Do Popular Diets Work?
There is no doubt that you can lose weight if you follow some of the popular diets out there, such as Weight Watchers programmes, the GI Diet, the South Beach Diet or other diets. However, opinion is divided on whether following particular fashionable or popular diets is actually sensible (Compare for example the comments at Can Fad Diets Work? with the online article at Popular Diets 'No Health Threat').
In general I would suggest that you bear in mind the following in deciding what diet to follow:
Balanced Diet Principles
Firstly it is important that whatever diet you follow gives you sufficient nutrition following balanced diet principles. You can see some introductory comments on that at Balanced Diet - Eating Healthily. If in doubt consult your doctor or a qualified nutritionist.
Pick A Diet Plan that Suits You
To give yourself the best chance of success pick the type of diet plan that suits you and your lifestyle.
For example, some people find it easiest to follow diets that give specific recipes for you to choose from, whilst others may follow diets where there are foods that they avoid - sometimes with an element of discretion built in, so that you can allow yourself some weakness or 'sins' within the diet plan provided that you stick to the plan most of the time.
Diets work on the principle that you will be reducing your calorific intake ( a reduction in 500 calories per day below what your body needs to stay at the same weight might result in say a loss of 1lb per week, although different people may respond differently and you need to monitor over a period of time to see the effect in perspective).
Some people may like to follow a diet which strictly counts calories whereas others may find this too numerical or formalistic and will prefer to have general criteria about the type and quantities of foods they will and will not eat.
Some may find it easiest to have hard and fast rules about the time when they will permit themselves to eat and avoid any snacks, whereas others may allow themself some flexibility or have several different small meals per day.
Follow the type of arrangement that you feel you can best stick to, so long as it is reasonably nutritious and enables you to lose weight.
Remember that the first diet plan or approach that you pick may not necessarily be the one that works best for you. Don't give up heart if you have to try different approaches before you find one that suits you.
Can You Stick to Your Diet?
In choosing a diet, bear in mind that you want to stay at a healthy weight after you have lost excess weight. This means that if you revert to old eating habits you may run into problems. So in selecting a diet, either choose one that you think you will be able to follow in the long term (and without any health risks) or start to think about how you will manage to keep your weight at a reasonable level once you stop using the diet plan that initially helps you to lose weight.
Monitor Your Weight
It's easy to misjudge how much weight you are or are not losing.
Weigh yourself regularly - perhaps once a week or once a fortnight, on the same scales at the same time of day (preferably first thing in the morning) to achieve consistency.
Bear in mind that weight can fluctuate for reasons not directly related to your diet - for example, for women your weight may be affected by what stage of your menstrual cylce you are at and people who start exercising as part of their diet plan may find that initially an increase in muscle actually leads to some weight gain before it balances. However, if you monitor your weight regularly over a period of time you will get a clear idea of whether your diet is working or whether you need to change it.
If you haven't yet chosen your diet plan or approach, then start to do some research about some options bearing in mind the above considerations and pick a date to begin trying out the plan or approach that you choose to start with.