And that's how it happened that, after moving to California from Manhattan, I found myself sitting in Carrie Latt Wiatt's office, where she runs a business called Diet Designs.

Now, let's make one thing clear: Wiatt isn't just an expert on nutrition and meal planning, she's the person responsible for Tinseltown's hottest bodies.

(Time out: I spoke to a New York friend yesterday who informed me that the correct new adjective to describe a good or hot body is sick. As in, Jennifer Lopez has a sick body!)

Wiatt has written two books, "Portion Savvy: The 30-Day Smart Plan for Eating Well" (Simon & Schuster, 1998), which spells out the how-tos of portion control for weight loss, and "Eating by Design: The Individualized Food Personality Type Nutrition Plan" (Pocket Books, 1996), which divides eaters into 12 personality types -- including "Thrillseeker," "Power-Player" and "Perfectionist," with Wiatt-prescribed diet solutions for each. For example, Thrillseekers should try adventurous low-fat foods like sushi or Tandoori chicken, while Perfectionists would do best with strictly planned menus, fixed mealtimes and calories to count.

Wiatt also has her own nationally syndicated, weekly half-hour television show called "Living Better With Carrie Wiatt" that, according to her publicist, offers a fresh new approach to making positive lifestyle changes.

Now, I'm just as open as the next 31-year-old displaced New Yorker to making positive lifestyle changes, especially now that I'm living in a sunshiny city where women dress to show off the fact that Linda Hamilton (in "The Terminator") has nothing on them.

So when I discovered that Salma Hayek, Neve Campbell, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Silverstone, Dennis Quaid, Sela Ward and even Matt Damon swore by Wiatt's pre-packaged meals and nutritional counseling -- and had her to thank for achieving and maintaining their svelte, toned, healthy and, yes, sick bodies -- I picked up the phone and made an appointment for a consultation.

Diet Designs is located in an unassuming one-story building in Culver City. You find it after driving down a narrow one-way street. You breathe a sigh of relief that there's no valet parking or anything fancy like that. You just have to park and get out of your car and do what it is you’ve come here to do: face your fat.

So that’s what I did. I pulled in and parked my Jeep next to a sparkling new Range Rover. I must admit, I quickly reapplied my lipstick. I wanted to be prepared should any Ben Affleck types be waiting to consult with the diet diva after moi.

While I waited for Wiatt, I noted that many writers before me had come to her for help. There were framed articles on the wall that had been featured in GQ, Elle and the like, in which they shared their stories. And that made sense.

After all, to make our living, we writers write. We don’t do this while taking Tae Bo classes or training for the marathon. It follows that most of us aren’t known for our sick bodies -- unless you’re going with the old meaning of the adjective.

Suddenly, there’s a slender, attractive, smiling woman telling me she can see me now. I recognized her from the current "Significant Women" print campaign running in Vanity Fair, in which she appears alongside other women "who inspire, inform and entertain," like photographer Mary Ellen Mark, actress Camryn Manheim and United Nations Special Ambassador Waris Dirie.

I follow Wiatt into her comfortable office and take a seat. She offers me a glass of water. I’m not thirsty but I know I’m supposed to drink at least 64 ounces a day, so I accept.

We go over my dietary and health history, and I tell her the truth: I eat out constantly, I work out relatively regularly and I am always trying to lose the same 20 pounds.

Wiatt leads me through her philosophy and it sounds good to me: "To lose weight you have to eat fewer calories and expend more calories. There’s no magic formula."

Her approach is not about "going on a diet." She merely guides her clients to relearn their needs and how to satisfy them. And get this: Once I adopt the "portion-savvy" mind-set, I will be able to successfully manage food for life. Wiatt also requires clients to exercise.

It’s hard to find fault with that.

My consultation with Wiatt goes considerably well, if you gloss over the part where she makes me get on the doctor’s scale and points out that I could lose 37 pounds! Thirty-seven pounds! I laugh, as I tend to do during earthquakes and when receiving bad news.

Wiatt tells me not to worry. With her guidance, I would be dropping my weight slowly –- the intelligent way. The way you keep it off for the long term. I think about it for a few minutes and get off the scale. She's right.

Besides, who are we kidding? Reducing my weight by 37 pounds would mean I would be able to trounce around town in tube tops and capri pants.

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