For people trying to eat right and get more exercise, some gentle nagging can go a long way. Just ask Pat Rolloff of New Ulm, Minn. After her mom died last May, Rolloff’s doctor recommended that she try a program called HeartBeat Connections, which would hook her up with a health coach to help her reduce her cholesterol and lose the 30 pounds she had gained from grief and stress.

Rolloff started having monthly phone calls with a health coach and dietitian, Joy Hayes, and within three months, she says, her cholesterol was back to normal. In another few months, she lost the weight. READ MORE