3. Put your heart into it. Do daily cardiovascular exercises like walking, jogging, running or biking to get your heart in shape.

4. Sculpt your muscles. Sculpt and tone your muscles and strengthen your bones with weight-bearing exercises. Nothing gives you more bang for your buck than good old-fashioned strength training. The more muscle you have, the more metabolically active tissue you have and the more calories you burn.

5. Change is the only constant. Be sure to change your exercise routine regularly. Your body adjusts to whatever program you do, making it less effective over time. If you can do your routine backward with your eyes closed, it's time to change. Try switching your routine about every four to six weeks.

6. Eat frequent, small meals. Eating small meals about every three hours seems to do the trick. Eating smaller quantities more frequently will ignite your metabolic furnace and have your metabolism singing, "Burn, baby, burn!"

7. Eat more vegetables and fruits. Fill up on the fiber, phytonutrients, vitamins and antioxidants that are found in nature's cornucopia of choices. If you ask me, these are the carbs you should eat more of.

8. Skip the starches. Eliminating or decreasing your intake of processed foods and sugars will decrease your insulin level, and that means less fat storage. Ditch the white bread, white rice, white-flour products - the obvious suspects like doughnuts, chips, pretzels, candy and cake.

9. Write it down. Use your food log religiously. People who keep a nutrition diary are less likely to overeat and are more conscious of what they eat. If you really want to become accountable, share your food diary with a buddy or a partner.

10. Get your body fat tested. Besides daily weigh-ins, have your body-fat level tested about once every quarter. Excess body fat is dangerous. It increases your risk for preventable health problems such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer.

Eating right

Here are a few of my favorite low-fat, low-calorie, nutrient-rich recipes. Try these and watch the pounds melt off:

LATINA SALAD

2 cups salad greens

ｼ cup diced red onion

ｽ cup diced mango

ｽ cup diced avocado

4 ounces seasoned, grilled salmon (or shrimp or chicken breast)

2 tablespoons balsamic syrup (or low-fat Italian dressing)

Place salad greens, onions, mango and avocado in large mixing bowl and mix. Drizzle on dressing and top with fish or chicken. Serves 1.

SALSA OMELET

4 egg whites

ｽ cup fresh spinach

2 ounces fresh crabmeat or steamed shrimp

1 ounce fat-free mozzarella

ｼ cup spicy or mango salsa

Scramble the first four ingredients in an omelet pan. Garnish with salsa. Serves 1.

SEAWEED AND SASHIMI

Green seaweed salad

Black seaweed salad

4 ounces sashimi

Light soy sauce

Dine "out" at a nice Japanese restaurant with this one. Combine salads, sashimi and soy sauce. Serves 1.