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" Losing the final few pounds is tough, isn&amp;#x27;t it? Whether it&amp;#x27;s 5, 8 or 10. It&amp;#x27;s like those last pounds stubbornly refuse to leave your bod even when you seem to be working so hard! I&amp;#x27;ve been doing a LOT of thinking about this lately, because I&amp;#x27;m in the very same boat. Here are four strategies to try...**** 1. If you go to Starbucks, don&amp;#x27;t get a snack with your coffee. Newsflash: Your latte is your snack. I know, this may not sound like weight loss rocket science, but you know how appealing the pastries in that case are, right? And when it&amp;#x27;s snack time, who doesn&amp;#x27;t want a cute little slice of pumpkin loaf or a little cookie to go along with your latte--especially when your pal just got a croissant. Resist! The snack is overkill. You don&amp;#x27;t need it. Let your latte be your snack--it can hold you over until your next meal. Personal note: I&amp;#x27;ve put myself on restriction from ordering snacks at cafes--even when they&amp;#x27;re seemingly harmless/low fat. I don&amp;#x27;t need them. And if I really want to lose these final pounds? I really don&amp;#x27;t need them. 2. Take a fresh look at your portion sizes. I know, you&amp;#x27;re already a portion-size expert, but portions are sneaky--especially when you&amp;#x27;re hungry. Think &amp;quot;portion, portion, portion&amp;quot; every time you&amp;#x27;re dishing yourself up a meal. Make it your new mantra. This helped me the other night when I was ravenously hungry and piling veggie enchiladas on my plate. Did I really need two? No. I kept it to one. (Here are some pre-portioned snacks you might like.) 3. Get back in touch with your hunger. I&amp;#x27;m not telling you to go hungry or anything, but a little hunger isn&amp;#x27;t going to hurt you either. It&amp;#x27;s a signal that your body is dipping into fat reserves. So instead of running to the fridge the second you start to feel a hunger pang, maybe ride it out a little bit, especially if you&amp;#x27;ve already eaten a big, healthy lunch and you want to hold out until your 6:00 dinner date. It won&amp;#x27;t work for everyone, but it&amp;#x27;s something you could try. (See this Vitamin G post about &amp;quot;zen eating&amp;quot;--it could also help.) 4. Maybe ditch the wine for a while. Cocktails are caloric. Depending on what you&amp;#x27;re drinking--a few glasses with dinner could tack on 200, even 500 calories to your daily total. Eek! Or, if you still want something to sip with dinner, do what a friend of mine does: Make light wine! (Wine snobs, you might want to avert your eyes.) Mix half white wine with half sparkling or mineral water. P.S. Looking for a nighttime hunger buster? Check out this trick. What are you doing to lose the final pounds? Or, what worked for you? Get Glamour Wherever You Go! Follow us on Twitter. Friend us on Facebook. Add us to your Google homepage. Photo: iStock"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/blogs/vitamin-g/2009/06/weight-loss-secrets-4-new-idea>