In today’s fast tracked world the easiest way for most people to lose weight is by dieting. However, giving up specific foods and expecting to lose weight does not always work, does it? If you have a clear idea about dieting, then you would have figured out by now why some diets fail while others work. Thus, when it comes to choosing weight loss programmes it should not be a very difficult choice for you. Here’s a low down about some of the hottest diet programmes these days.

Atkins proposes that eating a large amount of carbohydrates results in overproduction of insulin, which leads to increased hunger pangs and consequently weight gain. It thus promotes the idea of eating foods high in protein and fat and limiting carbohydrate intake to 15-60 grams per day.

Pros:
The increase in protein decreases food cravings and leads to rapid weight loss.

Cons:
Eating unlimited amounts of saturated fat can lead to an increased risk of heart disease.
A diet that limits carbohydrates causes the body to rely on muscle or fat for energy (recall that carbohydrate is the body's primary fuel source). When the body breaks down stored fat to supply energy, ketone is formed. Ketones may suppress appetite, but they also cause fatigue, nausea and a potentially dangerous fluid loss. Anyone with diabetes, heart or kidney problems should not follow a diet that promotes the formation of ketones.

Expert Speak:
The overwhelming consensus is that this diet is a complete failure. Any weight loss is immediately regained (and usually more). It's unhealthy and dangerous!

Do you like the idea of eating only certain foods? Do you enjoy measuring foods and timing every meal? If you answered yes to both, then this diet may be for you. According to this diet plan, each blood type has its own antigen marker that doesn't react well to certain foods. Thus you avoid those foods and lose weight.

Cons:
The list of each blood type's food restrictions eliminates specific groups of foods – that means you're guaranteed to miss out on nutrients you need.

Expert Speak:
Most experts expressed amazement that a diet premise this absurd found a following. According to experts, blood type has got nothing to do with weight loss.

This plan propagates that for one to five days, you drink juice and nothing but juice (100 per cent fruit and vegetable juices). You may dilute your juices with water, but no salt, sugar or additives are allowed.

Pros:
The pounds will appear to drop off because of the very low calorie intake (although you're really losing mostly water).
Some believe juice fasts allow the body to rejuvenate and cleanse itself.

Cons:
This diet slows your metabolism to a grinding halt in the fastest possible time.
Also you cannot return back to solid foods diet post-haste as your tummy has taken a vacation and needs some time to get back up to speed. So ease back in with foods that are easy to digest.

Expert Speak:
You're asking for trouble when you try fasting (unless you're supervised by a physician). Your body is usually worse off after the fast than when you started. This happens because your body will try to protect itself for the next time it is starved by storing excess calories as soon as you stop fasting. This means you could eat less than you ate before the fast and yet gain weight.

Fat has more than double the calories of carbohydrates and proteins, so the diet plan argues that if you reduce the fat in your diet you'll lose weight. Swap fatty foods (fried, snack foods, cheeses, meats) with lower-fat versions or eat smaller portions.

Pros:
Only 20 per cent of the calories you eat come from fat, so the foods at the very top of the food pyramid (butter, mayonnaise, cheese) are greatly reduced or eliminated.
If you are at risk for heart disease, obesity or cancer, then reducing your intake of saturated fat (animal fat, cheese and dairy products) is a smart choice.
This plan promotes foods like fruits and vegetables, which are low in fat and rich in nutrients, which is very healthy.

Cons:
However, this plan isn't healthy and won't work if the low-fat or non-fat foods are not fresh.
Eating foods high in sugar, but low in fat inevitably leads to the snack well syndrome. This happens when a large quantity of fat-free snacks are consumed because they don't contain fat. Often, fat-free is confused with calorie-free, so you think it's okay to polish off the box.
Fat-free processed foods will definitely cause you to pile on the pounds if you eat too much.

Expert Speak:
Eating excess fat is not the only reason people gain weight. You gain weight when you eat more calories than your body can use. Studies show that people who cut down fat intake well below 30 per cent tend to add more calories to their diet because they're hungry. The less fat you have in your diet, the hungrier you'll be. The American Dietetic Association recommends that less than 30 per cent of the day's total calories should come from fat and less than 10 per cent from saturated fat.

Developed to treat heart diseases Pritkin is a very low-fat, primarily vegetarian diet that is based on whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Processed foods such as pasta and white bread, animal proteins, eggs and most types of fats are not allowed.

Pros:
This diet is perfect for those who don't like calorie counting or watching portions.

Cons:
However, low-fat diets often increase hunger leading to overeating. When you significantly decrease the fat in your diet, your body will start craving calories from sugars and carbohydrates.
It is low in vitamins and minerals, due to the elimination of many types of foods.

Expert Speak:
If you have heart disease or a strong family history of heart disease, then the Pritikin plan is the answer for you. However, when it comes to weight loss, this diet is too low in fat and restrictive to stay on long enough to lose weight and keep it off.

Like the Atkins diet, this is a high-protein diet. It proposes that a higher protein, lower carbohydrate diet decreases hunger and consequently weight. Unlike Atkins, the Zone allows greater carbohydrate intake: the diet's breakdown is 40 per cent protein, 30 per cent fat and 30 per cent carbohydrate. All meals and snacks follow this 40:30:30 ratios, which allow the body to work within its peak performance zone for utmost energy and weight loss.

Pros:
The low-calorie intake allows you to drop weight rapidly while eating foods like red meat.

Cons:
The health risks, like heart disease and cancer, are similar to the Atkins Diets, though little lesser as Zone allows for more healthy carbohydrates, such as veggies and fruits.
You may drop pounds quickly, but you regain them just as fast once you go off the diet.
Lastly, the time it takes to follow the Zone's stringent guidelines is like having a part-time job.

Expert Speak:
The Zone's popularity can be attributed to good word of mouth because people have lost weight on the diet. It works because it's a low-calorie diet in disguise. When you decrease your calories, weight loss will soon follow. But as soon as you eat that extra bite, you know what your body will do with it. Both the American Dietetic Association and the American Heart Association disapprove strongly of the Zone primarily due to its high protein content.

Now that you know more about the different kinds of diets, it might make it easier for you to decide which diet you want to follow. On the other hand, it might just make it all the more harder.