If you’ve gone to a bookstore after the holidays, you probably noticed the giant stack of diet books that magically appears near the entrance right at the start of the year. Whether you find these books guilt-inducing or inspiring, one thing’s for sure: most of them sound too good to be true. More often than not, they probably are.

Fad diets or popular weight loss diets aren’t new; in fact, they return every year with different names and perhaps a different celebrity endorser. Here are the six basic fad diets, why they won’t work, and why they can even be unhealthy. You may not find these exact titles at a bookstore near you, but hopefully this article can help you recognize the gimmicks no matter how they’ve been tarted up.

There so many ways to lose weight, but the tricky part is maintaining the weight loss. Diet advocates argue that skipping food groups and reducing calories is the key to losing weight, but will following a diet be worthwhile if you end up with your old eating habits once you’ve shaved off the weight? This is what most people do with fad diets, and why diets “don’t work.”

There is no one weight loss approach that works for everyone because we have unique biochemical makeup. However, weight loss plans that work do so because they are built on the basic tenets of permanent weight management. Follow these weight management tips to help you maintain your figure for good.

There are such things as super-foods that help you lose weight and maintain it – and no, they’re not miracle foods that can magically “melt fat”. Rather, these foods aid weight loss by helping you burn more calories or helping you eat less. Nutritionists say that fruits, vegetables, fiber-rich foods, and proteins are the best super-foods for weight loss, because they make you feel full without all the calories.

Before we go on to the list of super-foods, bear in mind that weight loss is essentially about burning more calories than you consume. These foods can help you do so if you eat them instead of high-calorie foods, and complement your diet with regular exercise.