A controlled and well balanced diet is essential for everyone. For the diet to be effective in loosing weight ,the calorie intake has to be regulated in such a way that calorific value of the food eaten is less than the calories burnt by the body during the day's activities.

This should be done with a proper understanding of the nutritional values of the food being consumed ,otherwise it may cause the following problems:

With drastic low calorie diets it is not just the fat which is reduced, often 40% of the weight reduction is due to loss of active cell mass, which atrophies the muscle and organs and consequently energy requirement of body reduces proportionately.

After reaching this state, the body quickly adapts to the diminished levels of energy supply by slowing down the rest metabolism. Therefore even at lower levels of calorie intake, the body may start storing fat.

Losing weight through diets is a slow process. It requires a lot of will power to go through with it.

The help of a professional is required to balance the calories.

Usually ,once the diet is discontinued ,the body will quickly restore the lost fat resources. Most of the times it would be a few kilos extra.

By dieting there is no control over the areas you would loose fat. Fat deposits could be reduced from some places you may want to retain for example, at the breast (which may become smaller and sag) or the support of fat in the eye socket (which would give the face, an emaciated look. Quite often the fat reserves on the stomach, hips and thighs are not burnt.

Broil, bake or boil your food rather than fry it.

Cook stews and casseroles in advance; cool and remove the fat before reheating and serving.

Drain fat from pan before serving.

Substitute broth for some of the fat you would normally use in cooking.

Choose lean meat, fish, poultry and dried beans and peas as your source of protein.

Trim excess fat off meats, and remove skin from poultry.

Cut down on the amount of sauces and salad dressing you add to foods in cooking and at the table.

Switch from whole milk to skim or low fat milk.

Choose low-fat soft cheese and medium fat hard cheese.

Limit your consumption of butter, cream, hydrogenated margarines, and food made with these products.

Read food packaging labels carefully to find out both the amount and types of fat contained in the processed foods.

Choose food products marked low fat.

Avoid or limit alcohol consumption.