A: It's important to know what type of program best suits your lifestyle, tastes, schedule, level of cooking skills and tolerance for regimentation or flexibility. Do you like following a predetermined menu or would you rather choose your own favorite foods and work them into your calorie range? Do you enjoy cooking, or do you eat most of your meals at restaurants and take out? Or do you prefer to reheat frozen dinners in the microwave?

Q: I see what you mean. It really does take some thought.

A: Absolutely. Whether you are following a regimented diet plan such as South Beach or The Zone, or just eating carefully and moderately and using what works best for you, it is important to take 15 to 20 minutes to plan a week's worth of healthy meals, based on the recipes or the food choices given to you in your particular program.

Many of the computer programs like eDiets make this simple by providing a grocery list to go along with the menu for the week.

Q: So, do you recommend writing this into your weekly schedule?

A: Yes. You'll only need 90 minutes to shop and another hour for preparing and cooking if you keep it simple. Put it in your day timer or calendar and treat it as if were an important appointment. You can break it up over a few days, or do it all in one Sunday morning.

Q: Should you go shopping when you're hungry, with your husband, or when it's super busy?

A: No to all three. In fact, don't shop when you're hungry, tired or frustrated! Find a time that works best for you and when you won't feel rushed and under the gun.

And find a supermarket you love! Get to know the aisles so you can move through more quickly and stay focused on completing your list. It's also best to shop alone. You are less likely to be distracted, and you'll stay with your list. Weekdays between 5 and 7 p.m. are the best times to shop. Weekends are the worse.

Q: Once you're in the store, what are the best items to shop for?

A: The perimeter of the store is where you should concentrate your shopping. It has the healthiest and most nutritious products, although in the last few years, many retailers are loading up these sections with gourmet specialties that are of questionable value. Be careful! These diet busters are lurking at every corner.

Begin by loading your cart with produce. Next, hit the dairy, fish, and meat sections. Follow up with the center of the store for pantry items like canned soups, beans, tuna and healthy snacks. Clearly, three-quarters of your cart should be produce, whole-grain products, dairy, fish and meats.

Q: That sounds kind of expensive. What cheap foods are healthy?

A: Kimberly, I just have one thing to say: Good food is never cheap, and cheap food is never good.

Q: What about package claims? What do "low-fat," "low-carb" and "natural" really mean?

A: Smart shoppers are especially careful about the health claims on food packaging. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration decides whether manufacturers may call their foods "healthy" or "low fat." However, it is up to shoppers to put these claims into perspective according to their own nutritional needs and eating habits.

For example, "reduced fat" cookies might not actually be low in fat; they're just required to have less fat than the regular version. The same theory applies to "reduced carbs." The original version of the product in question may have an extraordinarily high amount of carbs or fats, and even the reduced version would still be fattening for someone trying to lose weight or deal with a health issue like diabetes, cholesterol or high blood pressure.

The low-carb craze has manufacturers scrambling to revise their labels so consumers will buy. Many have added ingredients that reduce the carbs but increase the overall calories and fat content. Some have added soy flour to replace wheat flour. Oat fiber has been added to up the overall fiber content, and artificial sweeteners like Splenda and maltitol maintain sweetness without sugar's calories.

This is the same pattern followed back in the 1990s when low fat became the rage. In the end, you are probably consuming the same amount of calories and significantly higher amounts of fat, while paying two to three times the price.

Q: What about so-called "health foods"?

A: If there's one thing I wish I could change in this country, it is the way food manufacturers deceptively label their products to make them appear healthy and "good for you." It's all about image and no substance.

This all started with granola and yogurt back in the 1970s. Certain non-mainstream foods were associated with anti-establishment, health-promoting qualities and a rebellious, back-to-nature lifestyle. The key words became "all natural," "nothing artificial" [and] "organic."

Since then, anything labeled like this was assumed to be good for you, even if it had tons of calories and fat. Certain granolas, for example, have more saturated fat than a Big Mac!

Remember Grape Nuts commercials? We didn't know how high in calories and sugar they were. A half-cup serving of these crunchy little nuggets is almost a whopping 350 calories. Did you know a regular sweetened yogurt has a whopping 34 grams of sugar?

Q: What about product deception and portion sizes?

A: Good question. Another way manufacturers want you to believe food is healthy for you is by making the portion sizes smaller so they can come in under the legal limit for specific labeling terms.

A good example of this is a "healthy, fat-free" lunchmeat. The 0.25 ounce slices - transparently thin - are listed as having a half gram of fat per slice (any food with under half a gram of fat per serving is considered fat-free). But if you ate a normal, 2-ounce portion, you would be getting 8 grams of fat. Hardly fat-free!

Q: Ouch, that's sneaky. Eight grams of fat is equivalent to 72 calories of fat. That brings me to another question. What foods should we avoid?

A: Snack foods - crackers, cookies - that are low-fat, fat-free, organic, all-natural or low-carb. The best choices for snacks are fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, popcorn and unprocessed, sugar-free foods. Save the starchy snacks for special occasions and holidays.

Be cautious of anything labeled "healthy," "all-natural," "low carb." READ THE LABEL, then decide if it's a good choice! *