DAVE: I'm detective Dave Woolsey, I'm a twenty year veteran of a large department that's outside of Washington DC.

My job depending on what suddenly happens you may be working 24 hours, you may be working longer.

Sometimes what happens is you get so hungry and it starts to interfere with your ability to do anything at all that you just say, aw what the heck. And it's the middle of the night and what's open? There's the donut place, I mean it's a stereotype but you do it. Or there's the 24 hour fast food place and you gotta eat it in your car, so you're not buying a salad you're buying a burger.

I'm 46 years old five foot ten and 265 pounds. And I really need to get somewhere around 210 pounds to get healthy, take the pressure off my knees and to basically take the cardio vascular problems away.

I need someone who knows their stuff, who can advise me on all these difference information that conflicts, on what I'm really supposed to do.

DR. RO: Hi, I'm Dr. Ro. Shopping for food can be a challenge for so many people cause you don't know what to buy, especially if you're busy like detective Dave Woolsey who's always on the case looking for quick and easy food fixes.

Dr. Ro: first of all, you need to resist buying whatever food is readily available - like what you get from a vending machine or late-night drive through.

Instead, plan ahead by stocking up on healthy snacks that you can take with you.

DR. RO: First thing is these tuna cups, you can get them in the pouches you can get them in the cups, they're easy and non perishable.

The other thing is you want to take veggies and fruits, right? So these are individually wrapped apples, individually wrapped celery, carrots, all of these can go with you. And have them with other protein. So have them with a little block of cheese, like a one ounce serving of cheese. 30 to 50 calories and you're good to go.

Another tip is to eat several small meals each day, rather than three big ones. That way, you can help avoid getting hungry and control food cravings better.

DR. RO: I want you to eat 5 to 6 small meals a day. Lets start with breakfast. So what do you have for breakfast at about 7am maybe? You start with egg white omelets OK so you take your eggs you fold in some vegetables like spinach, you might have bell pepper strips and that's a good protein source and it keeps you full and satiated.

DAVE: OK.

DR. RO: eat every three or four hours - a meal can be as small as a handful of nuts.

Bigger meals may include vegetables, and about four ounces of protein, like lean meat, fish or chicken.

DR. RO: This is what four ounces looks like. Its about the size of this cell phone or a deck of cards.

DAVE: OK

DR. RO: portion control is important. Eating more meals won't help you lose weight if they're too large.

DR. RO: What do you have? You have a cup of yogurt and a piece of fruit.

DAVE: OK
DR. RO: Good to go?

Dave: Yea.

DR. RO: don't expect this approach - or any other that works over the long term - to produce instant results.

It took you awhile to put on that weight, and you need to be patient taking it off.

You want to lose weight at a rate of 1 to 2 pounds per week no more that's the safest.

And then compare yourself to yourself. Take a picture of Dave when you looked and felt the best, put it in a place that you can see everyday and that's your barometer.

DAVE: Okay.

DR. RO: and a reminder that it's possible to stay healthy, even when your job keeps you in the fast lane.