Take a picture of that jumbo bag of M&Ms and chances are you won't want to eat it. Turn every meal and snack into a photo shoot, and you'll become much more aware of what you're eating. You might lose a few too. Sari Harrar reports in "The Oprah Magazine" about this subtle strategy and two others that can affect the numbers on your scale.

First things first: Break out your camera and start snapping away. That's what 43 women and men did for one week as part of a University of Wisconsin–Madison study (they also kept a written food journal) and here's what the self-proclaimed healthy eaters learned: Their portions were too big, their meals were missing fruits and veggies and their snacks were filled with calories. Because they were shocked by what they saw (remember, they thought their food choices were already pretty healthy), they stopped taking pictures and started eating something else instead. This might work for you too, and it's really quite simple. Use the camera in your cell phone, and you'll have images to view immediately. You can also save your photos and review them with a registered dietitian, who can advise you for the long haul.

Another slimming trick: Don't relax your diet and exercise efforts on weekends, because it can offset what you've accomplished all week long. We all cheat on weekends little bit, but it often gets out of hand, and researchers say weekend eating is a problem for most everyone. So is loafing. While physical activity tends to increase on Saturdays, it's lower than average on Sundays.

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Do you have that one favorite photo that captures your body in the perfect light, rendering you almost supermodel-like? Yea, I don't either. But I do have a few I'd claim as pretty flattering. There's the one with my head tilted just right, a pretty nice smile, my hair moving slightly in the wind. And one of me standing at my 20-year class reunion, wearing a black top, slimming, long pants and heels. Then there's the one of me on my kids' swing, thighs all pushed together and looking pretty close to chunky, the one featuring several chins and the one taken just prior to my tummy tuck surgery in April -- the "before" picture detailing every roll of extra skin I am so thankful to have gotten rid of.

Rumor has it Barbra Streisand will only be photographed or interviewed in a way that shows her "good" side. Have one of those? If not, you might consider a healthy diet and a little vigorous exercise so you can score one. Part of the reason I eat well and exercise well is so that all my sides look good. Not sure that's entirely possible. I think for most us, some sides will always look better than others. But it's certainly worth a try, and I bet our trainer friend Fitz would tell us that with the right amount of hard work, we can have as many hot sides as we desire.

Today's the big day -- the first day of a brand new year. No better time than now to prep yourself for perfect future photos. Click on the America Takes It Off: Shrink a Size badge below to get started. Right now, though, you might want to fake it till you make it.

Pictures don't lie. Or so they say. (Who exactly is "they," by the way?) There's no doubt when you've got a little extra in the pound department, it's usually all too apparent in those scrapbook snapshots. The only real way to look slim in photos is to, well, get slim. Or you can fake it till you make it.

Pay attention to the camera position to hide that double chin, say the experts at Real Simple magazine. You want the lens at your eye level or above -- if the lens is below eye level, then extra chub is sure to show. Bend at the knees if you must to keep on an even plane with your photographer (unless it's a full-body shot and then you're just out of luck) and if you're much taller than your photog, sit on a chair and look up toward the camera. One more thing: Project your chin out an inch or so more than normal.

Sounds comfortable, right? Now just add a little flabby-arm tape and you're all set. A healthy diet and exercise is looking pretty attractive at the moment, isn't it?

If you've got the whole clan assembled for the holidays, chances are you'll be snapping a few shots of the group before, during and after your ginormous Christmas feast. But nobody likes bad photos of themselves -- you know, the ones where you have more chins than a Chinese phone book. You want to eat the turkey -- not look like one.

Female First has some tips on making your chin area look as flattering as possible in your holiday snaps, including:

• Tricks of the make-up trade. Some subtle shading around the jawline can make a world of difference.
  
• A good haircut works wonders too. Accentuate the chin with a bob or long layers.
  
• Elongate your neck when the photo is being snapped, sit or stand up straight and press your tongue to the roof of your mouth.
  
• If you're doing a solo photo, get it taken from slightly above and to one side -- then follow the previous steps.
  

Got any tips of your own?

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It's just a matter of fact that the pages of our magazines are filled with retouched photos of celebrities and models. Too bad, really. Even if we logically know that Jessica Alba's impossibly skinny waist is a result of Photoshop magic, it makes it difficult to look at pictures of ourselves and not wish for something a little different. So it made me wonder ... if you could have any body part airbrushed in your photos, what would it be? Here's how you responded:

• Removing a double chin is what 2.5 percent of you wished for.
• A smaller butt got 12.5 percent of your vote.
• Thinner thighs were on 25 percent of your wish lists.
• A better stomach is what a whopping 47.5 percent of you would like.
• And 12.5% of you like yourself just the way you are.

I understand the wish for improved features. If the gorgeous Jessica Alba can be improved, I guess we all have room for improvement. But I can't help but wish that more that 12.5 percent had voted for not being retouched at all.

Keeping track of what you eat is one of the simplest ways you can reduce your caloric intake. But if you're like me, you're probably just too darn busy (or lazy) to make note of everything you put in your mouth.

A simple fix? Get your camera and take a photo of what you're eating. That way, you have visual proof of just how much you're stuffing down your throat, and facing the truth is the first step to changing your habits. Becoming your own 'Food Photographer' can really work, according to this article from The Daily Mail. In studies, participants noted that keeping track of what they ate in pictures made them think more carefully about their food and portion choices.

Luckily, you don't need to lug around your expensive camera to do this either -- with the advent of super-convenient camera phones, your own visual food diary is only a click away.

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Find a way to incorporate fitness into your hobbies.

Miley Cyrus, photographed by famous photographer Annie Leibovitz, graces the cover of the new Vanity Fair magazine. Cyrus might consider this an honor, a privilege, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Mostly, though, the 15-year-old singing and acting sensation considers it an embarrassment.

Appearing to be topless, covered in only a blanket, Cyrus says of the photo: "I took part in a photo shoot that was supposed to be 'artistic' and now, seeing the photographs and reading the story, I feel so embarrassed. I never intended for any of this to happen and I apologize to my fans who I care so deeply about."

Defending the star is The Disney Channel, home of Cyrus' Hannah Montana show. Disney folks say a situation was created to deliberately manipulate this young girl in order to sell magazines. Vanity Fair spokespeople say this isn't so and report that parents were on the set all day and everyone saw the digital photo before it was published. A source close to the Cyrus family says "nope," the parents left before the photograph was taken.

What's your take on the Cyrus cover shot?

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Jennifer Love Hewitt is happily talking about those bikini photos the media recently spread about, the photos they used to criticize her alleged weight gain.

Yep, the 29-year-old actress is happy. Happy that she is engaged to Scottish actor Ross McCall. Happy that he loves her just the way she is. Happy she isn't worried about how she looks.

If Love Hewitt does anything about her weight, it will be for health reasons only.

"If I do work out more it will be for my health, so I can live a long time and we can have kids and be happy together until we are in our 80s."

I'm happy for her. How about you?

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Back in September That's Fit first mentioned the controversial Italian advertising campaign featuring a 68 pound anorexic model, and now it's making headlines again: almost all (there's only 1 left in Rome) of the images have been pulled due to claims that they don't follow Italian advertising code of conduct standards. The photographer, Oliviero Toscani, is calling the move "censorship" and says he's considering legal action for moral and economic damages.

I personally don't think the ads should have been pulled, but regardless they've already made an enormous impact.

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I thank my lucky stars every day that I'm not famous and don't have to endure embarrassing photos and headlines like this one from US magazine (via the Skinny Website.) The picture of Valerie Bertinelli in an unflattering bikini is splashed with the headline Valerie's Diet Disaster. Apparently, while she looked smoking hot on July 8 after supposedly losing 30 lbs (like she's pictured here), the photo snapped on July 17 shows a much frumpier Valerie, who clearly has not lost 30 lbs. What's the deal?

US Magazine thinks they're on to her secret -- Spanx, those body-shaping spandex things that you wear under your outfits. I think I know another secret to why she looks awful in the bathing suit photo -- it's taken at a really unflattering angle with unflattering light. Remember the Tyra Banks affair? Maybe it's time we stop being so quick to label someone as fat and realize that we are all horribly unphotogenic at times. Don't you think?

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The weight-loss industry is full of success stories and before and after pictures depicting, on one side, someone who's miserable, overweight and obviously not comfortable in their own skin, and on the other side, someone who's happy, confident and a whole lot skinnier. The 'before' picture isn't just good at showing the extra weight -- a lot of times, it's absolutely hideous -- characterized by unflattering light, ill-fitted clothes and a sour disposition -- and I think this is done on purpose the make the 'after' picture look so much better. The difference between the two pictures is usually pretty obvious, and we're trained to favour the after picture and look to it as inspiration for our own weight-loss journey.

But my question is: Do these pictures actually inspire you, or do they make you feel worse, like you'll never achieve that bubbly, cheerful 'after' picture you're meant to be? Personally, I find them inspiring, because I figure if that unhappy lump in the 'before' picture can turn their life around, then certainly a confident, happy person like myself can lose the extra few pounds.

What do you think?

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