Magic diets do not exist. Crash diets or bursts of exercise are not the healthiest way to lose weight. For a successful, healthy weight loss, just follow basic mindful eating and smart nutrition suggestions. The body likes slow changes in terms of food and exercise. If you set sensible goals for yourself, you are more likely to meet them.

Your weight is the result of several factors like how much you eat and what you eat, your age and health, your genetic and psychological makeup etc. All of these factors should be addressed for a successful weight management.

There are many health benefits of weight loss. Losing excess weight considerably reduces the risk of developing diseases like diabetes and heart problems. Keeping your weight in the healthy range now, means you are less likely to be troubled by illnesses in later.

Make your lifestyle healthy. Here are a few tips:

- Start with a realistic goal, which is easier to keep.

- Think of weight loss in terms of permanently changing your eating habits.

- Always stock the house with healthy foods. Keep the fatty foods and sweets to a minimum and fill the fridge with fruits and vegetables.

- Avoid second helpings, especially at dinner. Fill up with soups, salads, raw vegetables and fruits instead.

- Drink lots of water instead of high calorie soft drinks.

- Minimize the use of sugar in tea and coffee.

- Use skimmed milk instead of whole milk.

- Avoid eating processed food

- Do not snack on sweets, fries etc in between meals.

- Never skip breakfast. It's the most important meal of the day. Eat lesser portions at lunch.

- Avoid beer and alcohol.

- Don't burst into a frenzy of exercise. Those who haven't walked for years should not tread miles on a treadmill or do a 100 push ups right at the start. Its more likely to cause you injury apart from leaving you tired and disheartened.

- Start slowly. Set a realistic goal like walking 30 minutes a day and slowly increase the distance and time as and when your body gets used to it.

- Consult your doctor before you start your exercise regime.

All these things will influence your physical and psychological health positively.

What you should not do while on a diet is to starve yourself. It may help you shed some weight, but chances are you will regain that weight as soon as you start eating again. Your body does not get enough nutrients. It can cause numerous negative health effects like gallstones, fainting, malnutrition etc. Also, rapid loss of weight usually means you're losing muscle and water rather than fat.

There are a lot of quick fix diets and supplements promising you a stick thin body. Diet supplements do not really help lose weight if it is not accompanied by healthy eating habits and exercise.
The bottom line is that you need to burn more calories than you consume.