Set realistic weight loss goals during your diet planning. There's nothing more depressing than not being able to meet your dieting goals, and if you're depressed, you're more likely to abandon your diet well before you actually get any noticeable benefit from it.

During your diet planning phase, make sure you realize that you'll never really be off the diet you're starting, at least if you want to avoid gaining the weight back. You'll need to practice good eating habits for life if you want to stay slim and healthy.

Don't fall for fad diets that ignore whole basic food groups -- they're worse than useless. Realistic diet planning means working out a good balance of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and all the other nutrients you'll need to stay healthy over the long-term.