CONTINUED FROM YESTERDAY

8. Think Big. Restaurants are not required to emblazon nutritional information on the side of their plates, which makes it nearly impossible to guess how many calories are in each meal. Care to venture a guess? Well, if you're like most people, you're not even int he ballpark. A 2006 study published in the American Journal of Public Health found that consumers given an obviously high-calories restaurant meal still underestimated the caloric load by an average of 600 calories. Use that as the new barometer to gauge the heft of your dinner.

9. Think thin. Want to know the easiest way to make a portly pizza? Here's a hint: It has nothing to do with toppings. Nope, the biggest problem facing your pie is the massive boat of oily crust hunkering along the bottom. Your best defense is to order it as thin as you can. Three deep-dish slices from a large Domino's pie, before toppings, will cost you 1,002 calories. Downsize that to a thin crust and you just burned off 420 calories without lifting a finger. Who knew losing weight was so easy?

10. Invite the kids to the grown-up table. Speaking of pizza, how do you rein in the kids' growing affection for cheese and pepperoni? Not by ordering them a personal pan found on so many kids' menus across America. The mini pepperoni at Pizza Hut runs 660 calories, and even the kids' regular crust pizza at Uno Chicago Grill has 780. And it's not just pizza; from 873-calorie "mini" turkey burgers at Ruby Tuesday to 981-calorie nachos at On the Border, kids' menus are often cluttered with problematic foods. Massive portions like this help explain how today's little ones consume 180 more calories per daythan their peers of 1989. That's a lot of girth over the course of childhood. Instead of ordering whole meals, combat the trend by feeding the small appetites with a little off your plate. A couple of slices of your thin pepperoni pizza, for instance, will cost only 400 calories. Half a cheeseburger? About 350 calories. Make this the norm and you'll save calories for them and yourself.

11. Side with sides. Some of the best of restaurant fare can be found in the side items section of the menu. Plates of black beans, roasted seasonal vegetables, and even skewers of "add-on" shrimp are prime fodder for a healthy meal. Stick to two and you can walk out feeling better for not having busted your calorie bank. (Oh, and you'll save cash, too - if you're into that kinda thing.)

12. Personalize your order. Think of the menu as a list of starting points. Any respectable joint in the country - even fast-food purveyors - will tailor to your wants, but only if you voice them. The caloric savings are as big as your imagination. Take a BLT - ask for mustard instead of mayo, then pick off a slice or two of bacon and you've just cut 250 to 400 calories from your sandwich. Use these to help you get the hang of it: Ask them to sub in whole-grain bread on your sandwich at Panera, to make your pasta with whole wheat noodles at Macaroni Grill, and to go light on the oil with your omelet at Denny's. There, wasn't that easy?

13. Order it to go. How many times have you finished your plate just because there wasn't enough to take home? Well, next time, make sure there's enough. Every time you order a full-size dinner entree, ask the server to deliver a to-go box with your food. The food is easier to divide before you start eating, and you won't have to fight the temptation of a half-eaten manicotti sticking in your face.

14. Be a dessert dodger. When the food-industry research company Technomic surveyed 1,500 people on their dessert habits, not a single person reported that they never ate dessert. To contrast, 57 percent said they ate dessert frequently. Of course, there's no problem with an occasional treat, but there is a problem when it takes on half a day's calories to the end of your meal. The average dessert at T.G.I.Friday's, for instance, packs 819 calories. So rather than order your own massive dessert, ask for an extra spoon and take a few bites from your table-mates' orders. You'll be doing everyone a favor.