(U.S. News & World Report) The advice for losing those stubborn extra pounds seems so simple: Eat less, and exercise more. But as anyone who's ever tried to lose a few pounds knows, putting that advice into practice is very tough. Cut back on calories too much, and you're overwhelmed by hunger and your metabolism may slow. Exercise like crazy, and the hunger pangs you feel a few hours later may trigger you to eat back all you've burned off—and then some.

And let's be honest, no one really wants to keep track of every bite of food…

Adriane Fugh-Berman, a physician and associate professor of complementary and alternative medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center …recommends:

1. Eat hot soup before a meal. Research suggests doing so before lunch or dinner helps people eat less…

2. Don't eat heavily just before bed… Fugh-Berman says she has seen preliminary research suggesting that taking in sweet, high-fat foods (ice cream, anyone?) right before bedtime appears to decrease calorie burning and increase fat storage during sleep…

3. Live like a city dweller. People who live in cities weigh less than those who live in the suburbs probably because of "incidental walking," says Fugh-Berman. "Those few blocks that you walk to grab lunch or run an errand really do add up," she says. Plus, the daily activity is incorporated into your life so it doesn't feel like exercise…

4. Try a dash of chili pepper: If you can stomach it, try a chili-laced appetizer right before your meal. It "appears to have appetite suppressant activity," says Fugh-Berman…

5. Limit caloric beverages…

6. Weigh yourself once a day.

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Community: But watch for salt content, if you eat canned soups.

I can't weigh myself once a day. Maybe I'll be able to when I reach my ideal weight, but for now I'm weighing myself once a month. Otherwise, I get discouraged. I'm trying to concentrate on eating healthy and exercising for health reasons, and de-emphasizing the weight loss aspect.

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