From my own experience, eat plenty of bananas daily. It will help you have a regular and healthy bowel. Avoid drinking cold drinks. As much as possible, eat only three times a day or have snacks only when you are hungry. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables and less meat (as they are hard to digest). Avoid junk foods. I notice that when I overeat junk foods and less plants (fruits and vegetables), I'd grow thicker and I would have irregular bowel. Be active physically and have enough rest.

Like a few people have said, diets aren't effective unless they're a lifestyle. You can crash diet for a few months, and it can be very effective, but then you have to maintain that weight - and that's where people can get into the cycle of binge, diet, binge, diet, etc.

I like to think of myself as constantly striving for improvement. I learn a few tips here and there (a lot of great ones above - more fruits and vegetables, don't buy snacks and you won't eat snacks, etc), and I slowly, one by one, incorporate them into my life until they feel like a normal habit. I haven't bought snacks in months, and I don't miss them. If I bought a bag of Oreos, I'd hork them all down, sure - but I don't miss them right now. I took them out of my life, bit by bit. I don't have them, I don't see them, and I don't crave them. That takes practice, but every day is a new day - if you cave and get Chinese food for dinner, finish your food, enjoy it, and go back to striving for a healthy lifestyle.

One really huge, important thing that no one ever seems to want to do (and I was one of those people) is exercise. You really can't get enough of it, seriously. The health benefits of exercising are so numerous that I wish I had the energy every day to do it. And I will, I'm sure. My point is, you can eat healthily for the rest of your life, and your heart and body will love you for it. But if your goal is losing weight, you need to incorporate exercise into your lifestyle. I started off with 15 minutes every other day. Then I slowly built up to 30 minutes every other day, and now I'm adding in extra days here and there (next week I'm going to the gym Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday). It's been a couple of months and I haven't really seen any effects on my weight, but I know this is huge, huge progress. I've been here and there on exercising - trying to fit in a brisk walk in the morning to going to the gym with my mom in high school, and none of it really stuck. I found that paying for a gym membership forces me in, and audiobooks help me pass the time when I'm there. I can feel my body getting fitter - I can go faster for longer, and it's really just great to see the progress. I hope to start a few minutes of jogging soon. My goal is to run a mile again, which I haven't done since 9th grade PE. ;)

Anyway, the important thing is to make small, baby steps. This is the most effective for keeping your habits for a longer period of time, therefore eliminating the need altogether to need crash diet. :)

I'm not sure what is most effective for losing weight, but the only tip I've ever been able to consistently apply to my own life is the idea that when you want something (like a brownie) you don't tell yourself "no, I can't have those ever again." You tell yourself "there will be a lot more brownies in this lifetime, and I don't really need that one."

To me, a tip isn't worth anything unless you can incorporate it into your lifestyle, and that's one I've been able to use. I find it calming to remind myself that eating better isn't about depriving yourself forever, but rather making small adjustments and doing the best you can for that day. I don't need every brownie I'm offered because there's always tomorrow.

I also try to drink water, take short walks even when I'm busy, etc, but I find that those things sort of come and go, depending upon how focused I am. The idea of passing up garbage food, "just for the moment," is easy to maintain. I've actually found that I consume very little processed sugar, junk food, etc. It's easier all the time to say no.

I tell people its *not* a diet, its a change in lifestyle :)
It has to be something that's like a habit, just get out of the routine of buying certain things.

If you don't buy them, you rarely eat them !

The only other thing I tell people who want to loose weight is "slow and steady" - it goes with the first bit of advice. It's a change in lifestyle and that takes time to be effective. You can't just starve yourself for a week and say the diet worked....nup, its got to be a change in the way you think and those changes take time.....

Don't do it!