Almost every diet in the world works for a while. That's no secret. However, almost every one of these diets fails eventually. Why is this? It's because it asks you to do too much. Instead of adopting an entirely new diet or exercise routine, find one part that you could adhere to every day. After two or three weeks, add another part. The results will come slower, but the routine will stick around longer, until it becomes a regular part of your lifestyle.

What you eat is important, but how you eat also counts. Eating more slowly is both easy and really tough at the same time. It's easy to slow down once or twice. But it's hard to consistently maintain the slow pace … especially when there's so much to do, all of the time. When you eat quickly, you're not giving your stomach time to process how much you're consuming (it normally takes about 20 minutes for your brain to get the "full" signal). This leads to overeating. By taking the time to chew your food, you'll actually eat less and get heartburn and indigestion less frequently as well.

To remind yourself to eat slower, turn off the TV and play relaxing music. Additionally, take a cue from early 19th century Victorian society: After you take a bite, deliberately put your fork or spoon down until you've completely chewed and swallowed the food.

The only way you'll get new healthy habits to stick around is if you really enjoy the change. So do what the latest and greatest diet and exercise "gurus" do — pick out individual parts of different diet and/or exercise routines and make them your own. In truth, almost every new healthy fad has been tried before somewhere at some time. So why not create your own revolutionary routine? All you have to do is find the diet tips and exercises that you'll enjoy doing every day. Be sure to check with your physician first. And then, who knows? Perhaps in a few months, people will be getting advice from you!