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Wouldn't we all love to know how to get rid of belly fat! First the bad news: You can't "spot reduce", that is, reduce fat in specific target areas. Your genetic make-up in part, determines where the body decides to deposit more fat. Some women are more pear-shaped, depositing fat in the hips and thighs. Others are more apple-shaped, depositing more in the abdominal area. Now the good news (for you, anyway): belly fat is easier to get rid of than hip and thigh fat. So, by reducing calories and increasing exercise, you'll start losing belly fat. Sit-ups, crunches, and some weight-training exercises can help tone the abdominal muscles. That can make your abdomen a little flatter and give more curve to your waist, but it doesn't make you lose belly fat any more quickly. I'd also recommend that you keep up the 6 glasses of water prescribed in the Best Life Diet. That, coupled with a high fiber diet, helps prevent constipation, which helps keep the belly as flat as possible. And finally, I wouldn't waste money on the cortisol "blocking" or "regulating" supplements which claim to reduce belly fat. There's no scientific evidence that they do anything.

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Working all night some weeks, and all day other weeks is definitely disruptive to your natural body rhythms. But that doesn't mean you can't work out a good eating schedule. The same rules apply whether you start work at 9 a.m. or 9 p.m.: Try to have your first meal within an hour of waking. Whether or not you want to have a traditional breakfast is your call. I would give it a try, since traditional breakfast foods—at least those on the Best Life Diet!—are so nutrititous. It's an opportunity to get foods containing calcium (milk or calcium-enriched soymilk), and fiber (high fiber cereal or whole grain toast or waffles, and fruit). Cereal is easy to take with you, just make sure you have a bowl and some milk or soymilk. Eat every 3 - 4 hours. Eat three real meals and one or two snacks. Since all the lunch spots—and the hospital cafeteria—are closed in the middle of the night, you'll have to bring your own food. This will take planning. But you don't have to spend your time off in the kitchen! There are plenty of quick and easy foods to bring to work. For instance: Soup. Bring a bean-based soup, such as lentil or black bean. Have about 1-1/2 cups of soup, along with a slice of whole grain bread. Or, make it a one dish meal: add about 3/4 cup of corn to the soup, and have it with a piece of string cheese. Sandwich. Turkey and cheese, peanut butter and apple slices, reduced fat cheddar and tomato—there are endless sandwich choices. Use 100% whole wheat bread, and, if a salad is too messy, bring along a cup of carrot sticks. Microwave meals. Most of the healthier meals, such as Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, and some of the Amy's meals, range between 250 and 400 calories. You need 450 - 550 calories total for a meal. So, look for frozen dinners on the higher side—350 - 450—or have two of the 250 cal meals. Stop eating 2 hours before bedtime. This is one of the staple habits on The Best Life Diet, and its good idea no matter when you hit the pillow. Doing this gives your digestive system a chance to rest, and helps you wake up hungry for breakfast. This sets up a good eating pattern for the rest of the day.

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Using food to cope with stress—or for that matter any other emotion—is a common coping mechanism. But, by making you overweight, ultimately, it adds to your stress! So, you've got to break the cycle, otherwise you'll never get eating under control. The reason you use food is that it works, at least in the short term. It helps soothe and comfort. So, your job is to find other soothing and comforting activities that aren't destructive to your health. This might not come naturally at first—your brain is wired to receive stress relief from food. But you can teach it to find relief in other things such as taking a walk, meditating, a phone call to a friend (don't use the kitchen phone!), watching a movie, writing in your journal, playing with your children... you get the point. While practicing new coping techniques, start pinpointing the sources of stress in your life. Reduce or eliminate the easy ones first—clean your house, organize your stuff, knock a few things off your busy schedule. Then see if you can start tackling the more complex issues—such as a bad work situation, or relationship woes. Make it easier on yourself by reducing temptation. Get the "stress foods" out of the house. Purge your cupboards of boxes of cookies, chips, or other stress foods. You don't have to eliminate treats, just plan for them. For instance, like ice cream? Go to a 7-Eleven and get one ice cream sandwich (150 calories). Cookies? At the bakery section of your supermarket, ask for just one medium cookie. Bring it home and have it with a cup of tea.

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It's no wonder you're phobic; that low carb craze gave everyone the heebie jeebies. While it's true that overeating carbohydrates can put on the pounds, the same is true for overeating anything: protein, fat or alcohol. So, you've simply got to limit, not avoid carbs. A little background: carbohydrate is the main component of grains, vegetables and fruit. Sugars are carbohydrates as well. Sugar, grains and starchy vegetables (corn, peas, potatoes) are a more concentrated source of carbohydrates compared to fruit and vegetables, which have more water, so are less caloric. The amount of carbohydrates you can eat depends on your calorie level. If you're on a weight loss plan of about 1500 or 1600 calories daily (I don't recommend anything lower) then you can easily get away with 5 servings of grain or starchy vegetables daily, plus 2 servings of fruit, and 5 - 7 servings of vegetables. Here's what a serving looks like: Grains/starchy vegetables. One serving = 80 calories which is about 1 slice bread, 1/2 cup cooked pasta, 1/3 cup rice, 1/2 cup corn. Check labels for 80 calories worth of crackers, cereal, or popcorn. Remember: whole grains are always best, as they have more fiber and nutrients. Fruit. One serving = 60 calories which is about a medium fruit (such as an apple or orange), 1 cup strawberries, 1/2 cup blueberries or grapes. Vegetables. One serving = 25 calories. We're talking plain vegetables; olive oil used to sautŽ vegetables, or salad dressing or other added fats come out of your daily fat allowance. A serving is 3 cups salad greens, a cup of chopped raw or cooked vegetables, 1/2 cup tomato juice. Sweets and salty snacks. Cookies, cakes, candy, and other sweets; potato chips, tortilla chips and other salty snacks. When you're trying to lose weight, limit yourself to about 150 calories per day.

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Let's look at your question in terms of the Body Mass Index. BMI is a rough measure of body fat based on height and weight—a calculation that estimates healthy and unhealthy weight. Here's what the numbers mean: Underweight = BMI under 18.5 Normal weight = BMI 18.5-24.9 Overweight = BMI 25-29.9 Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater I went to a National Institutes of Medicine website to calculated your BMI: http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/bmicalc.htm At 5'8" and 180 pounds your Body Mass Index (BMI) is about 27.5. Unless you're an athlete and most of that weight is solid muscle (that's where the BMI charts falter), you do need to lose some weight. However, going down to 125 pounds—a BMI of 19—isn't necessary. At 5'8", 125 pounds is pretty thin and is probably an unrealistic goal weight. It's best not to pick a skinny goal weight; pick one that will put you at a healthy weight. As you can see from the BMI chart http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/bmi_tbl.htm 131 - 158 pounds are all healthy weights for your height. Or, don't pick a goal weight at all: instead, focus on changing habits that improve your diet and increase exercise. Weight loss will be a natural consequence. If setting a goal motivates you, then try setting smaller, more manageable goals. For instance, aim to lose 5 pounds. Give yourself at least a month to do so. Then, try for another 5 pounds. It's best to gradually lose weight as you develop healthful slimming habits that stick. Phase One of the The Best Life Diet is all about setting up those habits: getting more exercise, not eating 2 hours before bedtime, eating 3 meals and a snack or two, and other wise moves. Determining an ideal or healthy weight is very individual. You can consult the Body Mass Index charts for a general idea. But it's looking at yourself in the mirror, the way you feel, your energy level, your ability to run to catch the bus, that are better determinants.

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Many of the recipes serve 4 or 6 people. If it's a dish that can be frozen—such as chili, or a chicken, pork or pretty much any dish that's not a salad—then you can make the whole thing, spoon out the remaining portions into a plastic containers, and freeze them. You'll be glad you did on some busy night when there's no time to cook. Or, do the math and cut the recipe in half so there's less to freeze. Many recipes can be cut to just one portion. (Take your calculator into the kitchen!) This usually works. Sometimes you'll have to add a little more liquid or a little more oil.

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The only thing that helps you lose body fat faster is cutting more calories and/or exercising more. A high protein/low carb diet makes it seem like you're losing weight more quickly, because you lose more water weight than on other types of diets. That's because, when you cut carbs, your body's supply of stored carbohydrate—called glycogen—becomes depleted. Glycogen is mix of glucose and water, so lose glycogen and you lose pounds of water weight. However, that weight will return eventually. What's important when you're losing weight is finding a mix of protein, carbohydrates and fat that makes you feel fullest, and quells appetite best, on the fewest calories. For some, that's a little more protein (i.e. 5-6 ounces) at each meal and a little less grains or starchy vegetables (see question # 4 for more on appropriate portions of carbohydrates). But going on a low carb/high protein, or super low fat, or any other diet that restricts one of the major "macronutrients" is a bad idea. Eventually, you tire of it, and since you haven't learned any good habits, you tend to fall right back into the bad old habits that put the weight on.

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If you're asking which 10 specific foods will keep you healthy, hate to break it to you, you need more than 10! Instead, I'll tell you which food types you need. Hopefully, you can find a few foods you like within each type. Here's what's absolutely essential: Grains, preferably whole grains. Whole wheat bread, brown rice, oatmeal and other foods based on whole grains are a good source of sustained energy; provide fiber, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients (such as antioxidants). Vegetables. These provide essential vitamins and phytonutrients and are linked to decrease risk of cancer, cataracts, heart disease and other ills. You need them. I'll bet there are some vegetables you like. Do you like spaghetti sauce? It's a great way to take in tomatoes, which contain the powerful antioxidant lycopene. How about carrots? Sweet potatoes (they serve as both a vegetable and can substitute for grains). Fruit. Make a list of the fruits you like, and keep them stocked. Every once in awhile try a new fruit, don't give up. Apple and pears provide fiber and some phytonutrients, while oranges and cantaloupe provide vitamin C. Strawberries also provide vitamin C as well as fiber. You might not like fruits straight up, but how about a fruit smoothie? All the smoothies in The Best Life Diet are delicious. I'd suggest starting with the Chocolate Strawberry Smoothie, that's a great way to ease into fruit. Protein Containing Foods. Meat, poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, beans, cheese; you need these foods not only for all the myriad functions of protein in the body, but also to help you lose weight. You don't have to eat all these foods, but at least two types. Best not to make cheese your mainstay protein food as it can be higher in saturated fat, which, in excess, is bad for the heart. Fat. It provides essential fatty acids needed by every cell in the body, including brain cells. Strike the right fat balance, and fat is a dieter's friend, keeping you feeling fuller, longer after a meal. The Best Life Diet recommends healthy fats like olive and canola oils, avocados and nuts. In addition to these food types, you probably need dairy or calcium-enriched soymilk. It's not absolutely necessary, but it helps keep you flush with calcium. If you don't eat these foods, then make sure to take two 500-mg calcium tablets, twice a day with meals.

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It would be nice if the pounds would drop off in a nice, predictable fashion, but they usually don't. Weight plateaus are sometimes due to water weight; you're premenstrual, or ate too much sodium, or are on medication that causes the body to hold onto water. In the best case scenario, you're shedding body fat but gaining muscle, which is heavier than fat. So you don't see a drop in the scale, but your clothes should be fitting looser. Some of it is unexplained. Perhaps your body is defending a higher weight, so you have to increase exercise and rev up metabolism. Remember, it took years to accumulate excess body weight. It also takes awhile to lose the weight. Keep up your diet and exercise regime, be patient, and if you're still not losing, then try adding another hour of exercise to your week.

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I suggest a 6-pronged approach to easing the craving for sweets. First, clear yourself of physiological hurdles: hunger and fatigue. Then, if the cravings persist, deal with the psychological. Don't let yourself get too hungry. Sweet cravings can be partially about grabbing cookies because you haven't eaten enough at the last meal. So, make sure it's not real hunger that's driving the craving. Check out the menu plans on The Best Life Diet to get a sense of how much you should be eating at meals. Get enough sleep. Sweets provide quick energy, which the body craves when it's fatigued. Start making the psychological connection between mood and sweet cravings. If you're not hungry and not tired, and still craving sweets, it's probably because you're using sugar to improve mood. Check out the advice in question 3 for ways to tackle emotional eating. Start weaning yourself down, both in quantity and in sweet intensity. I've found that the more sweets a person eats, the more they crave. And the more intensely sweet their treats, the more they crave the intensely sweet stuff. So, substitute fruit—which is a little less sweet than many treats—for at least one of your cravings every day. Forgo another craving by taking a walk (or other substitute activities outlined in Question 3). Now you're down to maybe one or two cravings daily. Find treats that are less sweet—i.e. dark chocolate instead of milk; rice pudding instead of jelly beans. Ultimately, try and limit sweets to about 150 calories daily. On The Best Life Diet you fit your treats into "Anything Goes" calories, which are based on your total daily calorie level and activity level. Have your sweet when you crave them most. Give in when you really, really, really want the treat, not just when "it might be nice". Keep just one portion of one type of sweet in the house. One fudgesicle, one small candy bar, one cookie from the bakery, etc. This cuts temptation way down!