Diet plans are all over the place for people who have pounds to shed. There's cabbage diets, grape diets, low carbohydrate, low calorie, starvation, and everything in between.

So how does one know the best diet plan for themselves?

There are a few things that one should consider when looking at diet plans. First, they should look at the long term effects of a diet. Sure, some diets offer rapid weight loss - but long term, how will they impact the dieter? Are there unhealthy side effects? Will weight gain return? Are there psychological impacts? Logically speaking, if someone is going to put in the work and discipline to go on a diet, it would make sense to do something that will give them the greatest return on investment.

Another important thing for a dieter to look at when evaluating diet plans is how easily the diet would fit into their lifestyle. It could be very damaging for someone to be on a restrictive diet and then still have to live everyday life - events at work, going out to eat with family and friends, holidays, and everything in between.

Something else to look for is to make sure that if the diet is restrictive food-wise, that you actually like the foods. This might make sense, but there are many people who try out diets (for example, the low carb diet) that simply can't do it long term because of their love for carbs, or dislike for non-carb foods. On the other hand, it might make the most sense for a dieter to restrict something other than foods - such as calories. This way, they can still choose what they want to eat - just eat in moderation.