Is this the summer when you are going to get lean and get healthy?  If it is, you need to check out the new Summer Shape-Up Guide.  About.com experts provide their best tips and tricks for losing weight, starting an exercise program and finding balance in your life.

Make Over Your Diet

You may have heard about the gluten-free diet. Or maybe high protein diets have piqued your interest.  Have you been thinking about going low carb this summer?  Find out what the About.com experts has to say about each of these plans. It's easy to choose the right plan when all of the facts are in one place for you to evaluate.

Find the Best Exercise Plan

The best exercise program for you is the one that you'll do on a regular basis.  The Summer Shape Up Guide has plans for walkers, joggers, weight lifters, and people who want to try Pilates.  If you're not sure what to try, check out one of the comprehensive plans that include many different types of exercise.

Get Healthy

If you find yourself dealing with stress, anxiety or health challenges this summer, you'll also find resources in the Summer Shape-Up Guide.  Learn how to feel more confident, find balance and manage some of the challenges that you might confront during the summer months.

How much weight do you want to lose? If you want to lose 5-10% of your body weight or if that would be a good starting point for you, a new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine identifies the methods that are most likely to be successful.

Successful Weight Loss: Avoid the Trends

When researchers studied over 4000 overweight subjects, they found that people who were successful followed one or more of these plans:

• Eat Less
• Move More
• Prescription Weight Loss Pills
• Commercial Weight Loss Programs

What didn't work?  Study authors found that people who tried to lose weight with liquid diet products, non-prescription pills, and trendy diets were not successful.

While the news isn't earth shattering, it might be a relief if you are trying to save money and lose weight.  There's no need to waste your cash on trendy products.  Chances are good that they won't work.

How often have you used your age as a reason to avoid physical activity?  Have you thrown in the towel when it comes to getting in shape or losing weight?  If you have, it's time to get your groove back.  Research shows that diet and exercise is just important in your later years as it is when you are young.

Benefits of Healthy Habits

May is Older Americans Month.  The U.S. Administration on Aging is encouraging older adults to get moving and get healthy.  Exercise will prevent weight gain through menopause and healthy cooking and eating habits will decrease your risk for heart disease and other chronic conditions.

Aging Adults, Buff Bodies

But if you're not swayed by the medical and health benefits of exercise, consider the physiques of the older athletes who have turned aging into a competitive sport.  Swimmer Dara Torres will be attempting to compete in the upcoming Olympic Games at the age of 45.  And Ultraman competitor Rich Roll (photo inset) turned his life around at the age of 40 to become one of the world's fittest men in his late forties.  Roll's new book Finding Ultra details his road to good health through diet and exercise.

So get off the couch and start working out!  Then head to the market and fill your fridge with fruits, veggies, and metabolism-boosting lean protein.  You've got plenty of years left to get fit, get strong, and get healthy!

A recent study by the American Cancer Society found that 40% of women would exercise more if it felt more like play and less like work.  Sounds obvious, right? We'd all exercise more if it was more exciting!  But thinking of ways to make exercise fun can be a chore all by itself.  Instead, try one these easy ways to take the boredom and monotony out of your routine.

4 Ways to Make Exercise Fun

1. Mix up the intensity. You don't have to work out hard every day.  Vary the intensity of your workouts to get the best weight loss results.  Play tag or hula hoop with your kids one or two days a week as your hard workout, then fill in the rest of the days with easy or moderate activities like swimming or biking.
2. Ride your bike. Being outdoors reduces stress and workout boredom.  Hop on your bike and hit the trails to burn calories.  Be sure to structure your bike workout properly to make sure the workout is effective.
3. Incorporate movement into daily activities. No time to workout?  No problem!  Just add moderate activity to your daily routine.  You'll burn calories without the structure of a workout.  Researchers have found that this is one of the most effective ways to lose weight.
4. Go to the playground. Take your workout to the neighborhood park.  Sprint on grassy fields then do angled push ups at a picnic table.  Want more of a challenge?  Try pulls ups from the monkey bars, or do ab curls at the base of the slide.  Combining strength and cardio activities will change your body composition and help you boost your metabolism.