I am not a fan of the concept of dieting, period. When I didn't know any better, I went on several diets as a teenager, and am not proud of it. Over several years, I have learnt the key aspects of the best diet to lose weight. Here's the truth - The best diet to lose weight should not feel like a diet, it should be a lifestyle.

Here's the problem with a diet - It is temporary, which means you will not stick with it. The best diet to lose weight is something you can live with day after day. It's an approach to eating which involves healthy food, and occasional cheating.

If you don't cheat once in a while, you will end up cheating all the time. Therefore, cheating is a part of a healthy diet! Let's take a close look at several 'diet plans' in the market and analyze them. The drawbacks of a ?strict diet' to lose weight are:

(a) Diets require that you eat a certain way, with typical restrictions. Unless a diet is well-planned, it may emphasize too much of one nutrient at the expense of another . For example, a high protein diet is, as the name suggests, high in protein and fat. By default, this means that it's hard to get a satisfactory supply of complex carbohydrates and essential vitamins and minerals with such a diet. Although some updated diet plans attempt to correct this imbalance with healthy choices, the million dollar question is:- Can you stick with that plan for the rest of your life? Research has shown that individuals who go on a strict diet tend to give up at some point. If they revert back to old (generally unhealthy) eating habits, they not only gain the weight back, but put on some more weight! This leads to a vicious ?yo-yo' affect in which he/she goes on yet another diet, and fails to lose weight. The only think one ends up losing is hope, motivation and knowledge about the right foods/habits to get on the right track.

(b) Many diets require some degree of starvation. Starving is a surefire way to slow down your metabolism and gain weight in the long run! If you don't eat enough, your metabolism shuts down so your body gets used to eating little calories. Your body develops a tendency to store fat, instead of lose it.

(c) A diet can be an ordeal to sustain for many people. It can affect your social life (you can't eat what your friends are eating), your state of mind and even your health. Any food restriction in diets (and if you find a best diet to lose weight, you can bet it involves some type of restriction) can be harmful because the body does not obtain a sufficient variety of nutrients. Also, if you give up on the diet, you not only regain the weight, but tend to 'binge' on the foods you missed and may even become worse in your eating habits!

The best way to find a diet that works for you is to experiment. Enjoy the foods you like in moderation. Only indulge if you really have to, and reduce the instances of 'cheating'. I have. Try and get a diet plan and use it as a benchmark for what you can, and cannot eat. Read food labels and try and shop as healthy as you can.

In summary, the best diet to lose weight is healthy, something you can live with, and from which you can deviate once in a while.