If you're like most North Americans, chances are you could stand to lose a few pounds. Even if you're only a few pounds overweight, those extra pounds could still cause some serious long-term problems. If it's more than just a few pounds, it's time to take weight-loss seriously. If lowering your cholesterol is also necessary, you should keep this in mind as well when changing your diet.
Talk to your doctor about finding the right weight-loss plan for you. There are many weight-loss strategies and most include some combination of exercise and diet. Dieting alone, fad diets, and quick-loss diets may not be the right way to lose weight if you want to keep
it off for the long run. You may need to get professional help, such as with a dietitian or nutritionist. They can develop plans just for you and teach you about portion control and ways to limit calories without limiting taste.