The experience of attempting multiple diets has been felt by many, and typically they'll discover that the diets do not work, or that after brief weight loss they gain everything back again. This might be because the diet you chose wasn't right for you, or it could be because you did not stay on track with it for long enough. In any event, you're more likely to have success with a diet if it's consistent with your goals and lifestyle and if its one that's backed by sound nutritional principles.

No matter which diet you end up choosing, being aware of the food you're consuming is a must. Whilst this doesn't sound too difficult it can actually be very easy to lose track of how many calories you've eaten in a day, including snacks and drinks. This is why you should start a food journal or diary as you will be able to note down every single thing that you consume, whether it be big or small. If you do this for even a couple of weeks, you'll probably be surprised at all the extras that slip in. You may believe that you're sticking to your diet, but you're actually not counting everything. By using the food journal as a tool you'll be helped with staying on course with your diet, or at least being aware of if you are cheating.

One thing you should do before you choose a diet is decide how much guidance and structure you would like. You need to be honest if you want to get the most out of it. Choosing your own food and counting calories is something you have to when it comes to some diets. With other diets, however, you're given specific guidelines on what you're allowed to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner and even in between meals. To make sure people stick to the diet, some people like this structure but others find it way too restrictive, so they will quit the diet. Neither of the diets are better, it is just all about which is best fitting for you.

When evaluating diets, you shouldn't rely on sales pages or book jackets, but do a little research into who created the diet. You should be able to see how reliable and effective the diet is by doing this. You should have a look to see if the diet is endorsed by any medical professionals. You may see diets that don't have any science behind them and seem to be a gimmick to sell books or courses, if this is the case then you should look elsewhere. Actual results is what proves a good diet, not if it has a catchy name or wild claims.

There's no one holy grail of diets that's going to be effective for everybody. You have to be patient and give the diet a chance, for one thing. Except for extremely low calorie diets, which aren't usually considered healthy, it's best to lose weight gradually, as this gives you the best chance of keeping the weight off for good.