IF you're one of the millions of people who are dieting right this minute, or even thinking about it, here's some good news: you don't have to throw a lot of money at the problem to see results. In fact, you may not have to spend much at all.

    Every year consumers spend billions of dollars on supplements, diet foods, books and meal replacements. But the truth is that success depends not so much on what diet plan you choose or what program you join.

    "What matters most is your level of motivation and your willingness to change," says Kelly D. Brownell, a psychologist and director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale.

    A study published in the Feb. 26 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, for instance, compared four popular diets and found they all produced similar results. After two years, the dieters in each group lost an average of nine pounds. Notably, the dieters who attended more counseling sessions lost a little bit more, which may support the notion that behavior is more important than diet alone.

    Motivation, though, is not always easy to come by - especially when it involves changing habits. Some people may need a little help to kick-start a weight-loss regimen, whether that means following a popular diet or enrolling in an organized program. Your goal, though, should not be short term.

    "Keeping weight off permanently is a lifelong process," says James O. Hill, a psychologist and a founder of the National Weight Control Registry （www.nwcr.ws）, a database of 6,000 people who have lost weight and kept it off.

    How ready are you? The more committed you are, the less you will need to spend. Try the no-money down, do-it-yourself approach first. If that doesn't work, or you know you need more structure, move on down the list below.

    $0.00 D.I.Y. If you're highly motivated but low on cash, this approach is for you. You will need to reduce the calories you consume, increase the amount you exercise and learn new eating habits.

    Your primary care physician can give you basic guidelines for a healthy, low-calorie diet. You can also look at the dietary advice on the Weight-Control Information Network, a site developed by the National Institutes of Health （win.niddk.nih.gov）, Mr. Brownell suggests.

    Your new diet should include as much fresh food as possible, especially items high in fiber and low in fat. If you already eat well, you can just reduce your portion sizes. Weigh yourself regularly to keep track of your progress and try to get 30 to 40 minutes of exercise a day.

    Hard? Yes. Possible? Of course. About half of the members of the National Weight Control Registry lost weight on their own, says Mr. Hill, who is also the director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado, Denver.

    $ BUY A GUIDE BOOK For just $20 or so, a book can give you some inspiration and wise advice. If you want a plan to follow, try "The South Beach Diet" （St. Martin's Griffin, 2005） or "The Best Life Diet" （Simon & Schuster, 2006）. Both provide realistic, healthy programs.

    Another good book is "The Volumetrics Weight-Control Plan" （HarperTorch, 2002）, which explains how to build a diet around foods that make you feel full.

    Chronic dieters should read the new book by a former chief of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. David Kessler, called "The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite" （Rodale, 2009）. In it, Dr. Kessler explains why and how we get hooked on unhealthy food.

    "When I was a kid, we ate three meals a day," he said in an interview. "Now fat, sugar and salt are on every corner 24/7. It's become socially acceptable to eat bad food all day long." In his book Dr. Kessler explains how our brains become wired to crave unhealthy food and provides tips to help control your impulses.

    Mr. Hill's book, "The Step Diet" （Workman, 2004）, is ideal if you're determined to keep weight off.

    $$ JOIN A GROUP Formal organizations like Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig can provide support, education and a healthy dose of peer pressure.

    Weight Watchers is a good place to start, because it's relatively inexpensive. You'll pay an initial fee of $15 to $20, and then $13 to $15 for each weekly meeting. In exchange, Weight Watchers will teach you how to use its points system and provide you with that all-important weekly weigh-in.

    Jenny Craig is more expensive, but may suit those who need one-on-one guidance. A yearly membership costs $399, and an additional $83 a week, on average, for Jenny's Cuisine meals. "There's not much evidence, though," Mr. Brownell says, "that programs that provide meal replacements are more effective than those that don't."

    $$$ TRY A HOSPITAL PROGRAM If you need to lose a substantial amount of weight and have a condition like diabetes, you might want to invest in a hospital-sponsored weight-loss program.

    "You'll get individualized help from people who are quite knowledgeable," Mr. Brownell said.

    At Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center in Baltimore, for instance, you pay $250 for an initial four-hour assessment with a medical doctor, a registered dietitian, a psychologist and a trainer. Follow-up visits are $125 a week, but that includes food.

    Most people stay with the program for several months or longer. It's costly, but a medically monitored program may be more effective for those who are obese and who have related health conditions, says the program's director, Dr. Lawrence J. Cheskin.

    PRICELESS: KEEP IT OFF If you become one of the lucky losers, you'll need to fight hard to protect your losses. One way is to exercise - a lot.

    "Diet is a key for losing weight," Mr. Hill said. "But physical activity is the key for keeping it off."

    To maintain their weight, members of the National Weight Control Registry ideally exercise 30 to 60 minutes a day. Another key is to enlist the support of family and friends. If your buddies are mocking you for eating a salad while they're inhaling beer and pizza, Mr. Hill said, it's going to be tough to succeed.

    如果你是此刻數百萬節食者之一，或僅是想到節食的話，那我告訴你個好消息：你不用往減肥里砸大把的錢來看結果。實際上，你可能根本不必花費太多。

    消費者每年花費數百億美元在補給品、減肥膳食（diet foods）、保健書籍和替換餐（meal replacement）上。然而，真相是：減肥成功并不太依賴于你選擇的膳食安排或你參與的健身計劃。

    "你的動機程度和你打算改變的意愿，才是最重要的。"耶魯膳食計劃及肥胖癥研究中心主任兼心理學家凱利·D·布朗奈爾說如是。

    例如，發表于《新英格蘭醫學雜志》（New England Journal of Medicine,二月，第26卷）的一個研究，對比了四種流行的減肥膳食，發現它們均產生相似結果。越兩年，每組的膳食者平均減掉9磅（約合4.08 公斤）.值得注意的是，那些更多關注于咨詢活動的膳食者減掉的更多一點，這也許可以支持"行動比單純膳食更重要"的觀點。

    誠然，動機并非總是能輕易獲得，特別是當它涉及習慣改變時。無論是使用一套流行的減肥膳食，還是加入一個健身組織，有些人也許需要一點幫助來勉強開始減肥之路。當然，你的目標不宜是短期的。

    "永久減肥是一個終身的過程，"心理學家詹姆斯·O·希爾說。希爾是國家體重控制庫的創建者，該庫記錄了6000個減肥者的資料。

    你做了多好的準備？你越專注就越少付出。先試一試"不花錢，自己來"（no-money down, do-it-yourself）法吧；如果那不行，或者你想你需要更多的安排，那就接著看下去吧。

    $0.00 自己來 如果你的動機很高而阮囊羞澀，這種方法適合你。你需要減少自己吃的卡路里，增加運動量并學習新的膳食習慣。

    醫師能給你提出的，大抵就是健康低卡膳食的基本指導。你還可以看看體重控制信息網（Weight-Control Information Network）的膳食建議，那是布朗奈爾先生推薦的一個由國家健康所開發的網站。

    你的新膳食應當囊括盡可能多的新鮮食材，特別是那些高纖維低脂肪的。如果你已經合理膳食，那么你就能夠減掉你的部分斤兩。有規律地量自己的體重，以記錄你的減肥過程，并嘗試每天鍛煉30到40分鐘。

    難？對。可能嗎？當然。丹佛科羅拉多大學的人類營養中心主任希爾先生指出，大約有一半國家體重控制庫的成員都是自行減肥的。

    $ 購買一部指導書 僅需差不多20美元的一本書，就能給你一些靈感和良議。如果你想跟一本書練習，試試《南部沙灘膳食》（The South Beach Diet, St. Martin's Griffin, 2005）或《最佳人生膳食》（The Best Life Diet, Simon & Schuster, 2006）.兩者提供了實用而健康的計劃。

    另一本好書是《可測體重控制計劃》（The Volumetrics Weight-Control Plan, HarperTorch, 2002）,該書教你怎樣搭配出讓你感到飽的膳食。

    做好長期節食準備的人，應該讀一讀前任食物與毒品管理處（Food and Drug Administration）處長大衛·凱斯勒（David Kessler）博士所著的新書《不再過多飲食：扼住貪婪的國人胃口》（The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite, Rodale, 2009）.在書里，凱斯勒博士道明了為何人們鍾情于不健康食品。

    "當我還是個孩子時，我們每日三餐，"他在一次見面中說。"如今每時每刻每個角落都充斥著油糖鹽。終日服食不健康食品已經成了社會接受的事情了。"凱斯勒博士在書中闡述了，我們的大腦是怎樣蛻變到渴望不健康食品，并給了一些有助于我們控制的小竅門。

    對于下定決心減輕體重的你來說，希爾先生的書《步驟減肥餐》（The Step Diet, Workman, 2004）很理想。

    $$ 加入一個小組 像體重監控（Weight Watchers）和珍妮·克雷格（Jenny Craig）這樣的正式的組織，能給你提供支持、教育和一劑同齡人的心理減壓藥。

    （這兩段涉嫌做廣告，且與中國國民關聯不大，故不譯）

    $$$ 嘗試醫療項目 倘若你需要減掉大量體重且情況特殊（如罹患糖尿病）,你可能要把錢花在醫院資助的減肥項目里。

    布朗奈爾說道，"你可以從經驗豐富的人那兒，得到非常適合自身的幫助。"

    在巴爾的摩的約翰斯·霍普金斯體重管理中心，假如你付了250美元，讓醫師、注冊營養師、心理學家和健康教練，給你做了一次為時4小時的個人健康評估。那么，接下來只用每周125美元，而且還包括用餐。

    大部分人堅持該項目數月或更長。項目主管羅倫斯·J·切斯金博士說，這項目很貴，但是受醫學監控的項目，對于那些肥胖癥者以及情況特殊者可能更有效。

    減掉肥肉金不換 如果你成了幸運減肥成功者中的一員，你將需要頑強堅守你的成績。其中一個方法是鍛煉--大量的。

    "膳食是減肥的關鍵，"希爾先生說。"不過，體能活動是減掉肥肉的關鍵。"

    為了保持體重，國家體重控制庫的成員們理論上每天運動30-60分鐘。另一個關鍵是號召家人和朋友。希爾先生說，如果你吃著沙拉，而親友們大啖啤酒、匹薩并取笑你，那么你的減肥成功將是嚴酷的。