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"  1. They tell you to take it slow. &amp;quot;Good diets promote weight loss of no more than one to two pounds a week,&amp;quot; says Nigel Penny, lecturer in Nutritional Science at Birmingham City University. &amp;quot;If you lose more than two pounds per week after the second week of dieting, it&amp;#039;s likely that you&amp;#039;re actually losing muscle tissue.&amp;quot; 2. They cut out sugar, not fat. &amp;quot;Many of the newer and better diets around advocate cutting down on sugar and starch rather than fat,&amp;quot; says Marisa Peer, author of You Can Be Thin: The Ultimate Programme to End Dieting...Forever. &amp;quot;Your body stores excess sugar \u2013 found in starchy carbs like pasta and bread \u2013 as fat. But good fats help fill you up, and are essential for good health. A low fat diet, meanwhile, will leave you feeling tired, hungry and cranky, and won&amp;#039;t help you maintain weight loss.&amp;quot; 3. They tell you to always eat breakfast. &amp;quot;A quality breakfast is vital for setting you up for the rest of the day,&amp;quot; says nutritionist Jacqui Cleaver, of the New You Bootcamp. &amp;quot;All good diets will suggest you start your day with quality protein, sufficient good fat, and healthy carbs. Try eggs on wheat-free bread or porridge oats with berries and ground seeds.&amp;quot; 4. They tell you to eat regularly. &amp;quot;All successful diets will promote regular, planned meals and snacks throughout the day,&amp;quot; says Alpro dietician Kate Arthur. 5. They suggest permanent lifestyle changes. &amp;quot;Effective weight-loss plans need to be realistic and encourage permanent lifestyle changes, rather than relying on faddy liquid formulas and powders, or upon special foods or devices,&amp;quot; says Penny. 6. They tell you to always have protein with carbs. &amp;quot;The key to long-term weight loss is keeping your blood sugar low,&amp;quot; says Peer. &amp;quot;If you eat protein with your carbs, this will slow down the sugar. All good diets teach you to always add protein to carbs for this reason.&amp;quot; 7. They are nutritionally balanced. &amp;quot;In good diets, all food groups need to be represented,&amp;quot; says Penny. &amp;quot;A balanced diet that includes a variety of foods is essential. Promoting the consumption of one particular &amp;#039;magic&amp;#039; food, or advocating the avoidance of specific foods, will lead to an unbalanced diet.&amp;quot; 8. They don&amp;#039;t tell you to count calories. &amp;quot;Counting calories is a very outdated concept and has now been proven to be an ineffective way to lose weight,&amp;quot; says Peer. &amp;quot;Consuming a low fat, low calorie muffin and latte will ultimately make you pack on more pounds than having some scrambled eggs with bacon and a cup of tea.&amp;quot; 9. They tell you to get moving too. &amp;quot;Good diets will also advocate that you increase your physical activity to lose weight healthily,&amp;quot; says Arthur. 10. They tell you to avoid processed foods. &amp;quot;All good diets will tell you to avoid food made in a factory,&amp;quot; says Peer. &amp;quot;That means refined, processed food. It&amp;#039;s not even food \u2013 just a cocktail of chemicals that never goes off. You should ask yourself whether you could make the product in your own kitchen. If you couldn&amp;#039;t make it in a regular kitchen, you shouldn&amp;#039;t be eating it.&amp;quot; This story originally appeared on MarieClaire.co.uk "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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