Social conditioning and ***** they read in magazines has given people the wrong ideas about dieting and how to loose weight.
There is no magic pill, there is no over-night fix, it takes hard work and discipline.
If you want to loose weight, follow a diet of lean meats (chicken, pork, tuna, beef etc..) with plenty of veg, fruit.
Eat small meals, 4-5 times a day (small portions, 200-300 calories in each), e.g. chicken breast with 2 handfuls of veg and tablespoon or rice
Exercise 3 times a week, for at least 20 minutes.
Dont limit yourself, eat what you want, when you want, but in moderation, completly restricting yourself will only make matters worse and if you eat less and limit carbs, you will fall flat on your face.
People who recommend low carb/low fat diets are fooling themselves, everyone i know and people i see/read about talk about their 'amazing weight loss'... yes its quick, but it wont last, you will put the weight back on eventually because you have been depriving your body of carbs, what the body needs to fuel itself.
Thats the big secret, eat less, more often, exercise more often = loose weight.