5 tips to take off the pounds and keep them off

Like Lance Armstrong and the last-place Orioles, weight-loss pills have taken a beating in 2010. German researchers tested nine diet supplements and declared them all duds. An advisory committee suggested that the Food and Drug Administration reject a new diet drug called Qnexa. And the FDA forced two popular pounds-off pills (prescription Xenical and its over-the-counter sibling, Alli) to carry warnings about liver problems.

Yet for the right person, the right weight-loss drug isn't a wimpy way out. It can be as life-changing as switching from a desktop dial-up to a Wi-Fi iPad: Suddenly, everything you've been struggling to do is sooo much easier! That said, if you're like most people, you can get a snazzy new body and save a bundle on pills by using your brain to diet smart instead of hard.

Why your brain? Weight loss is NOT as simple as "eat less and exercise more." (If it were, you wouldn't be reading this.) You need smart ways to get you over the humps, around the cravings, past the stalled bathroom scale and through the temptation to binge when you're done.

That's what we've got here: five brainy ways to take it off and keep it off.

1. What matters isn't the double-dip mint-chip ice cream cone, it's what happens next. Our first rule of successful weight loss is memorizing this mantra: "At the next available moment, make an authorized YOU-turn." Because you are going to slip up now and then. Brainy solution: Have a plan ready to mop up the calories (and maybe some tears, too; emotional eating's a big reason for mistakes). Keep your favorite fruits and cut-up veggies in the fridge, and munch on those instead of biting off your spouse's head. Or do some yoga or take a quick stroll, all the while repeating the mantra and visualizing your soon-to-be-hot body.

2. Insist on healthy, delicious food. One reason: If you only have healthy food around, you'll only eat healthy food. Another: Yes, you can find lower-calorie stuff at the drive-through and in the dessert case these days, but whatever pounds-off plan you choose should be based on fresh, healthy food. It will make your energy levels and taste buds much happier than highly processed diet-to-go fare: Focus on juicy fruits and crisp veggies; 100 percent whole grains (just-baked whole-wheat bread); lean protein (herbed salmon, lemon-thyme chicken); good fats (olive oil, walnuts, avocados); and fat-free versions of dairy (Greek yogurt, feta).