Tried & True Weight Loss Diets

Plenty of fad diet products help you waste your money before they deliver results, but making the right lifestyle changes can help you to achieve and maintain great results. Over time, regaining and losing weight can be extremely discouraging, so find an effective, reasonable eating plan to maintain weight loss.

Moderate Carbohydrate Diets

• The Atkins Diet and the South Beach Diet are two popular plans that take advantage of reduced carbohydrates to support weight loss. Despite some of their flaws, they both enjoy a large following and a lot of success. It is not surprising, since nutrition experts say that eating too much of anything can lead to weight gain, and carbohydrates are no exception. Carbohydrates are especially easy to overeat because they trigger the release of a natural "feel good" chemical, one that can encourage binge eating in those prone to emotional eating. The American Dietetic Association says the lowest risk of being overweight or obese comes when about half of your diet comes from carbohydrates with an emphasis on whole grains, so keep plenty of protein and a little bit of fat in your diet to maintain balanced eating and a healthy weight.

Packaged Food Diets

• Diets that offer pre-portioned foods are advantageous because they keep calories under control and your entire calorie budget in check. Since many can be ordered and sent directly and consistently to you, they allow you a constant supply of diet-friendly foods without the stress of having to constantly prepare something. From meals to desserts, pre-packed meals in grocery stores like Lean Cuisine and Smart Ones also offer great options for relatively few calories.

Low Fat Diets

• WebMD says that even if a diet is low in fat, a reduced overall calorie count is still what matters. Low-fat diets can backfire if fat is replaced with lots more calories in the form of things like "fat free" cookies, cakes and breads. However, wisely replacing some foods allows you to drive down your caloric intake as a whole when you eating about the same amount of food. Making choices like replacing two gourmet chocolate chip cookies with a couple of low-fat biscotti can help you to get steadily closer to your weight loss goal as you cut calories out. Since the fat in products can sometimes be replaced with calorie-laden sugar, check individual labels for the total calories between full and reduced fat for best weight loss results.

Vegan Diets

• Huge salads are just one vegan-friendly meal option.

  Another type of lifestyle change, eating a vegan -- or mostly vegan diet -- automatically cuts out a lot of foods that cause weight to pile on. Gone is the saturated fat, butter, cream sauces and cheese, but what is beneficial about a vegan diet is the focus on what you can eat: any plant-based product you can find. By focusing on plant-based cuisine, which is generally lower in calories than animal products, weight will slip off while you enjoy a fiber-rich, satisfying way of eating.