Major weight loss can literally save your life: By reducing your body fat down to a healthy level, you not only alleviate excess strain on your joints, but lower your risk of several chronic diseases, ranging from heart disease to certain types of cancer.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 68 percent of adult Americans over the age of 20 are either obese or overweight. The majority of Americans need to lose weight but struggle with how to do it.

If you’re trying to lose weight, adding sesame oil to your diet may help. However, boosting your intake of sesame oil isn’t a guarantee you’ll lose weight -- especially because this oil is high in calories.

Running is an intense physical exercise that provides benefits for your heart, lungs, muscles and skeletal system. Running uphill increases the intensity of this exercise.

You should be able to lose several pounds in one month -- but to keep it off, don't fall victim to a strict, fad diet that promises fast results. Those types of plans leave you hungry and unsatisfied, which might make sticking to the diet difficult. To win the weight loss game, you need to go slow and steady.

If you're only a few pounds overweight, losing those pounds isn't going to make a difference in your height. The exercise you put in to do it, though, might. The improved posture gained from regular, functional exercise can make you look noticeably taller.

What makes Weight Watchers stand out from other diet programs is that you can eat whatever you like because there are no off-limit foods. However, if you're eating fast food and cake, you'll use up your points on a small amount of food and may end up being very hungry.

The frontal lobe section of your brain is known as your “emotional center." It not only controls emotion, it is also where your personality is formed. This area plays a role in memory, controlling movement and judgment, as well as social and sexual behavior.

If you have a special occasion coming up, such as a high school reunion or a family gathering, you may be tempted to try to lose weight in a hurry to fit into a smaller clothing size. The amount of time that it will take you depends on your current size, as well as how dedicated you are to losing weight and toning up.

You're committed to eating a healthy, portion-controlled meal plan and you vow to get to the gym several times a week. You want to see and feel the results of your efforts pronto. When you cut calories, your body begins to burn small amounts of fat.

Lack of time and a busy schedule should not be an excuse for being overweight and unhealthy. You can adopt a healthier, lower-calorie plan without complex number crunching and measuring of food.

The Leptin diet is a program devised by board certified clinical nutritionist Byron J. Richards, the founder of a supplement company called Wellness Resources and an expert on the hormone leptin. Leptin is produced in your fat stores, and its job is to signal your brain when you have taken in enough food.