If you consume more calories than you burn, you will gain weight. For permanent weight loss, you also need to learn sound eating habits. While fad diets may take the weight off, they don't teach you how to keep it off. Remember, you're learning a way to live, not just a way to diet. And to keep weight off, you must stay motivated.
Most health professionals recommend slow weight loss as the safest and most effective approach.
Gradual weight loss promotes long-term loss of body fat, not just water weight that can be quickly regained. Most people leading moderately active lives need about 15 calories per pound to maintain their weight. For example, a 150-pound person would have to eat foods containing no more than 2,250 calories each day to maintain his or her weight. To lose one pound, a person must burn 3,500 calories more than are consumed. For example, reducing calories by 300 per day and increasing daily activity to burn off an additional 200 calories should result in a weight loss of one pound per week.