t leave home without a food stash

When you’re trying to eat less, always keeping food with you may seem counterintuitive. But it’s actually the best way to prevent straying from your diet, according to nutritionist Elizabeth Somer, author of 10 Habits That Mess Up a Woman’s Diet. After all, vending machines are never filled with baby carrots or fat-free yogurt!

5. Don’t fall prey to misleading labels

We all know to cut back on nachos when we’re watching our waistline. But beware of the sneakier places in which bad ingredients can lurk. Your breakfast cereal claims it’s packed with vitamins? It could contain a huge amount of sugar, too, making you feel hungry again very quickly. Always read the fine print on labels, even when the “big print” claims the food is healthy.

6. Don’t skip meals

You need (at least!) three meals a day to lose weight. When you nibble infrequently, your body goes into starvation mode and may actually hang on to fat. And everything you’ve heard about eating breakfast to lose weight is absolutely true, says Skolnik. Distribute your calories so that you’re eating more food earlier in the day when you’re active and therefore burning a higher number of calories.

7. Don’t eat more just because you exercised

Working out is essential to any effective weight-loss plan, but it’s not a blank check to overeat. In fact, research shows that exercise alone will not produce significant weight loss, according to Cathy Moxley, author of The Busy Mom’s Ultimate Fitness Guide. It has to be combined with a downsized diet to make a real difference on the scale.

8. Don’t skimp on sleep

You may think that getting up extra early to go to the gym is more important than getting your full eight hours of shut-eye, but scientists would disagree. A Columbia University research team found that people who got less than seven hours of sleep a night were 23 percent more likely to be obese. Sleep deprivation seems to throw off the hormones that keep our appetites in check.

9. Don’t weigh yourself obsessively

Stepping on the scale is an important part of losing weight, sure. “But the problem with weighing yourself constantly,” explains David Katz, a professor of public health at Yale University and author of The Way to Eat: A Six-Step Path to Lifelong Weight Control, “is that it fixates attention on weight versus health.”

Weight can fluctuate from day to day, even from hour to hour, and the number on the scale doesn’t tell the whole story. Monitoring how a particular piece of clothing — that doesn’t allow any stretchy give — fits is a better gauge to how you’re doing.

10. Don’t cut out your favorite dishes

Cherry pie? OK. French fries? Sure. Don’t eliminate your all-time favorite treat when dieting — eating beloved foods now and then will make you feel satisfied, not deprived, says nutritionist Connie Guttersen, Ph.D., author of The Sonoma Diet. Just stick to a few spoonfuls so you don’t cancel out all your hard work.

The exception: Avoid using your favorite comfort foods as rewards, or to cheer yourself up. It’s better to indulge when you’re feeling emotionally balanced because you’ll be less likely to inhale extra calories in response to your emotional ups and downs.

11. Don’t say you’re on a diet!

The word is inaccurate: “It rings of making only temporary nutritional changes,” says Wansink. “Plus, the word ‘diet’ is so forbidding. Saying ‘I’m on a diet’ is like saying, ‘I’m in prison.’” Instead, think of your new eating style as a healthy behavioral change.

So the next time someone tries to pass you a towering slice of chocolate layer cake, remind yourself that you’re eating only a few spoonfuls because it’s better for your entire body — not only your waistline.