Dr. Lisa Sanders, author of The Perfect Fit Diet, says: “Real fitness is a measure of how healthy you are, not what the scale says.” But if you are lacking a bit in the real fitness department, maybe you need a diet to lose 10 pounds or so.

Sanders’ strategy is very straightforward: To lose some weight but retain your muscle mass, which of course you need to be fit and healthy, eat around 1,500 calories a day and exercise 30 to 60 minutes (yes, walking counts) five to seven times a week.

A diet to lose 10 pounds Instead of trying to reach an unrealistically low weight by avoiding splurges, Sanders recommends maintaining a diet that includes foods from what she calls a “personal top-10 list of must-haves.”

In other words, a diet to lose 10 pounds would make it possible to indulge in favorite foods without going overboard on the unhealthy stuff. “If you try not to eat something you really want, in the end you will eat that and more,” says Sanders. “So you might as well make room for the foods you love, even chocolate!”

But her game plan is really about treating the body – and mind – in a healthy way. “It’s all about figuring out the best diet you can maintain without giving up what you love,” says Sanders. “You can stick with a diet that will allow you to eat what you want and still weigh what feels right for you.”

After all, says Sanders, “when we eat badly, we feel bad about ourselves psychologically.” And when we eat right, it’s easy to embrace our bodies – hips, chest, booty and all. [via]