Optifast is a medically supervised weight loss program developed in 1974 and based mostly upon reducing caloric intake by utilizing high protein meal replacements, according to "Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies."

Sprinkles Cupcakes is a cupcake bakery based in Beverly Hills, California which creates a variety of cupcakes. The calories in these cupcakes may contribute to your daily nutritional goals and help with your energy requirements.

Many diets appear simple on paper, but, in practice, they require hours in the kitchen and don't give you options for eating out. Some fad diets are so restrictive that they leave you starving, cause nutrient deficiencies and fail to teach you strategies to maintain any weight loss for the long term.

The Lemonade Diet is also known as the Master Cleanser -- a popular fad diet. The salt water flush and laxative consumption are one of the lesser known components of the weight-loss strategy. According to the diet’s website, these are officially recommended parts of the diet.

The best 1,200-calorie diets aren't necessarily paleo, vegan, gluten-free or low-carb. A quality low-calorie diet may display these labels, but most importantly it offers an array of nutrients from a variety of whole, filling foods.

The fruitarian diet, which often includes nuts and seeds as well as fruits, can result in dramatic weight loss, depending on which fruits you eat and in what quantities.

Meal replacement shakes and products can help take the guesswork out of what and how much to eat, which can may make it easier for some people to lose weight. It helps minimize the need to count calories, points or carbohydrates and limits the choices you have to make when on a diet.

The shake diet plan is a meal replacement system in which you substitute a protein shake for one or two meals per day in order to lose weight. A variety of commercial products are available.

If you can eat your meat without potatoes, the low-carb diet may be the diet to help you drop those unwanted pounds. Men who followed a low-carb diet lost more weight than those following a low-fat diet in a 2008 clinical study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The Jenny Craig weight loss program is a successful weight loss method which has been around for years. Jenny Craig is not only a diet with pre-packaged foods, it has two very important other components which are nutritional support and counseling and exercise (see reference 1).

Your thyroid is an organ that is located in your neck, just below your voice box. It is important because it regulates several things in your body -- including your metabolism. If your thyroid is malfunctioning or not producing enough thyroid hormone, it can become under-active.

The TV show "The Biggest Loser" serves as a model and inspiration for weight-loss competitions on the local level. Losing weight at work promotes a healthier lifestyle. Many companies offer wellness programs and other incentives to keep their employees healthier, so a weight-loss competition fits into that initiative.