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It's a bold move for a health writer to come clean about her personal struggles with weight. But in a recent New York Times Magazine cover story, Tara Parker-Pope used her experiences as well as the weight-loss efforts of others to bring to life the frustrating truth about obesity. As she explained, the bodies of once-overweight dieters actually work against them, making them feel hungrier, more preoccupied with food, and more prone to weight gain than those who hadn't tried to shed pounds. One couple she profiled, the Bridges, said they've only been successful by following every diet rule in the book (regular weigh-ins, no processed foods, intense daily exercise, obsessive calorie counting)--every single day of their lives (these before-and-after photos show how their efforts have paid off). 

Neither Parker-Pope or the Bridges are complaining, but Slate writer L.V. Anderson thinks that they're taking the wrong approach. She believes medical professionals should focus on getting fat people to adopt healthy behaviors, not drop pounds, and she says the food-obsessed, calorie-conscious lifestyles Parker-Pope describes of those who have been able to keep the weight off remind her of anorexic eating disorders. Other readers who believe they're fitter than they look, and resent the idea of measuring each day by bites taken and then burned off, agree. But as we've read many times during this first week of the new year, resolutions need to be specific to work. The trick is finding indicators of health and wellness that are as easy to measure as pounds on a scale, and things we can do to get healthy that are as straightforward as counting calories. 

Fortunately, Dr. Oz has come up with a 28-day plan of small changes you can make to live a longer, fuller life that don't have anything to do with traditional diets, starting with drinking green tea and even eating some dark chocolate.

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Dr. Oz's on how to renew your mind, body and soul
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