People really DO gain weight in the winter. Especially if you live in a cold, northern climate, you're likely to pack on a few pounds during the wintry months. Blame it on less activity, heartier seasonal foods, or even hormone shifts due to decreased levels of sunlight. Knowing why you gained weight is one thing; settting goals to lose that weight is another.

Here's my four week plan to drop winter weight gain. Don't wait until Monday to start: start right now!

Week One: Get moving

We're simply not going to lose weight if we don't step up our activity. Yeah, it's cold and icy, and the wind's blowing. I live in Vermont, and I feel your pain. But that doesn't stop me from moving. This week, get a pedometer and track the number of steps you take each day. After three days of your usual ativity, bump up your steps by an additional 250 per day. Your ultimate goal is 10,000 steps per day, the amount necessary to lose weight and improve your health.

Week Two: change your eating habits

Get out a pencil and paper and start writing down every single thing that goes into your mouth. Note the time, where you're at (driving, sitting on the couch watching TV, etc), and why you're eating. Most of us don't eat because we're hungry. Instead, we eat because we're bored, or tired, or stressed out. Eating is not a hobby, so it won't help boredom. Eating doesn't erase sleep deficits. Eating certain foods can in fact improve our mood a bit, but it doesn't deal directly with the source of the stress. Unless you want to be the kid who stands forever with his finger in the hole in the dam (or hand in the cookie jar) get to the root of your stress and deal with it. Keeping track of what, when, and why you're eating will help you eat less.

Week Three: Put your food journal to use.

Identify two major changes you want to make to your eating habits this week, then follow through. You might eat breakfast instead of just drinking coffee, downsize your lunch, swap water for sweetened beverages, only eat when you're sitting at the kitchen table, or any other choice that jumps out at you from your food record. The idea is that you're taking control of your eating habits, instead of them controlling you.

Week four: ramp up your activity.

You've been using the pedometer the entire three previous weeks, right? Now add to your pedometer by walking outside (you may have to snowshoe, but that's OK - it burns more calories than walking!), taking a class at the local gym, going up and down the stairs at work for 5 minutes at a time, exercising to a CD at home before you go to work, or doing strength training at home with exercise bands while watching TV. This week, get 30 minutes of activity every day. You don't have to do it all at once, but there are no excuses to not doing it at all. If you have time to watch TV for 30 minutes in the evening, you have time to exercise.

Now keep going. After four weeks of this program you should have more energy and be a few pounds lighter. Don't stop now! Keep using your food record to make additional changes to your eating habits, such as paying attention to how much you're eating, swapping lower calorie foods for higher calorie foods (low-fat sour cream instead of regular on your baked potato, skim milk instead of 2%, take skin off the chicken before you eat it, etc.). Gradually increase your steps per day to 10,000, and continue 30-60 minutes of activity every day. There will be less of you to tote along on your walks, and you'll feel - and look - great!