Ah, the holidays. A time for mistletoe, merriment and — crash diets. That’s right, squeezing into those party dresses often leads us on a rampage to shed pounds. “But these diets can’t be sustained over time,” says Terry Maratos-Flier, M.D., professor of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Instead, studies show that a few diet-free tweaks can actually lead to permanent weight loss. Here, seven science-backed slimmers!

Put it in writing

Keeping a food diary is one of the best ways to keep track of the calories you’ve consumed, since you’re recording every morsel you put in your mouth, maintains Gary Foster, Ph.D., director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University in Philadelphia. In fact, a USDA study revealed women who didn’t keep a record underreported their daily intake by 621 calories.
Cuts 4,347 calories / 11/2 lbs.

Make fiber your friend

Not only are fiber-rich foods filling, they can shave off some of the calories you’ve just eaten, report experts at Germany’s University of Kiel. “One gram of fiber can block the absorption of up to 13 calories,” explains nutritionist Brenda Watson, author of The Fiber35 Diet. The reason: Fiber clings to some of the calories we intake, flushing them out as waste. Watson suggests consuming 35 grams of fiber daily.
Cuts 3,185 calories / 1 lb.

Enjoy home cooking

Eating out adds loads of extra calories you could have avoided if you’d stayed home, since butter and oil can lurk in even the healthiest of dishes. Plus, the hefty portions we receive in restaurants can tack on a whopping 530 more calories, according to one recent Pennsylvania State University study.
Cuts 7,420 calories / 2 lbs.

Add in asparagus

This veggie has diuretic properties, so it naturally eliminates extra water weight, says Frederic J. Vagnini, M.D., author of Count Down Your Age. For a fast slim-down, couple eight spears of asparagus with a low-sodium (less than 500 milligrams) diet and 64 ounces of water daily for one week, says Dr. Vagnini.
Cuts 7,000 calories / 2 lbs.

Watch your dishes

Where you place your plates — before and after a meal — dictates how much you’ll eat. Cornell University researchers found that we eat 14 percent less food when we keep serving bowls away from the dinner table and plate our food in the kitchen, out of reaching distance. Leaving dirty dishes around cuts calories, too: When plates are bussed briskly, we tend to go for 28 percent more extra helpings.
Cuts 3,500 calories / 1 lb.

Eat solo

It sounds antisocial, but the more people you dine with, the more likely you are to up your caloric intake, according to research published in Physiology and Behavior. Dinner for two? You’ll eat 35 percent more than you would alone. Dinner with a big family at a table of seven or more — you’ll eat nearly double!
Cuts 4,900 calories / 11/2 lbs.

Sound off

Distractions, like a blaring TV, pack on the pounds. Researchers at Georgia State University found that people ate almost an extra meal’s worth of food when they noshed in front of the boob tube. Since the set can spur mindless munching, try eating without watching.
Cuts 3,500 calories / 1 lb.