Moving Toward My Best Life, Bob Greene Style

Finally. A common sense approach to weight-loss and body management brought to us by Bob Greene, author of The Best-Life Diet. Instead of sweeping changes that promise to revamp a dieter's body from tip to toe, Greene encourages the mastery of simple, doable, and very, very small changes to food choices, habits, and movement patterns. The basic philosophy behind the diet plan is to identify a few small tweaks each month, master them, and then move on to the next set of minor adjustments.

In all honesty, I can't say that I am one of those women who has tried everything to lose weight. I've never attempted anything like a grapefruit diet or a chicken soup diet or anything that relied heavily on any single food group.

I have, however, attempted to cut certain food groups out of my diet in the past, with little or no effect. In the late 90's, when I first started struggling with my weight, I tried to eat little or no fat throughout the day. I kept a food journal, and my goal was to eat less than 10 grams of fat on any given day. Ridiculous, I now know. Our bodies need quite a bit more fat than that just to feel satisfied. If we don't get that, I've learned, we're likely to binge later because our bodies are going to believe they are hungry. I still try not to over-do the fats, but I'm not hyper-focused on that one nutritional category. Best-Life philosophy: Work certain unhealthy-fat foods out of your diet, including trans fats, fried foods, and high dairy fats.

I've tried meal replacement shakes of a couple of different varieties. I've never been a huge fan of breakfast, so drinking a "shake" in the morning wasn't really hard, but I always struggled with drinking my lunch. I felt like I was starving to death, and I struggled with increased headaches and lower blood sugar. To beat that, I simply didn't lose any weight. Maybe it was because I was too tired from the lack of caloric intake to exercise, or maybe it was because these liquid diets just don't work for anyone, but whatever the case, they didn't do anything for me. Best-Life philosophy: Your body needs breakfast. Eat something sensible to get your motor running. Then, eat a snack before lunch. Eat actual food for lunch, followed by another snack, and then dinner. Don't let your system get too empty, or you'll over-eat once you finally come within range of anything edible.

My weight gain began in my early twenties. I'm now in my early thirties, and I have only had one truly successful period of weight loss. I made a few small changes in my eating habits - like not eating two hours before bedtime, drinking plenty of water, cutting back on sweets. And I fell in love with bellydance - the only exercise that I've ever really loved. (All those changes are right in line with Best-Life strategy, by the way.) I lost 35 pounds between February and July that year, and I felt fabulous. Why didn't it last? Well, I got pregnant with my second baby, and I fell off the sensible-eating-and-regular-exercise wagon after he was born.

That baby is nearly five years old now, and I am very motivated to lose all those pounds I've gained since he was born. I'm one of millions of Americans who fall into the "obese" category once the BMI is tallied. I started making my own plans to reshape my body, and I started with my thinking. I'm thrilled to see that Bob Greene recommends that same inside-out approach to the whole-body make-over.