by: Kirsten Hawkins

If you’re on a diet, or considering going on one, you’re in luck.
We’ve put together ten of the most frequently asked questions about
diets and weight loss and compiled them here. Enjoy!

1. How much should I weigh?
Your doctor can answer that question most accurately. More important
than how much you weigh is your body/mass index, which measures your
height against your weight.

2. What's the best diet for losing weight?
Any diet that provides all the nutrition that you need for health,
and in addition, provides fewer calories than your body burns
regularly.

3. How can I keep off the weight that I lose?
If you lose weight gradually and re-educate both yourself and your
body about food, you'll have a good start. The secret to keeping
weight off is to balance your energy needs with your food intake.
Eat enough calories to supply your body's energy needs, but not so
many that your body stores the excess as fat.

4. What's the story with obesity and diabetes?
Obesity increases the risks of a number of chronic health
conditions, and diabetes is one of them. People who are more than
ten percent overweight increase their risk of developing type 2
diabetes substantially.

5. How do I decrease my intake of sugar?
Obviously, you can decrease your intake of sugar by cutting out
sweets and refined snacks, but you should also watch out for
'hidden' sugars. Check ingredients. High fructose corn syrup and
sucrose are both simple sugars that add lots of calories and little
nutrition.

6. How often should I weigh myself?
Most diet experts recommend that you weigh yourself no more than
once a week. Some go so far as to tell you to throw out the scale
entirely! A more accurate measure of your loss is your clothing
size. If your clothing is feeling looser, you're doing great.

7. Do I really have to exercise?
You don't HAVE to, but it will be a lot harder to lose weight if you
don't. A half hour of moderate exercise daily is the minimum
activity level for healthy weight loss. You can get it walking,
running, cleaning your house - anything active burns calories.

8. What's a calorie?
A calorie is a measure of energy. Foods are rated with calories
based on the amount of energy they provide to the body when
consumed.

9. Can I lose weight without changing my diet?
Weight loss results when you burn more calories than you consume. If
you only need to lose a small amount of weight and your diet is
generally healthy, you can lose weight by increasing your activity
level to burn more calories. If your diet is poor, or if you're more
than a few pounds overweight, you really need to learn a new, more
healthy way or eating, or you'll put the weight back on when you go
back to 'normal' eating.

10. Should I eat fish on my diet?
Unless it's expressly forbidden by your diet, absolutely. Fish is
high protein, low saturated fat, and high in omega 3 fatty acids.
Some doctors recommend eating as much as 10 servings of fish per
week.

About the author:
Kirsten Hawkins is a nutrition and health expert from Nashville, TN.
Visit http://www.popular-diets.com/for more great nutrition,
well-being, and vitamin tips as well as reviews and comments on
popular diets.