Want to reverse age-related weight gain? There’s no magic pill. But there is a magic plan. Follow this 6-week diet-and-exercise program, created by Christine Lydon, MD, and you’ll wipe out 15 pounds—and look a decade younger.

You want to lose a few pounds. And you’d love to look younger. To help you on both counts, Health teamed up with fitness-and-weight-loss expert Christine Lydon, MD, to put together this groundbreaking plan based on her new book Ten Years Thinner: 6 Weeks to a Leaner, Younger-Looking You. The program not only blasts off fat but specifically targets the zones where women tend to accumulate fat as they age (belly, butt, thighs, and upper arms). Plus, it fights inflammation, a common culprit behind dull skin, wrinkles, low energy, and flab.

To give you great results in six weeks, Lydon devised 20- to 25-minute combined cardio-and-strength routines with bursts of high-intensity activity that rev up metabolism (which naturally slows over the years).

“Those bursts are the way to maximize calorie afterburn—the number of calories your body continues to burn after you stop exercising,” Lydon says. “Plus you’re building more muscle to boost your metabolism for more around-the-clock fat-burning.” The result: A slimmer, younger-looking you … fast. Sound good? Read on.