Articles written by Devin Sherrington about health, wellness and fitness in regular column called Fit to Be Tried in the Daily News:

The Daily News - Fit to Be Tried by Devin Sherrington

There are a million diets out there, promising you weight loss if only you buy their book. Well, some of those diets work and some don't. The fact is losing weight doesn't have to be as hard as people make it.

I've got two simple tricks to peel off those extra pounds. And you don't have to shell out for a $35 hardcover.

First, you have to do some cardio, like walking or running. You can do it in the gym or outside. Either one is fine.

What's critical about exercise is this: when you do it.

There is no better time to do cardio than first thing in the morning. Now, I know what you're saying. You have enough to do when you get out of bed, and who wants to run first thing anyway right?

True, but if you try it you'll be pleasantly surprised. Walking or running first thing in the morning, without eating first, is one of the best ways to burn fat.

Since you haven't eaten and your stomach is empty, your body has nothing to burn up for energy. So your body goes to the next best place to get energy -- your fat.

By forcing your body to burn fat for energy, you'll lose fat more quickly.

This is a trick many bodybuilders use.

You don't need to run fast in the morning. Half an hour, three days a week, at a brisk walk will do the trick.

As soon as you're finished exercising, eat a healthy breakfast. A bowl of oatmeal, some milk and fruit would be perfect -- and give you an energy burst.

If you don't eat after exercising, your body will move from burning fat to burning muscle. This is because your body has burned up fat, and now needs extra calories for energy.

Since muscles have more calorie energy than fat, your body will go to them if it doesn't get some food.

The second trick is not an exercise. It's a rule.

Stop eating at least two hours before you go to bed. The reason is simple: your body knows what time it is, maybe even better than you do.

Have you ever woken up right before the alarm goes off? That's because your internal clock knows the time, and wakes you up.

As nighttime approaches your body knows, so it begins to slow everything down. If you eat while your body is preparing to go to sleep, you won't be moving around enough to burn off those calories.

Your body won't have any place to use the calories, so it will take them and say, "Cool, more food. I'll save this for tomorrow." Then it will store the food you eat as fat so you can use it the next day for energy.

Not nice. But that's how your body works.

If you don't eat before bedtime your body won't have anything to store as fat, and you'll lose weight -- most of it being fat.

Try these two simple tricks for dropping stubborn pounds. They'll give you a leg up on looking your best by the holidays.