Answer:
my favorite "diet" if i'm on one for fast results is David Kirsch's "Ultimate New York Body Plan." you can get his book on amazon.com for cheap! i think i paid about $8 w/ shipping. it's a two week plan, but it's got great tips on how to eat healthy all the time & change your lifestyle when it comes to food. it contains not only tips, but explanations as to why you should eat certain foods, a super intense work out plan and recipes w/ a break down on what to eat what days so you don't have to worry about it.
but really, the best way to be healthy is to just eat lots of veggies (don't eat a lot of fruits, though, cause they do contain a lot of sugar, even though it's natural sugars), lean protein, not a lot of carbs (try to keep it to brown rice, wheat pasta, whole grains, yams, etc) - eat five small meals a day - drink plenty of water (the rule of thumb is to drink 1/2 your body weight in water oz), and exercise daily, for AT LEAST 30 minutes.
Follow the food pyramid. Cut off any sodas, diet or not and limited your junk food intake.Don't go under 1200 calories a day.
Cut calories and exercise.
The healthiest way to cut calories (and lose weight)? Exchange junk food choices for healthier ones. Have a piece of fruit as a snack rather than potato chips (potentially cutting hundreds of calories and certainly tons of sodium and fat). Rather than white bread, choose wheat. Its more filling and usually lower in calories (same goes for pasta). Little changes like this helped me lose 15 pounds (and counting). The site I listed as my source has great tips for healthy weight loss.
You have to eat several small meals. I just started a diet, it is working well for me. For breakfast I have 2 slices of turkey bacon, some scrambled egg beaters, and two small wheat biscuits. Or a bowl of bran flakes, with two percent milk. For lunch I have a sandwich on whole grain bread, made with lean ham, lettuce, tomato, and mustard, with some sun chips. I only eat the serving size of the chips. For dinner I have some lean meat, and some sort of fresh vegetable. If I need a snack, I have an apple or some carrot sticks, strawberries,etc. As far as my liquids, I have one diet soda, and I drink lots of bottled water, and sugar free crystal light. If I feel I need a treat, I eat a fudgesicle, the ones that are low fat, and only have 9 grams of sugar, and 60 calories. Good luck to you!