Weekend-Proof Your Diet

SATURDAY: Up Late Watching a Movie

It's past your usual bedtime, and you're on the prowl in the pantry. "If it's four hours since dinner, you're going to be hungry," Lichten says. "Your body is looking for a quick energy boost." Here come the midnight munchies!

Do crunches. When you've got a hankering for chips, a banana isn't going to cut it. But chomping on something equally noisy will, Beller says. Crisp veggies like carrots, sugar snap peas, and jicama make an especially satisfying sound. Or keep crackling with light microwave popcorn; three cups will cost you less than 100 calories.

Save the Oscar winner for prime time. Watch a show that's really engrossing and you'll eat up to 44 percent more than if you weren't distracted, a new study found. "When you're not paying attention to the way a food tastes or smells, the sensory satiety center in your brain isn't triggered, and you'll keep eating," explains Alan Hirsch, MD, neurological director of the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago. So watch that half-hour sitcom on your DVR instead.