There are many types of diets floating around. What's right for you depends on your tastes, how much you need to lose, and any underlying medical conditions you may have.
Before you go on any diet, especially if you are very close to being underweight or if you are clinically obese, you should first see your doctor to make sure your plan will not aggravate an underlying condition.
The following suggestions are for those who are healthy, not nursing or expecting a baby, or have any underlying conditions. It is to be used along with a sensible exercise programme to include at least 3 days a week of walking, dancing or aerobic exercises for 1 hour and weight training 1 a week for one hour.
Also, this diet plan includes drinking water. You must drink one full glass of water (8 ounces) before and one full glass (8 ounces) of water after each meal. Drinking this water will fill your stomach causing you to feel less hungry during the meal. The extra water after adds to the fullness and helps your body eliminate it quickly. It is also wise to drink 2 full glasses of water after your exercise.
Your body is made up of mostly water. You do require water in one form or another to survive. All foods contain some degree of water, but for the best results, you should drink at least 6-8 (8 ounces) glasses of fluid, preferably pure water daily.
This exercise plan will help you burn off an extra 400-600 calories per week It may not sound like much, but in a month it equals the loss of a pound. In one year of exercise alone at this pace, you could lose 12 pounds. Unlike dieting weight, weight lost during exercise does not fluctuates as much. It builds muscle which in turn helps you burn fat easier which causes you to lose more weight.
The diet plan to follow will allow you 1200-1500 calories daily. It takes about 3200 calories burned in order to lose one pound. If you sit around all day doing nothing, you burn off about 2200 calories. If you take in 1500 calories per day and use up 2200 calories, you will lose one pound every 4-5 days. By combining diet with exercise, you speed up the effect of weight loss because it allows you to burn more calories than you take in.
Following this plan, as is, you should expect to lose a safe 2-3 pounds per week. The more you decide to exercise or become more active along with this plan, the more you will lose.