Slash calories by ditching these habits.(Photo: Shutterstock)

Decades ago, around the time of Steven Tyler’s last haircut, a completely wrong-headed idea started being passed around America’s dinner tables: Eating fat makes you fat. And so we made buying and ordering low-fat foods a popular dining habit. Problem solved!

Wrong. Eating fat won’t make you fat, any more than eating money will make you rich. Calories make you fat, and most “low-fat” or “fat-free” foods actually have just as many calories as their full-fat versions, because of all the added sugar and chemicals needed to make them palatable. And there’s no debate on this one: Since we made “cut down on fat” our favorite food craze roughly 30 years ago, the U.S. obesity rate has doubled. Among children, it has tripled. That’s a failed food policy if ever there was one.

It’s just one of many habits we have that are secretly making us fat. Fortunately, we’ve figured out how to turn these “get fat” habits into a “slim-down” habits, starting today, compliments of new research from Zero Belly Diet. All you need is a pinch of resolve and a few new routines. Here are the 10 habits you can replace right now.

Get Fat Habit #10: Using the DVR

One of the worst inventions for our waistlines may be TV-on-demand, which allows us to watch shows like The Walking Dead when we should be dead asleep. According to Wake Forest researchers, dieters who sleep five hours or less put on 2½ times more belly fat, while those who sleep more than eight hours pack on only slightly less than that. And a University of Vermont study found that overweight participants who reduced their TV time by just 50 percent burned an additional 119 calories a day on average. That’s an automatic 12-pound annual loss!

Zero Belly Slimdown: Turn off the tube and other electronics by 11, and shoot for an average of six to seven hours of sleep per night—the optimal amount for weight control And maximize your fat burn while you sleep with these essential 14 Ways to Wake Up With Zero Belly.

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Get Fat Habit #9: Eating Free Restaurant Food

Breadsticks, biscuits, and chips and salsa may be complementary at some restaurants, but that doesn’t mean you won’t pay for them. Every time you eat one of Olive Garden’s free breadsticks or Red Lobster’s Cheddar Bay Biscuits, you’re adding an additional 150 calories to your meal. Eat three over the course of dinner and that’s 450 calories. That’s also roughly the number of calories you can expect for every basket of tortilla chips you get at your local Mexican restaurant. (Do this just twice a week and enjoy 13 extra pounds of flab this year—on the house!) What’s worse, none of these calories comes paired with any redeeming nutritional value. Consider them junk food on steroids.

Zero Belly Slimdown: Pregame your restaurant meal with an apple or half an avocado so you don’t enter the restaurant starving; then simply ask the waiter to keep the free food for the other suckers.

Get Fat Habit #8: Ordering the Combo Meal

A study in the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing shows that compared to ordering a la carte, you pick up a hundred or more extra calories by opting for the “combo” or “value meal.“ Why? Because when you order items bundled together, you’re likely to buy more food than you want.

Zero Belly Slimdown: You’re better off ordering your food piecemeal. That way you won’t be influenced by pricing schemes designed to hustle a few more cents out of your pocket—and stick a few hundred more calories under your belt. To have your burger and slim down, too, try out these exclusive family-friendly Best Burgers for Belly Fat Loss.

Get Fat Habit # 7: Buying Skim Milk

While you get a small calorie savings, buying skim milk also robs your body of the fat it needs to absorb essential vitamins from, say, your cereal or smoothie. And dairy products with 0% fat, like yogurt, are usually loaded with sugar, which just leads to rebound hunger. Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham found that meals that limited carbohydrates to 43 percent were more filling and had a milder effect on blood sugar than meals with 55 percent carbohydrates. That means you’ll store less body fat and be less likely to eat more later.

Zero Belly Slimdown: Opt for 2% to keep the calorie savings and boost your nutrition levels.

Get Fat Habit #6: Hitting “Delete” on Nutrition News

Yes, we’re all bombarded with news posts 24/7, and it’s hard to know what’s really important in the midst of all the breaking Kardashian developments and bizarre pet videos. But Kim and Kanye aren’t going to help you lose weight; pros are. When Canadian researchers sent diet and exercise advice to more than 1,000 people, they found that the recipients began eating smarter and working more physical activity into their daily routines. Not surprisingly, the habits of the non-recipients didn’t budge.

Zero Belly Slimdown: Subscribe today to my Eat This, Not That newsletter and get motivational weight-loss tricks delivered right to your inbox, for free.

Get Fat Habit #5: Facing the Buffet

Cornell researchers found that when eating at a buffet-style restaurant, obese diners were 15 percent more likely to choose seats with a clear view of the food.

Zero Belly Slimdown: Choose a seat that places your back toward the spread. It will help you avoid fixating on the food and feeling the need for seconds (or thirds, or forths).

Get Fat Habit #4: Eating too Quickly

If your body’s software has one major programming flaw, this is it: It takes 20 minutes for your stomach to tell your brain that it’s had enough. A study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that slow eaters took in 66 fewer calories per meal, but compared to their fast-eating peers, they felt like they had eaten more. What’s 66 calories, you ask? If you can do that at every meal, you’ll lose more than 20 pounds a year!

Zero Belly Slimdown: Try putting your fork down between bites. This simple habit will inspire you to chew more slowly and give your brain time to figure out when you’re full. If slowing down just isn’t possible with your schedule, shed pounds anyway with these 9 Ways to Lose Weight When You’re Crazy Busy.

Get Fat Habit #3: Ordering Last

If you want to take charge of your weight, take charge of your restaurant order. A University of Illinois study found that groups of people tend to order similarly, especially when forced to say their order out loud. That’s one reason why research from the New England Journal of Medicine indicates that when a friend becomes obese, it ups your chance of obesity by 57 percent.

Zero Belly Slimdown: If you order first at the restaurant, and order healthfully, others at the table will follow suit.

Get Fat Habit #2: Not Drinking Enough Water

In one University of Utah study, dieting participants who were instructed to drink two cups of water before each meal lost 30 percent more weight than their thirsty peers. And you can magnify the effect by adding ice. German researchers found that six cups of cold water a day could prompt a metabolic boost that incinerates 50 daily calories. That’s enough to shed five pounds a year!

Zero Belly Slimdown: Keep a pitcher of ice water on your desk at work, and make it a habit to pour a glass every time you take a brief work break. That little habit can make a huge difference for your waistline. And if you want an added weight loss boost, switch to one of the magical 5 Teas That Melt Fat Fast.

Get Fat Habit #1: Shopping at Big Box Stores

According to a recent study in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, consumers purchase fewer fresh foods and and whole grains and more sugary, salty processed foods when they shop in superstores.

Zero Belly Slimdown: Be an adventurous shopper. A separate study found that an increase in health food stores reduces the prevalence of obesity in the surrounding neighborhood by 11 percent.

AND FOR 9 MORE HABITS THAT MAKE YOU FAT, CLICK HERE!

More from Zero Belly Diet!

The 9 Best Flat-Belly Superfoods

The Best Weight-Loss Smoothie Ever

11 Foods That Turn Off Your Belly Fat Genes

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