Many weight-loss plans include recommendations for strength training, so you gain valuable muscle mass to help with calorie burning. The two to three resistance-training sessions suggested per week for these plans won't turn you into a body builder, but will help you preserve some tone and function as you slim down.

Oatmeal and cream of wheat, also known as farina, may really hit the spot on those cold mornings, but you may wonder if hot cereals fit into your low-carb diet. It really depends on your carb allowance and whether you want to spend them on one of these high-carb breakfasts.

You need one in your car, just in case -- but there's no "just in case" requirement for that spare tire that surrounds your midsection. If you're hoping to work off that unsightly abdominal fat, you'll be doing yourself a favor in not only appearance, but also in preventing chronic diseases.

The 3-day water diet, a fad diet, was created in the 1980s by an unknown individual and is still frequently used today. This diet is meant to be used for achieving quick and short-term weight loss goals. The 3-day water diet involves low calorie dieting. A dieter should simply drink nothing but water for three days.

Drinking an herbal tea to help rid your body of toxic substances and lose weight sounds like a healthy way to drop those pounds; ultimately, however, you may be disappointed with the results. A detox tea may help you lose some weight, but not in a way that makes the weight loss permanent.

A high-protein diet is a popular option individuals who are trying to lose or gain weight. Because protein constitutes the building blocks of muscle, followers of high-protein diets hope to gain muscle, or preserve muscle mass while trying to lose weight.

Many diet pills claim to produce weight loss with no effort required on your part. One of the most egregious claims made by weight loss drug marketers is that they will enable you to lose weight without exercise.

In 2003, a 12-week Brazilian study divided dieting women into three groups, each one supplementing their daily diet with either three apples, three pears or three low-fat oat cookies.

The Atkins Diet is a low-carbohydrate approach to losing weight. It puts an emphasis on eating meat, fish, eggs, cheese and vegetables while strictly limiting consumption of carbohydrates. P.J. Doolin at Atkins.

Being overweight can be risky for your overall health, but a particular type of fat, called visceral fat, can be especially dangerous. Visceral fat is the fat that accumulates around your waistline, and it's more deeply set into your abdomen than subcutaneous fat that settles in other areas of your body.

Phentermine is a sympathetic amine, which means it is a stimulant very similar to an amphetamine. Phentermine has one purpose -- as a short-term pharmacologic, or drug, therapy for weight loss in obese patients. Although approved for only one indication, the effects of phentermine are felt across multiple body systems.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one third of all adults and 17 percent of all children in the United States are obese. Obesity rates doubled for adults in the past three decades and tripled for children, and show no signs of decreasing in the near future.