Drinking water, exercising, and eating organic foods — three sure-fire ways to good health and, hopefully, your weight loss goal. Right? Well, kind of. See if switching to organically grown foods in the hopes of feeling better and weighing less is really the way to go.

It’s a hormone with a somewhat scary sounding name, but it is all too fitting. Ghrelin, known as the “hunger hormone,” can act as a real gremlin to your weight loss efforts. But there are ways to beat it at its own game with basic lifestyle changes.

Chances are, if you’re a dieting veteran, you’ve heard the age-old advice to drink lots of water on your medical weight loss plan. Here, we crack some myths and give you the most up-to-date water wisdom.

Calorie counting helps to ensure that the calories you consume throughout the day do not exceed the number of calories you burn. By keeping calorie intake in line and adding a daily exercise program, you can effectively start losing weight right away.

Getting to the bottom of why you want to eat when you’re not physically hungry is not only important for your medical weight loss program, it’s an integral part of eating in an emotionally intelligent way that will serve you for the rest of your life—helping you keep off the weight and stay healthy.