Take it from Bob Greene, the supercoach who helped Oprah get into the best shape of her life, when he says we all can acquire great health and great fitness -- without calorie counting and deprivation and hardship. He details it all in his new book The Best Life Diet, and he shares a series of how-to guides in the January 2007 issue of Oprah Magazine.

One tool Greene offers as we take on the new year is a hunger scale -- to help us avoid eating mindlessly, to encourage us to get in touch with our hunger, to train us away from always watching calories.

The scale goes like this:

10: Stuffed. Approaching nausea.
9: Very uncomfortably full. Need to loosen clothing.
8: Uncomfortably full. Bloated.
7: Full. A bit uncomfortable.
6: Perfectly comfortable and satisfied.
5: Comfortable. More or less satisfied but could eat more.
4: Slightly uncomfortable. Beginning to feel signs of hunger.
3: Uncomfortably hungry. Stomach is rumbling.
2: Very uncomfortable, irritable, and unable to concentrate.
1: Weak and light-headed. Stomach acid is churning.

Greene says we should eat only when we find ourselves feeling 1, 2, 3, or 4. He instructs us to put our forks down at 5 and 6 and wait for our next scheduled meal. For those trying to lose weight, he says stop eating at 5. This is the point at which you're eating less than your body is burning.