All dieters are not created equal. There is a great difference in how much extra weight we are carrying, how fit we are and what kinds of foods we like to eat.

This means that "losing weight fast" doesn't mean the same thing for all people. Not having a clear goal in mind is one of the things that contributes to the high number of failures in dieting.

Write down your expectations after your read this article. Ensure that these are really your expectations and not pressure from family and friends.

Make sure what you've written down is doable for you. Account for your strengths and weaknesses. Make sure you don't overload your weaknesses.

It is better to go a little slower than to blow the whole deal by setting aggressive and unrealistic goals.

Now let's get down to the 5 ways.

1) Trade in your junk food menu for high quality food

The percentage of junk food in many diets today is just too high. This kind of food is lacking in nutrition, full of harmful additives and can contain as much as 3000 calories in a single sitting. Add to this the fact that much of this junk is packed with the most health endangering fats you find, it is clear that this stuff is not the way to go.

Merely moving away from this type of food will go a long way towards getting rid of those unwanted pounds.

Find your way to the fruit and vegetable section of the food stores. Going for the more complex carbohydrates and high-fibers is a great decision as well.

Foods like these will raise your metabolism. The body must also spend more calories to digest them.

This one change alone will have your waistline showing you its appreciation in the mirror every morning.

2) Load up on the water.

This is so commonly recommended, you are probably going "Yah, yah. Here we go again." Well the recommendation to drink lots of water is excellent advice. However, a little more accuracy about how much is a lot might be helpful. This determination is controlled by things like weight, age and level of activity.

While to really nail this number down is complex, there is an approximation that seems to work fairly well. Divide the pounds you weigh by 2 and you will get the number of ounces of water you should drink a day.

There is a fairly common approach to figuring out an approximate answer. It is a simple formula: Divide your body weight by 2 to get the number of ounces of water that you should drink each day.

I am partial to this method because it helps to account for the dramatic difference in weight among people. If you weigh 120 pounds, you should be drinking 60 ounces of water or 7 1/2 glasses of water a day.

The size of your food portions are a major player in "the lose" fat game. If you can cut your portions by 10% to 20%, you can make a big difference. If this is hard for you, try substituting some of your high calorie food with low calorie alternatives like apples, celery, tomatoes, grapefruit etc.

If you are used to eating really large portions, try either reducing your portions by 10 to 20 percent, or restrict yourself to eating "low impact" foods. Tomatoes, celery, cabbage, apples and grapefruits are examples of great choices for larger portions.

Do not skip this in an effort to make things happen faster. Watching what you are eating all the time is stressful. This stress is the cause of many failed diets.

Once a week, give yourself open menu rights. Eat the foods you enjoy and leave the guilt behind. This is your relief day; enjoy it and come back refreshed and ready to lose a few more pounds.

Give yourself a "free" day and eat what you want. Want a pizza, have a pizza, Big Mac or whatever. It's a scheduled event, so there's no need to feel guilty. Enjoy the day.

Yes, you may lose a little ground, but against the rest of the week, this lose will be small. But the gains you will make in maintaining a great, gung-ho attitude will be great. This can make the dieting process much more pleasurable.

There is another situation that causes a lot of diet failure: having to eat out and not being able to find the right foods to eat.

So keep some food with you in the car or at work or whatever is appropriate for you. Thermos lunchboxes are great for this.

The game plan is to keep yourself out of the way of temptation. We don't want any off-menu foods sneaking into the tummy unless it's party day.

On a final note: remember to be kind to yourself. As dieters, we can be pretty harsh on ourselves at times. Don't. You are always doing the best you can at the time. And whatever that is, it's okay . . . tomorrow's another fresh new day.

There is nothing natural or easy about dieting. If you slip, do not throw your gains away by getting frustrated and giving up. Maintain your commitment; don't be swayed by any negativity you may come in contact with. Say "oops" and realize that tomorrow's another day.

Always relish your successes, large or small. The pounds you drop are your badges of honor . . . wear them proudly. This will give you the spiritual lift to lose another pound, and then another. Then one day, before you know it, you are there . . . your perfect weight.