I bought a "diet" book

I had pretty much sworn to myself that I wouldn't buy any more "diet" books--I mean, we all know that to lose weight, you have to burn more calories than you consume--but I caved the other day and bought Bob Greene's Best Life Diet book. I've skimmed some of his books before, watched him on Oprah, and his way seems to make sense. (This book was also more tempting because Borders had it for 30% off, plus I had a $10 Borders reward certificate. Nice.)

He admits up front that the only way to lose weight is to burn more than you take in, but he argues that many people crash and burn on diets because people try to do too much too soon; he suggests making small changes before going hardcore diet-and-exercise crazy.

So for the first four weeks (Phase One), I'm supposed to do the following:

--Eat a good breakfast. This is pretty huge for me because I've been eating a banana. This isn't Bob Greene's idea of a good breakfast. This also probably explains why I'm hungry. All. The. Time.

--Eat three meals and two (preferably healthy) snacks. I guess that means I should grab an apple instead of the M&Ms. (Another reason why I'm hungry all the time.)

--Drink more water.

--Increase my fitness routine. Based on the five levels of fitness Bob gives, my New Year's Resolution (to work out three times a week) should suffice for now. (Side note: I've been pretty good about keeping this resolution!)

--Stop eating two hours before bedtime. This is one of Bob Greene's things. He mentions it in all his books. I don't think this will be a biggie for me--I'm not much of a grazer before I go to bed.

And that's all for Phase One. Oh, and I'm also not supposed to weigh myself for four weeks. It all seems doable to me. The hardest thing for me is going to be the healthy snacks. Who wants an apple when the vending machine offers more enticing snacks like Reese's Pieces?