Grazing only works if the main meals are small. For instance, you might divide your breakfast into two halves so that you eat a bowl of cereal with milk at 7am and enjoy a slice of toast with cheese at 10am. Similarly at lunch you could have a salad at 1pm and save a yoghurt or a bread roll to munch on at 4pm.

The downside to grazing is that eating six mini-meals is in reality six opportunities to overeat. We can't just have ONE slice of bread or TWO crispbread we end up having "just one more''. And then wonder why the weight never seems to shift.

If this is you, then a better tactic is to keep a food diary and find when you're hungriest over the day and plan a small snack (or re-arrange your meals) for that pattern. For example, if you know that the afternoon is a low point for you, plan to eat a healthy snack at 3 or 4pm something that will last you until dinner. The rest of your meals can be eaten at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

If you like to pick after your dinner, save a dessert or cheese and crackers to have as a late supper before bed. That way you have something to look forward to so you can steer clear of the chocolate biscuits and sweets. It's all in the timing and that's going to vary from dieter to dieter. The trick is to find a meal pattern that suits you and that you can stick to for long enough.

Catherine Saxelby is a nutritionist and author of Nutrition for Life. Get more healthy eating tips at www.foodwatch.com.au