Quantcast

Choosing the Right Diet

In This Guide

Most Popular

  1. On This Day: The Great Anticipation Becomes the Great Disappointment

  2. Becoming Maurice Sendak: A Children’s Author Grows Up

  3. Harnessing Open Source Intelligence: Social Media and the CIA

  4. On This Day: White Boston Man Kills Pregnant Wife, Blames Imaginary Black Man

  5. Study Highlights the High Costs of the Death Penalty

  6. On This Day: Terry Fox’s “Marathon of Hope” Comes to an End

  7. Is Marathon Running Dangerous?

  8. Many US Schools Consider Four-Day School Week

  9. 5 Animals We Need to Survive

  10. On This Day: Witold Pilecki Allows Himself to Be Captured by the Nazis

null

Weight Loss

Think of the Web as your personal nutritionist. On it you'll find weight loss tools for evaluating your current food intake, exercise patterns, and health and weight status, along with weight loss plans, tools, and techniques for improving your weight and overall health.

Start Losing Weight

When it comes to losing weight, it can be confusing to think about where (or how) to start. Use the ... read more »

Diet Plans

The best way to choose a diet plan is to take a look at a wide range of plans so that you can ... read more »

Choosing the Right Diet

A plan may seem great in theory, but we all have to take into consideration the special needs of our own bodies. Before you start any online diet, determine that it is sound enough to keep your body in good working order using the following sites and the advice of your physician.

Dulcinea's Insight

  • To be sure that you are choosing a sound diet, look for the Registered Dietitian (RD) credential behind the name of the creator of your site, or at the very least, the designer or supervisor of your diet plan. Some MDs have nutrition training and experience, but do not assume that all MDs are qualified to provide nutrition information and advice. Look for background and credentials on your site and verify them using other sources.
  • Verify the credentials of any "experts" quoted on product advertisements. Verify the legitimacy of any claims made about diet products. Often, the "tests" that are quoted about a product's effectiveness were performed by the product manufacturer itself, using a very selective sample of people. See the findingDulcinea Health Web Guide for its section on evaluating the legitimacy of health claims.
  • If you are a diet novice or someone who has found diets challenging in the past, you may want to consider visiting a Registered Dietitian (RD), an accredited nutrition professional, who can set up a personalized diet plan for you and offer continual knowledge and support.
  • A few of the sites from the "Start Losing Weight" section of this guide can be helpful for choosing the right diet. For example, MyPyramid.gov has nutritional guidelines that can be useful for determining if a diet is suitable for you.

Dulcinea's Picks

For general dietary guidelines ...
Helpguide contains straight talk about the Food Guide Pyramid and other nutrition recommendations, and offers special information for groups such as women and seniors. Read about the importance of water intake, recommended calories per day, and some general guidelines for healthy eating.
go to site »
Nutritionwerks is a growing Web site that offers a number of user-friendly pages on general nutrition, as well as healthy eating specifically tailored for men, women, children, adolescents, and infants.
go to site »
The National Women's Health Information Center is a government guide with information on women's nutrition. It is straightforward, easy to use, and question-and-answer based. Discussions of the different types of fat in food, how to determine portions, and how to read food labels are helpful and informative.
go to site »
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has food safety news, information about food additives, food safety tips, and other food safety-related studies and legislation information. CSPI is an advocacy group that encourages legislation to keep consumers safe and healthy. This group was involved in getting legislation passed to require foods to carry nutrition information labels and to put warning labels on alcoholic beverages.
go to site »
For information about weight loss products ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) site provides information on dietary supplements and diet aids, including those containing ephedrine alkaloids (ephedra). Choose a supplement from the drop-down menu at the top left of the page for information issued by the FDA.
go to site »
To locate a qualified nutrition professional in your area ...
The American Dietetic Association 's official Web site offers access to a national nutrition network that allows you to locate an RD near you by entering your city and state.
go to site »
Back to Top

Eating Healthier

In order for your body to run like the efficient machine it can be, you have to fuel it properly. ... read more »

Weight Loss Management

Since the needs of every dieter are different, you will want to choose a diet that best fits your ... read more »

Most Recent Guides

The 1960s United States
1950s United States and the Cold War
The Great Depression and the New Deal