With so many people wanting to lose unbelievable amounts of weight, there is a proliferation of lose-weight-quick diet plans. Many of them make promises that are too good to be true. Losing 10 pounds a week sounds good, but does it really happen? And, if it does, at what cost?

Diet plans are basically of two types. There are diet plans that encourage you to eat the right kinds of food. Then, there are restricted diet plans that depend on eliminating different kinds of foodstuffs from the diet, irrespective of the body's requirements. The second diet plan is generally known as a fad diet plan. Fad diets do not help you lose weight in the long run. To lose weight naturally and effectively, you need to identify a healthy diet plan.

Given below are some ways in which you can identify whether a diet plan is healthy or not.

Test 1: Nutrient supply

The most important contributing factor to the obesity crisis that we face today is the lack of proper nutrition. Due to busy lifestyles, people are becoming increasingly dependent on fast foods, which supply them with a surplus of empty calories. In order to lose weight, many people follow diet plans that lay down rigid rules regarding what to eat. These rules seek only to cut down calories and pay little attention to nutrition. Healthy diet plans will stress the importance of nutrition over calorie control. This is because a healthy eating pattern will lead to weight loss, sooner or later. And weight lost in this manner is sustained over longer periods of time.

Test 2: Types of foods

Healthy diet plans will give you a list of commonly available foods and categorize them on the basis of the calories they provide. They do not stipulate any particular laws regarding choosing one food over the other. You have full freedom to eat what you need, so long as you keep your total calorie count under control. Additionally, healthy diet plans always stress the importance of adequate fiber and water intake.

Test 3: Eating habits

Healthy diet plans seek to bring about healthy eating patterns. They try to achieve a behavioral change in the people undertaking the diet, so that long-term weight loss is possible.

Test 4: Physical Activity

Diet plans that help you lose weight in the long-term always stress the importance of physical activity. They seek to boost the power of your metabolism by encouraging you to eat the right kinds of food on the one hand and on the other, through effective exercises.

Test 5: Supplement Supply

Healthy diet plans will not lay down the absolute necessity of any supplement. To say that you need a supplement to lose weight is ridiculous. However, they may suggest the use of all-natural or herbal supplements in order to speed up the weight loss process.

So the next time you set out to lose weight, take this 5-point test to decide whether your diet plan is healthy or not.