The South Beach Diet is a low-calorie diet plan designed for relatively rapid weight loss. It promotes the consumption of complex carbohydrates, lean meats and healthy fats. It is broken up into three phases. Phase one is very restrictive and nearly carbohydrate-free.

Along with weight gain during pregnancy, swelling of your hands and feet -- enough to make getting your rings off and wearing certain shoes difficult -- commonly occurs.

The fear of weight gain may be one of the most dreaded consequences of quitting smoking -- especially among figure-conscious young women. It’s true that kicking the habit might cause you to go through weight fluctuations, but weight gain is not a sure thing.

You don't need a gym to get a quality workout -- just head out the front door for a brisk walk. It's the most popular way to stay fit, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2012. Walking as an exercise can even help you lose weight, if combined with a low-calorie diet.

Trying to lose a lot of weight in a short period of time is a bad idea. It's not a healthy approach to weight loss. Worse, if you lose weight fast the odds are very high that you will simply gain back the pounds you lost. So if you are thinking of weight loss in terms of a year, you are on the right track.

Many different conditions can cause weight gain around the middle. No matter what the cause, belly fat is dangerous to your health, increasing your risk of heart disease, diabetes, gallbladder disorders and certain kinds of cancers.

Losing weight is challenging, as anyone who's ever been on a diet knows. However, once you've reached your goal weight, returning to your old habits will pack the pounds back on. According to "Oprah" magazine, 80 percent of people who lose weight gain it right back.

Fluid retention occurs due to your body's reaction to warm weather, high salt intake and hormonal changes caused by menstruation. To remove excess fluid from body tissues, increase water intake and reduce sodium consumption. Water is a natural diuretic that naturally helps alleviate fluid retention.

Water weight, water retention or edema all describe the bloated feeling when your body holds excess water in the tissues. Water weight can be caused by medical problems, such as congestive heart failure or, more commonly, by hormonal fluctuations that occur as a result of a woman's monthly cycle.

If developing firm, defined abs tops your list of fitness goals, an optimal diet for you to follow should include nutrient-dense foods that can help burn body fat and build lean muscle.

It is imperative you have a weight scale in the house if you are serious about fitness and weight loss. A scale can let you know when you need improvement, and encourage you when you're feeling frustrated. You can purchase a bathroom scale almost anywhere, but getting a scale that is accurate is key.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away, but three or four might not keep extra pounds at bay. All fruits contain calories or energy that you need for basic functions such as respiration, temperature regulation and digestion, as well as any physical activity you perform.