Maybe it happened to you. You were overweight and watching television at one in the morning, feeling down about yourself. You knew you had to make a change for the better, and fast. Then on the screen appeared an infomercial touting the latest diet craze.

Guaranteed, you could lose up to ten pounds a week, maybe more! All you had to do was either take this supplement twice daily, or drink a certain shake in place of breakfast. Maybe you had to forgo food altogether for 48 hours and just drink a specially formulated juice cocktail designed to cleanse your colon.

Whatever it was, it looked good to you. The screen was filled with before and after pictures of people who tried the diet and were happier, thinner, and healthier. So you called the toll-free number, bought the product, followed the instructions and...nothing.

What went wrong? Why did the diet fail? Why was the only thing lost money from your bank account?

Each year thousands of people begin a diet program with the intent of seeing it through to success. Oftentimes, people do lose the weight and keep it off, but sadly a great number of people become frustrated and quit early in their programs. Discouragement leads to depression, which in some cases leads to a backlash in eating habits...and more weight gain.

What causes these diets to fail? Why is it so difficult to follow a diet plan and lose the weight? Why is it, even when the plan is followed to the letter, nothing happens?

• Frustration - In the world of the quick fix, if you don't see immediate results you assume it's not working. Dieting is not a quick fix, losing weight takes time!

• Starvation - The body needs food to survive. Diet plans that begin with an initial period of food restrictions can prove difficult for some people to handle, causing them to "fall off the wagon" and binge on the same snacks the body craves.

• Nausea - You took a pill, it made you sick. You stopped the taking the pill. You just spent $100 for nothing. Did you follow all instructions when taking the supplements? You'd be surprised to know how many people don't!

• Time - Your plans calls for home-cooked meals and time set aside for exercise. But between work, kids, recitals, etc. there isn't time. You become distracted, the plan ends, and you're back to square one.

It doesn't have to be this way! You can follow a program to success!

One important thing to remember when researching diet programs is that not every plan tailored to the public as a whole will work for everybody the same way. When you go to a department store to buy a new shirt, you notice how the racks aren't stocked with identical shirts, right? You will see shirts of different colors and sizes; some shirts will have long sleeves, some short. Some shirts will have pockets, and others will have buttons. Every shirt is designed for the same purpose - to cover you up - yet accomplishes this goal in a different way.

Diet plans work on a similar plane. A person allergic to grapefruit wouldn't go on the grapefruit diet, right? Consequently, a person suffering from celiac disease shouldn't follow a program that prescribes wheat products. For a diet program to work, you need to know what regimen works best for your body and lifestyle. Read up on all programs before making a sound decision. Set aside time to do what is necessary, but don't feel frustrated if you skip a day in your regimen - start over again! Above all, never feel frustrated about having invested time researching weight loss options. Everything is a learning experience, and as time passes and you learn more about how your body works, you will find the answers you need.