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The first thing you need to determine is whether you need to lose weight and whether, if you do, you are willing to commit to a lifestyle change. You shouldn’t go on a diet, because diets fail – change your diet, change your life. And it does take work – it takes being aware of what you put into your body and how it affects your body.

The next thing you should ask yourself is what your problem areas are. What are your food weaknesses? Are you a cheese man, an ice cream woman? Do you snack when you’re nervous? Are you a compulsive eater? Do you go out to eat too many times a week? Do you like pizza a little too much? Do you cook everything you make in butter? Do you just not know the best things to eat? It is important to know your weaknesses so you know how best to correct them.

Also, it is crucial that before you go on a diet, you talk to your doctor. Your weight management problem could be caused by problems other than diet, such as hypothyroidism, or you may have type II diabetes, which will make it harder to lose weight even when you go through all the right motions. Once you talk to your doctor, you can make an informed decision about what kind of diet change is right for you.

Atkins: The Atkins diet is popularly known as the low-carb diet. The principle of the diet rests on the understanding that so many people gain unwanted weight due to refined carbohydrates such as sugar, flour, and high fructose corn syrup (basically, anything in baked goods or desserts) and that the dangers of saturated fat is over exaggerated – instead, trans fat is the culprit when it comes to vascular disease. The Atkins diet centers around restricting carbohydrates in order to make the body metabolize with other energy sources in the body besides carbohydrates. Specifically, fat. All foods consumed should have a low glycemic index, means that the glucose levels don’t spike and fall, but instead stay within acceptable glucose levels for a longer amount of time, thus stimulating the metabolism. This does not mean that you can eat all the fatty things you want – it is merely a plan that encourages moderation in all things and a general elimination of refined sugar.

South Beach: The South Beach diet is similar to the Atkins diet in that it encourages a low-carbohydrate diet, but it also encourages eating food low in saturated fat. Like the Atkins diet, bad carbohydrates are discouraged while good carbohydrates are allowed. The South Beach diet encourages that you stay away from saturated fats while unsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are perfectly acceptable. This is not a diet, though, in which you are expected to starve – you are supposed to eat about six meals a day and eat when you are hungry until you are full. There are no counting calories, just making good decisions with what you do eat.

Weight Watchers: We are all familiar with the points plan from Weight Watchers in which you are given a certain amount of daily points and can fill them as you may. The limitations of the points makes you choose wisely what you need to eat from all four food groups (with little goodies here and there), and you are encouraged to eat only until satisfied, not full. Points increase with exercise – the caloric intake and caloric expenditure format. One of Weight Watchers’ primary benefits is that you can be part of a group, and with group effort comes accountability.

Jenny Craig: Jenny Craig, like Weight Watchers, has the benefit of group accountability and a support system. Counselors teach their clients exactly how to eat (with small, prepackaged meals filled with the right kinds of foods according to the USDA food pyramid), how to exercise, and how to achieve balance in one’s life in order to perpetuate these habits. The general Jenny Craig focus is on calorie-controlled moderation, balance, and being able to continue the diet and exercise changes after the client leaves the program.

Choosing the right program for you is the first key to success with your weight loss program.