The key to getting to your ideal waist size is dieting smart, not hard. It is your waist size, after all, which is most important to your health. (You want to get to 35 inches or less, measured at your belly button while sucking in, which you’ll do anyway.) That’s right, if you diet smart, waist and weight come down slowly but predictably until you reach your ideal. Dieting hard — avoiding some groups of foods as if you’re holding your breath underwater, and how long can you really do that? — leads to failure and so much shame that you’ll be afraid to let anyone know the next time you’re on a diet. But you need allies to help! Instead, follow my blog posts this month for the best ways to lose waist size and weight. Here are this week’s tips:

Walk: Your ultimate goal is 10,000 steps every day  — NO EXCUSES! If you need to build up to 10,000 steps, we will help you do that. Walking positively affects all the body’s systems and establishes the behavioral and motivational foundation you need for success. It is also the most important thing you can do to effect weight loss. You’ll need a pedometer.

Buy a Backup Pedometer, and Overpay for It: It is one of the four things in life for which you should overpay: a chef’s knife, great walking/exercise shoes, an engagement ring and two pedometers.