We’ve compared some of the most popular diets around, so you can find out what they involve, whether they are safe, how much weight you can lose – and choose the best one to suit you!

The Zone Diet

The Zone Diet is a low carb diet and has been a favourite among celebrities including Sandra Bullock, Demi Moore, Sarah Jessica Parker and Jennifer Aniston. The Zone Diet promises to help you lose 5 pounds in the first two weeks, and then another pound for each week you’re on it. The theory behind the Zone Diet is that by eating the right nutrients to keep your hormones balanced, you’ll be able to eat fewer calories without experiencing hunger dips.

To find out more about the pros and cons of the Zone Diet, how it works, which foods are banned and encouraged, plus what the experts say, Click Here.

The Grapefruit Diet

The Grapefruit Diet is popular with celebrities like Brooke Shields and Kylie Minogue and promises to help you lose 10 pounds in just 12 days. It’s basically a very low-calorie, low-carb diet accompanied by half a grapefruit or grapefruit juice with each meal. The theory is that grapefruits contain a special calorie-burning enzyme that speeds up the metabolism, resulting in rapid weight loss.

To find out more about the pros and cons of the Grapefruit Diet, how it works, a full 7 day diet plan, plus what the experts say, Click Here.

The Atkins Diet

Jennifer Aniston and Reneé Zellwegger are both fans of the low carb Atkins Diet. The diet claims that when you eat too many carbohydrates, your body stores the excess carbs as fat. So by reducing your carb intake, you kick-start your weight loss by tricking your body into burning excess fat instead of carbs. The Atkins Diet promises to help you lose a massive 15 pounds in the first 2 weeks of dieting.

To find out more about the pros and cons of the Atkins Diet, how it works, which foods are banned and encouraged, plus what the experts say, Click Here.

The Raw Food Diet

Followed by a host of celebrities including Mel Gibson and Uma Thurman, those who follow the Raw Food Diet believe that when food is cooked (or processed) the nutritional value is lost. Those on the diet eat all food raw, or cook just 30% of what they eat. Also, blending, juicing, soaking and chopping are prohibited forms of ‘cooking’ on the Raw Food Diet.

To find out more about the pros and cons of the Raw Food Diet, how it works, which foods are banned and encouraged, plus what the experts say, Click Here.

The LighterLife Diet

The LighterLife Diet is based on eating 4 nutritionally complete meal replacements called LighterLife foodpacks each day - shakes, bars or soups each day. You’re not allowed to add any other food, not even vegetables. It’s extremely low in calories – the daily quantity of four LighterLife foodpacks provide an average of just 530 calories per day – which is why it claims to help you lose a stone a month.

To find out more about the pros and cons of the LighterLife Diet, how it works, plus what the experts say, Click Here.

South Beach Diet

The hugely popular South Beach Diet promises to help you lose between 8 and 13 pounds in the first two weeks, plus target stomach fat, followed by weight loss of 1-2 pounds a week – however it does this by banning almost all carbs for the first two weeks of the diet. The diet is based on the GI – Glycaemic Index – diet.

To find out more about the pros and cons of the South Beach Diet, how it works, which foods are banned and encouraged, plus what the experts say, Click Here.

The Blood Type Diet

Followers of the controversial Blood Type Diet say that sticking to a diet based on your blood type can help you lose weight. The Blood Type Diet has received rave reviews from big-name celebrities like Liz Hurley, Courtney Cox-Arquette and Martine McCutcheon. But does it actually work?

To find out more about the pros and cons of the Blood Type Diet, how it works, which foods are banned and encouraged for each blood type, plus what the experts say, Click Here.

Detox Diets

There is no one definitive detox diet, with several popular variations out there – ranging from living on just water or juice to allowing fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and fish, and following time frames between two days and a month – but the theory behind them is the same. A detox diet aims to temporarily change your eating habits to get rid of toxins in the body, banishing bad skin, cellulite and bloating. Most also promise rapid weight loss – usually a stone in the first 10 to 14 days.

To find out more about the pros and cons of detox diets, how they work, which foods are banned and encouraged, plus what the experts say, Click Here.

Vegetarian Diets

A vegetarian diet is hugely effective for weight loss – vegetarians tend to be slimmer than meat-eaters, and they experience lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and other life-threatening conditions linked to being overweight or obese. And all these benefits have nothing to do with stepping up the exercise or calorie-counting. In fact, by going vegetarian, you’ll lose approximately 1 pound per week, even without additional exercise or limits on portion sizes, calories, or carbohydrates.

To find out more about the pros and cons of following a vegetarian diet, how it works, plus what the experts say, Click Here.

The Diet Chef Diet

Like the LighterLife Diet, the Diet Chef diet provides all your food for the day in food packs – but it’s less dangerously low in calories (1200 calories a day) and you can add fruits and vegetables. It’s also less expensive, at £190 for a month’s supply. In theory, all you need to do is microwave your meals and watch the weight melt away. But is it really that easy? 

To find out more about the pros and cons of the Diet Chef diet and whether it could really help you lose weight, Click Here.

Do you have a diet or nutrition question? Whether you want to know more about the latest superfood, find out how to lose weight healthily or need the skinny on a celebrity fad diet, our expert nutritionists have all the answers. To read their answers to other readers’ questions, and ask your own, Click Here: Ask a Nutritionist: Your Diet Questions Answered