Q: Hi Mike! Alright, here's the scope. Im 26, female and over the past few years Ive lost quite a lot of weight, and not in a healthy way (hello stress!). Im now at a point where its a new year, I want a hot bikini body for summer.. and I have only 20lbs to lose to hit my goal weight of 140lbs. I carry most of my weight in my mid section and thighs.. and lord knows its insanely hard to lose that muffin top.. HELP ME!!!! Im willing to do what it takes and now that i got the good word from my cardiologist that the hole in my heart has closed... Im ready to take some serious action!!! HELP !

A: Good to hear you fired up about losing the last 20 pounds! Two things: nutrition and exercise. You have to get both of them right to lose that last bit of fat. Your body is usually quite happy to lose fat if you have a lot of it and almost any reasonable diet or exercise program will work. It won't be nearly as forgiving with the last 20 pounds, so you'll need to be very diligent about both.

Read and really understand my Nutrition and Weight Training articles. Then put together a diet and exercise program for yourself based on their advice. If you are not sure where to start, use this diet plan and this weight training program. Remember, as the weight training article said, you need to select heavy weights for every exercise -- you should struggle to complete the prescribed number of reps in each set. In addition do up to 3 hours of cardio per week -- choose whatever is most convenient to you, whether it's running or swimming or biking or even plain yardwork -- but make sure you perform this activity at brisk pace so your heart rate is up (assuming your cardiologist OK'd it).

Aim to lose about 1 pound per week and you should have the body you want by the summer. If you are losing weight faster than that, then increase your portion sizes very slightly -- you want slow steady weight loss for those 20 last pounds. Also consider starting your fitness blog here -- it's completely free and I'll be able to check in on your progress and offer suggestions. Good luck!