[Porsche-O-Phile]

Yep, really simplistically - if you burn more than you take in, your body will metabolize itself to make up the defecit (i.e. you lose body mass). If you take in more than you burn, your body will dump some (you'll dump excess overboard in your waste), but will also squirrel away a good amount in fat stores. In other words, you put on weight / fat.

The only way to lose weight is to burn more than you take in, preferably over an extended period of time. Healthy eating habits (have you looked at how many calories / grams of fat are in an average take-out meal?!?!) and exercise all ultimately serve this goal.

For starters, I'd say simply listen to your body. If you're hungry, have a LIGHT snack. Your appetite will shut up in a few minutes after having virtually anything - an apple, a granola bar, a bagel, whatever. If you're not hungry when "mealtime" (social convention) arrives, don't have anything! Or make it very little. And eliminate calories from beverages; these do nothing to alleviate your appetite and are jammed with calories. Drink water, it's better for you anyway. Three cans of coke a day represents over 600 calories - 1/3 of the recommended caloric intake of an adult. Obviously there are slight differences from person to person, but you get the point.