How many times have you tried to lose a few or more pounds by going on a so-called diet? Perhaps you've always - at least since Oprah's first show or the bears won the super bowl - had a bit of a pooch or beer belly, or maybe the weight has just sneaked up in the past few years.

"So," you might ask, "how does one get to and maintain a healthy weight?"

In the worst case, you've been diagnosed with a life-threatening problem - anything from high blood pressure to borderline diabetes - and your condition has been brought on or made worse by an unhealthy weight. You've seen the trends, and you've read the articles - how yo-yo dieting isn't really good for you. In fact, only about 5 percent of dieters hit their goal weight, and of those, more than 70 percent gain back more weight than they lost.

Traditional dieting -- no matter whether it's low carb, low fat, or something in between -- has taught us that to lose weight, we have to deprive ourselves of good-tasting foods, count calories, or keep track of everything we eat.

In their simplest form, diets promise that, if we eat less, we'll lose weight. "If it really worked that way, then diets wouldn't fail," says Michael Roizen, M.D., Humana's Medical Advisor for Consumer Health. "That way of thinking would have us believe that we all must be a bunch of rebellious hellions with mayo-covered lips and belt-busting bellies who don't feel like following a few simple instructions."

In his best selling book YOU on a Diet: The Owner's Manual for Waist Management, Dr. Roizen and his co-author,Mehmet Oz, M.D., indicate just how lucky we are to live in a time when the scientific world has started to unlock the biological mysteries that have caused us to store fat and gain weight. Their plan avoids the dangerous yo-yo cycle of weight loss and weight gain that so often accompany traditional dieting. "You can and you need to use food like a martial arts expert would - to never be hungry and to make you thinner. We believe you should really adopt what Mehmet's daughter calls a 'LiveIt' - something you can live with for the rest of your life."

"The reality is that food deprivation for the body is much like holding your breath under water. No matter how hard you try, something forces you to the surface gasping for air," says Dr. Roizen. "In much the same way, dieting causes your body to gasp -- or gulp-- for food."

Measure Your waist

"Focus on waist, rather than weight, management,"says Dr. Roizen."Because of its proximity to vital organs, belly fat is the most dangerous fat you can carry, and it is one of the strongest predictors of health risks (heart disease, diabetes, and others) associated with obesity. ideal waist size is 32 1/2 inches or less for women and 35 inches or less for men. The risks really start to increase when a woman's waist -- measured at the belly button when sucking in -- exceeds 37 inches or a man's 40 inches, and the risk is equivalent at age 55 to breast cancer at a waist of 41, or prostate cancer at a waist of 44. So a trim waist is no more a cosmetic issue than the color of the wiring inside the walls of your home is.

Start Walking

You really need only two things to build muscle, burn fat, slim your waist, subtract years, boost heart health, and reduce stress -- and both are free: your body and the know-how to use it. Start by walking 30 minutes a day. No excuses. "It's as important as daily sleep, and call someone after you do it -- that support person helps rally you and helps you be accountable to yourself," says Dr. Roizen.

Find support

It's really much easier to lose weight and maintain a healthy weight when you enlist a friend or family member to support you. You can also find an online friend at www.realage.com.

Dump Your Fridge

If it isn't in your home, you're less (much less) likely to eat it. So clean out your fridge and your cabinets (yes, your hiding places too). If one of the first five ingredients on the label is a saturated fat (from a four-legged animal or palm or coconut oil); a hydrogenated fat; a simple sugar (ends in -ose, etc.); a syrup (like malt, maple, or corn); or any grain except 100 percent whole grain, dump it. And never buy these products again.

Refill Your cupboards

From there, make healthy food choices based on what you already know:

  • Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and only lean cuts of meat.
  • Drink plenty of water.
  • Eat often - five or six times throughout the day - so you always feel satisfied; slipping into starvation mode makes your body want to store fat.
  • Eat plenty of fiber in the morning; it helps control afternoon cravings.

Build Muscle

If you don't keep it up you'll lose muscle and hit a plateau. Once you've walked every day for 30 days, you can begin a strength training workout every other day. You can find a simple 20-minute, gymfree workout online at www.realage.com or join a local SilverSneakers® Fitness Program. To find out more about this fitness center membership, free for Humana Medicare members in many locations, go online and visit www.silversneakers.com or call 800-457-4708 (TDD 800-833-3301). Representatives are available Monday - Sunday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m. EST.

In just two weeks you should be well on your way to a healthy weight, and your waist will probably be two inches smaller.

Ask Dr. Roizen

Q: Sometimes I feel my unhealthy weight is just overwhelming, and it's easier to just give up on weight loss. What would you suggest to help me overcome this lack of motivation and get me started on my way to a healthier weight?
A: There are two first steps that I always suggest. 1) Measure your waist at the belly-button. If it is greater than 37 inches for women and 40 inches for men, you are at risk for dying within the next 10 years. That should be motivation enough for anyone. 2) Then, simply start walking 30 minutes a day. You'll feel better, more energized, and ready to follow through on the other things that will get you to a healthier weight.
Q: Of the fad diets currently "out there," which would you say is the most dangerous and why?
A: Any diet that works and that you can stick with is great. But the best is a 100-calorie-a-day-less plan that you can stay with forever.
Q: What foods would you avoid in order to slow down the aging process?
A: Simple sugars, syrups, trans fats, saturated fats, enriched flour - don't put anything in your mouth that includes one of these among its first five ingredients.

Dr. Michael Roizen is involved in Humana's corporate-wide consumer health strategies for product offerings, including traditional, complementary, and alternative therapies.

Creator of the RealAge concept, Dr. Roizen has written several RealAge books and has most recently teamed up with Mehmet Oz, M.D. to become one of America's most trusted doctor teams. Roizen and Oz are the authors of the bestselling You series (YOU: The Smart Patient, YOU: The Owners Manual, and YOU: On a Diet).

He is Chair of the Division of Anesthesiology, Critical Care Medicine, and Pain Management at the Cleveland Clinic and has been listed as one of the Best Doctors in America since 1989.