A new study reveals that some surprising habit changes, from getting more sleep to letting go of diet soda, can inch you toward your weight-loss goal.

1- Eat a big breakfast

There is more proof that breakfast may be the healthiest meal of the day. A recent study found that people who skip breakfast are more likely to be overweight and to have dangerous plaque buildup in their arteries, which makes them prone to cardiovascular diseases.

2- Drink one less soda per week

If you are looking for a starting point for meaningful weight loss, try skipping sugary drinks. People who cut out about one can per week gained about a pound less over two years in a recent study, compared with those who didn’t change their soda habits. Cutting back on soda could be particularly beneficial for people who are already struggling with their weight.

3 - Eat like an Italian

The Mediterranean diet continues to be hot, and for good reason. Although it is not a low fat diet, it has been shown to help people lose weight even when they aren’t counting calories. This diet is more of a general eating pattern and lifestyle. At large, the eating plan is rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, olive oil and lean sources of animal protein. It is low in red meat and other saturated fats, and it contains few processed foods or refined sugars.

4 - Exercise to keep weight off

A healthy diet is the secret to losing weight, but exercise may be the key to keeping it off. Published recently in the journal Obesity, a study tracked 14 former Biggest Loser contestants to determine how some of them kept weight off after the reality show. Physical activity, the researchers determined, was the clear answer even though diet, not exercise, was shown to help the contestants lose weight in the first place. Exercise, the latest study suggests, may counteract that effect by helping people burn enough calories to keep weight off as long as they do enough of it.

5 - Get a good night’s sleep

Sleeping at least seven hours a night may help people eat less sugar, according to a new study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Researchers at King’s College London recruited 42 healthy adults who slept between five and seven hours a night and asked them to wear sleep trackers and keep food diaries. Half of the volunteers had a consultation with a sleep psychologist about why sleep is important and easy ways to improve sleep hygiene, like avoiding caffeine and electronic devices before bed, establishing a relaxing bedtime routine and not going to bed full or hungry. The other half in the study weren’t counselled and kept their regular schedules.

After four weeks, 86% of the people who’d had sleep counselling increased their average time spent in bed, with increases ranging from 52 min. to 88 min. (among the people who did not receive a consultation, there were no significant changes). As an added perk, the people who extended their sleep patterns consumed, on average, 10 fewer grams of added sugar per day at the end of the study, compared with the beginning.

6 - Eat more slowly

Thoroughly chewing your food isn’t just polite, it may also make you feel fuller and help control weight gain. In one study, a team of researchers tracked a group of people for eight years and found that those who ate slowly gained less weight during the study than fast eaters. Other research has found that chewing your food well increases the number of calories your body burns during digestion: about 10 extra calories for a 300 calorie meal. Eating fat, on the other hand, barely burns any calories and has been linked to an increased risk for metabolic syndrome, a cluster of health problems that includes excess abdominal fat.

7 - Don’t worry about workout weight gain

After starting a new fitness regimen, it can be frustrating to find out that you have put on a few pounds. Unfortunately, unless you have been power lifting for weeks, it is probably not muscle. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s fat. Water is behind most short term weight changes. “When you start working out and you’re sweating, your body understands that its volume of fluid is not at the level it typically would be,” says Michele Olson, an adjunct professor of sport science at Huntingdon College, Alabama. To prevent dehydration, it responds by storing extra water, which can cause a few pounds of weight gain. Conversely, you may drop a few pounds if you quit exercising.

8 - Dump fake sugar

A recent research involving more than 400,000 people linked artificial sweeteners to weight gain. People who regularly consumed them had a higher risk of weight gain, obesity, diabetes and other issues. More research is needed to determine what role, if any, artificial sweeteners play in health problems like these. But some experts believe they may make people crave sweeter foods more often or even interfere with the way the body metabolises real sugar.