Millions of people across the world are dieting at this very moment. Indeed, in the United States alone, it is estimated that one out of every three adults is currently on some form of diet. For many dieting will succeed in the short term but, for the vast majority of people, not only will any weight lost be regained but many will end up weighing more than before they started their diet.

So why do so many diets fail?

We live in an age in which speed is all important and we want whatever we want right now and not tomorrow or next week. Dieting is no exception and most people want to see rapid results and so set themselves unrealistic goals such as losing twenty pounds in a month. When this doesn't happen they then simply blame the diet and either give up altogether or move on to another diet with the same results. Trying to lose weight steadily at about one or two pounds a week is fine but anything over this is simply not sustainable in the longer term.

The next problem for many dieters is that they fail to organize their social life around their diet. Now it's not being suggested here that you should put your social life on hold while you're dieting but abandoning you diet once a week for your Friday night dinner with friends is not going to work. By all means continue to enjoy a full social life but include whatever you're eating and drinking as part of your diet plan. This might mean substituting fresh fruit for your usual baked Alaska but that's the price you're going to have to pay if you want to lose weight.

Another problem for many dieters is that dieting can be expensive and take a surprising amount of effort. Most diets are also boring. Preparing diet meals often means buying healthy food alternatives, which are not always easy to find and can be expensive, and then spending a lot of time preparing a meal which often leaves you wondering if it was worth the effort. The limited choice of foods available for many diets also means that you soon get tired of eating the same old thing every day.

Yet another difficulty which most dieters encounter is that of calculating both the calories they are eating and the calories they are burning up through exercise. It is not at all uncommon to underestimate the former and overestimate the latter.

This is all well and good and is probably enough in itself to show why most diets fail. However, all of this pails into insignificance alongside the real reason for the failure of most diets.

The majority of dieters set out on their diet with the best of intentions and many will research their chosen diet thoroughly and even draw up a detailed and comprehensive diet plan. In nine cases out of ten however these plans are simply too complicated and dieters don't stick to them!

Dieting is not rocket science. In fact dieting is simply a matter of reducing your intake of calories and burning off calories through exercise. If you put together a simple plan to do just that and don't rush things but take your time and lose weight at a pound or two week you'll be surprised just how easy dieting is.

Forget Weight Watchers, the Atkins diet and all the other money making diet products out there and simply cut down on your calorie intake and exercise a little more and, in time, you'll shed those excess pounds.