Week 1: Make the Commitment

• Hang your Body Challenge contract somewhere you can see it every day.
• This is the age of "girth control." Everyone's tummies are expanding �?unless you commit to the Body Challenge.
• Measure the smallest part of your waist across the belly button. The goal for women is to get below 35 inches; for men, it's below 37 inches.
• Pick out a tight piece of clothing that you can get on but can't yet fully button or zip. That's your clothes-o-meter. Put it on once a week prior to weighing yourself at home. Your goal is to get it to fit.
• Get your pedometer. Aim to add 500-1,000 steps a day until you reach your daily goal of 10,000 steps a day.
• Avoid processed foods. Minimize white carbs (table sugar, bread, pasta, rice and potatoes).
• Get in five servings of veggies a day.

Week 2: Customize Your Eating Plan

• Your 40-something metabolism will not let you overeat and get away with it.
• Ramp up the intensity in your workouts. Get some hills in your walking. Lift slightly heavier weights. Do yoga for better flexibility as you age.
• Rid your kitchen of any processed foods. Try soy-based protein products (milk, veggie burgers, beans, tofu, shakes, energy bars).
• After 5 p.m., eliminate or minimize your intake of any starch (bread, pasta, rice, potatoes). Concentrate on salads, veggies, protein and fruit.
• Take one multivitamin a day.

Week 3: Learn How to Regroup

• Hone those regrouping skills. Learn how to navigate between Plan A and Plan B, or up to Z! Master regroupers can get and keep the weight off.
• Get a checkup and make sure you know what your limitations may be as you ramp up your physical activity and alter your eating.

Week 4: Practice Consistency NOT Perfection

• It's really important to stay consistent, since your body's aging process is accelerating and it's easier to pile on the pounds and ultimately get a medical condition like diabetes or heart disease.
• Be patient with yourself. You won't rebound back to an active lifestyle overnight. Your goal is 80 percent compliance with eating and exercise.
• Consistently drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day.

Week 5: Use Your Head

• As you age, you begin to pay more attention to your immune system.
• Maintaining a mindful lifestyle allows you to be more stress resilient, calmer and more aware of your eating and physical-activity behaviors. This, in turn, strengthens your immune system and allows you to reduce the risk of conditions like cancer.
• Take a meditation walk today. Learn "relaxation response" meditation and practice it at least once a day.

Week 6: Half Way Point Evaluation

• OK. Pull out your Body Challenge contract and remind yourself of your commitment.
• Put on the clothes-o-meter. Check your waist size, weigh yourself and review your journal.
• Now ask yourself where can you improve. What are your vulnerable points? Lack of consistency, stress-induced overeating, larger-than-necessary portions, poor planning and scheduling and emotional issues are all things to consider. Work on these tough challenges now. You have another five weeks to refine your weight-loss regimen.
• After reviewing your progress, regroup and keep practicing consistency, and remember not to overdo your exercise �?you've got an over-40 body, which is more prone to injury.
• If you're getting close to 50, check out your blood levels of cholesterol as well as your blood sugar and blood pressure. If you've been consistent, you'll see good progress.

Week 7: Clean Up Your Living Spaces

• The kids are moving out. You can create more personal space now. Clean up all around you. Get rid of junk food in the cabinets.
• Buy new workout clothes that make you feel great.
• Surround yourself with people who support your mission statement to be as healthy and happy as possible.
• Fight for your health and be assertive about your needs. It's all about being and staying healthy for the long term.

Week 8: Sleep it Off:

• Men and women 40 and over need seven to eight hours minimum of sleep a day to maintain optimal immune function �?and to feel energized for their morning workout, and to be awake and alert enough to maintain mindfulness about how and what to eat.
• Thirty-minute power naps can be helpful during the day.

Week 9: Build Your Natural Medicine Cabinet

• Fruits, veggies and whole grains are your natural medicine cabinet. On-the-go 20-year-olds skip these vital foods too frequently.
• Eat five servings a day of fresh fruits and veggies. The deeper the fruit or veggie's color, the richer the antioxidants found in them.
• Eat two to three servings of whole grains (oats, multigrain, barley).
• Make it a habit to incorporate these foods into your diet this week.
• Remember, the aging process is all about oxidation, or how fast the body uses up its cells to keep it going. Antioxidants are great to help neutralize this process and augment a healthy aging process.

Week 10: Get Creative

• To age well, you need strength, endurance and flexibility. Try new ways to move your body, understanding that by the age of 40-50, something's bound to hurt and/or not work so well. Give yoga or Pilates a whirl.
• Use a little of each as part of your usual physical-activity routine.
• Try vegetables and veggie combinations you've never experienced. Open up your fruit repertoire as well.
• Join a cooking club and find new ways to prepare your medicine-cabinet foods.

Week 11: Have Some Fun

• Any time in life is a great time to explore new ways to have fun and, at the same time, feel a sense of accomplishment for a job well done.
• You may have spent many years achieving professionally. Now it's time to incorporate your body. Get to a spa and take classes in different movement therapies.
• Don't hold back. Sign up for that heart walk and get in those 5Ks. Having joy is healthy, as it neutralizes stress and prolongs a healthy life span.

Week 12: You Did It!

• The journey continues. Repeat your baseline assessment (see Week 6).
• Review your Body Challenge contract. How did you do? Make a list of your achievements over the last 12 weeks. How was your focus and motivation? What did you change in your eating and physical-activity behaviors that is sticking? Do you no longer skip breakfast? Do you get that cardio in 80 percent of the time?
• The key is to see that you have laid down a foundation for healthier living, which you can then refine for the rest of your life. The more you practice these habits, the easier it gets.
• Of all the times in your life, now is when you can really feel the positive changes in your health. And you're more aware of the impact your daily lifestyle has on your health and life span.
• Like money in the bank, with every step you take, with every vegetable you consume, you've invested in your future.

Congratulations on a job well done!