The Ultimate Weight Loss Quiz

At any given time, an estimated 40 percent of American women are on a diet.

A serving of meat, poultry or fish should be about the size of a deck of cards or the palm of a small or average-sized hand.

The basal metabolic rate is the amount of energy your body needs to function when at rest, which accounts for about 60 to 70 percent of the calories the average human burns each day.

The theory behind a low-carb diet is that carbohydrates can cause blood sugar levels to spike and drop, causing an increase in appetite. Reducing carbohydrate intake is thought to help better regulate appetite by cutting out these spikes and troughs in blood sugar.

The body mass index (BMI) quantifies whether you're overweight. Divide your weight in pounds by 2.2 and your height in inches by 39.37. Now you've got your metric measurements. Multiply your height in meters by itself (e.g., 1.89 x 1.89), use that product to divide your metric weight and you've got your body mass index number. A normal BMI is between 19 and 25.

The St. Louis Salt-only Diet isn't a real diet. The Hollywood Miracle Diet and the Cabbage Soup Diet actually are.

At the beginning of a diet, the initial weight loss comes from a loss of water and the breakdown of muscle protein rather than the loss of fat.

The American Heart Association's Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes program suggests 25 to 35 percent of your daily caloric intake should come from fats. Remember some fats are better than others, however.

Using nonstick pots and pans can reduce the amount of added fats (in the forms of oil or butter), you need when cooking.