Whether you're paleo or vegan, following Atkins or Dukan, or eating like women in France, you'll probably lose weight if you follow the pre-set meal plans presented by these diets' advocates.

If you have a gym membership, there's no excuse not to whittle away excess belly fat, because all the tools you need are within your reach.

Helping a 12-year-old lose weight can take encouragement and perseverance on your part. You'll need to guide your child so that she consumes fewer calories than she burns. To do this, provide lean, healthy meals and snacks that befit her calorie expenditure.

The hourglass figure is usually a desired one. The body is in proportion, with the shoulders and hips being near the same width, but with a small waist separating them and envious curves in the chest, hips and bottom. An exercise program generally involves fat loss, but do not fear that you will lose your curves.

When you gain weight, and the fat decides to settles under your chin, it changes the contour of your face and affects your appearance. To reduce this fat, a full-body weight-loss approach is required. Just spot reducing any area of your body isn't possible; you can't pick and choose where you lose weight.

If you have high blood glucose levels, you may take metformin hydrochloride, an oral anti-hyperglycemic medication that lowers blood sugar. Metformin may also help you lose weight in some cases by decreasing your appetite.

If you're dropping numbers on the scale, but not the tape measure, don't despair. Eventually, you'll lose inches as well, but the rate at which you lose them and where may depend on your genes, whether you exercise and what exercises you do. Inches -- and even pounds -- are not the only measure of improvement.

Where your metabolism is concerned, 50 is not the new 30. Resting metabolic rate – the number of calories your body burns while at rest – decreases as both men and women get older, which means you need fewer daily calories as you age. Moreover, significant weight loss through dieting can slow your metabolism even more.

You've made the decision that you're ready to lose excess weight and have started making changes to your diet and exercise routine. But as you're losing, you may notice your skin isn't bouncing back. As an elastic organ, your skin stretches and contracts to form with the shape of your body.

Maintaining a trim waist is often challenging. However, keep in mind that it's dangerous to carry extra weight in this area.

When it comes to losing weight, it helps when you set up manageable goals -- like taking two months to get the weight off. But that also means making sure that your weight loss goals are realistic.

The best way to reduce the size of your calves depends on whether your calves are large because of fat or muscle. If your calves are fatty, you must reduce your overall weight by reducing the calories you consume and increasing the calories you burn through diet and exercise.