The truth: Allowing yourself to become ravenous will likely cause you to overeat and make poor food choices, says Dr. Arya Sharma, chair for Cardiovascular Obesity Research and Management at the University of Alberta.

"People think that you need to be hungry to lose weight and that really backfires," says Jessica Begg, a registered dietitian based in Vancouver. When you restrict your calorie intake, your metabolism slows down in response to your hunger. Hence the much-talked-about yo-yo diet syndrome.

Rather than restricting your diet, change it up, Begg suggests. "The best way to lose weight is to add things into your diet rather than cutting things back."

Eating more fruits and vegetables at meals will help you offset higher-calorie foods in your diet and keep you feeling fuller longer.