Tailoring a diet to fit is the way to keep fit .

Mary Schreiner's take on dieting is direct and to the point: "Diets are dull and boring, and you can't have your favorite foods. You have to come up with an eating plan that works for you and incorporates the foods you love."

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"People are making this hard, and it's not that hard," she says. "They are eating the same things over and over and not exercising and wondering why they don't lose weight."

She believes that about 80% of what most people are doing is fine, but they need to fine-tune 20% of their habits. For some people, the problem is they eat at fast-food restaurants a lot and that needs to be cut back, she says. And for many people, the problem is they don't do enough physical activity.

Every morning Schreiner walks and jogs for four miles on the treadmill at her house, and then later in the day, she walks for another 30 minutes. "I know I eat at least 2,500 calories a day — that's why I exercise.

"You have to make the diet program or weight-loss program fit you," Schreiner says. 'Don't take somebody else's idea."

The only trick is developing the discipline.