Los Angeles, Jan 1 (IANS): Looking to shape up in the New Year? Check your diet, pick exercises wisely and more.

Fitness expert Tracy Anderson shares how to stay in shape, reports people.com.

* Be honest with yourself about the body you want: Have a real conversation about where you’re at with your health. You need to find exercises with some sort of strategy behind them, a strategy for how you want your body to look and perform.

* Exercise five to seven days a week: If you don’t work out one day, you’re going to stay the same or gain weight. We need to get used to taking care of our bodies. We spend five minutes a day brushing our teeth, and teeth are tiny in comparison to the rest of our bodies. So if teeth take up five minutes of your day, the rest of your body can take up 30 to 60 minutes.

* Diet and exercise go hand in hand: If you have weight to lose, you have to train yourself to be good at exercise. And diet is definitely important, but it’s not about calorie restriction. Avoid processed foods, and include foods that as are as close to nature as possible, as well as greens and superfoods like mulberries.

* Create a good playlist: Working out to music is something that people need to do.