Let's debunk some of those diet myths.

MYTH 1: If you're going to eat out, order a salad because it's the healthiest choice.

Sad to say, ordering a salad may not always help in your weight loss effort. It is not uncommon to be served a salad that comes with extras such as croutons, mayonnaise, cheese, ham, eggs, chicken and bacon. Don't forget the various salad dressings that lovingly drench the vegetables. Your so-called healthy salad could end up with more calories than Burger King's Bacon Cheeseburger. The salad "extras" are the culprits that raise a salad's calorie, fat and salt content by a substantial amount.

If you want a low calorie salad, pile up on the leafy greens, have a variety of vegetables, choose lean proteins such as grilled chicken, shrimp, eggs, salmon, tuna, black beans, and chickpeas. No fried or crispy stuff. Don't forget to tell the waiter you want the dressing on the side.

MYTH 2: Switching from non-organic to organic foods help you lose weight.

Oh yes, organic food is definitely healthier because it's free from harmful chemicals such as hormones, preservatives and pesticides. Consuming them makes you feel healthier and scientific evidence seems to say it is more nutritious. However, if you are talking about weight loss, organic foods don't contain lower calories than non-organic foods. There isn't less carbs or fat grams. So when it comes to weight loss, eating organic foods may not be your solution.

MYTH 3: Look for "low-fat," "non-fat," or "fat-free" foods to reduce your calories.

If you are concerned about gaining weight, you naturally look for "low-fat," "non-fat," or "fat-free" products when out shopping. Unfortunately, products with these labels do not mean they are "low-calorie" or "calorie free." You might be shocked to learn that they may contain even more, if not the same amount of calories as the normal products due to added sugar, flour or starch thickeners to enhance it's texture and taste. Therefore, with these type of products, you may not be getting the calories from the fat content but from the other contents. So be careful when you shop and check the food labels to determine the amount of calories per serving.

MYTH 4: Really cut down on your eating to drastically reduce your calories.

Eat less, go on a diet -- isn't that the first natural thing we do when we want to lose weight? But be careful that you do not go below 1200 calories per day. You'll end up losing muscle mass which in turn leads to lower metabolism. Also, you may develop other health hazards such as gallstones and digestive problems.

American Psychologist published a report that examined 31 studies of long-term diets which averaged 1200 calories per day. They discovered that most of the subjects put on weight again after 4-5 years. University of Minnesota's associate professor of psychology, Tracy Mann, was the lead author of the report and this is what she had to say, "Psychologically, it's difficult for people to adhere to strict diets over a long period because they feel deprived and hungry."

The right thing to do is to determine the right amount of calories you need. Make it a modest number so you don't find it too difficult and quit half way. This number will depend on you activity level and your weight. Consult a nutritionist to help you plan your diet. Don't just cut down on food but also change your eating habits. Make healthier choices by reducing refined foods and choosing whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, poultry, fish, beans and eggs. They have fewer calories but are very rich in nutrition.

MYTH 5: You have to quit snacking.

Actually, snacking is not forbidden when you need to lose weight. If you have an active lifestyle, snacking between meals may be a good idea. Of course, the kind of snacks you eat is important. If you're wondering about potato chips, cookies or cakes for snacks, then of course you have to quit those. Examples of good snacks are fruits, yogurt, tuna and crackers, rice cakes, vegetables, boiled peanuts, granola bars and jelly. These in between snacks help to prevent overeating during meals, maintains your energy levels and keeps your metabolism going strong. Remember, what really matters is the total calories you consumed for the day and not how you did it.

There are many theories out there on how to lose weight. Do a little homework and find out first if what you heard or read is true or not. Remember, you don't just want to lose weight temporarily. Find a way to keep your weight off permanently and stay healthy at the same time.

Gary Foster, Ph.D. is a renowned leader in the field of weight management and behavior change. Dr. Foster is a Professor of Medicine and Public Health and Director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University in Philadelphia. He has previously served as Clinical Director of the Weight and Eating Disorders Program, Department of Psychiatry, at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Dr. Foster is a frequent presenter at national and international meetings and has treated overweight patients in individual and group settings for over 20 years.

Begin with meal planning

Life is tempting. Fast-food advertising encourages you to grab and go — often at a good price that could cost you in the long run. If you know what to expect from the outside influences, you can avoid the setbacks that lead to weight gain.

In this section, you'll find resources including meal planning, articles, and information that can help you:fight cravings, survive slip-ups, and control portion size. You can also discover which popular low-fat diets work with the alli™ program. Just view alli-friendly diets. Some diets are not a good fit with alli, because they allow high-fat foods that can cause treatment effects while using alli capsules.

With alli, you need to stick with a reduced-calorie, low-fat diet. Find out more about the debate on low-fat choices.How many daily fat grams and calories are right for you? Check out the target fat & calories charts.

Four ways to fight cravings

Has this happened to you? You see a chocolate bar in a magazine, so you take a walk to the nearest vending machine. Or you're in a movie theater, and the smell of popcorn drives you to the concession stand. These triggers are hard to handle.

What can you do?

Get moving. Physical activity can boost your mood just like food can — and it uses up calories, rather than adds them Swap foods. If you crave a salty snack, have some salted celery or a lettuce salad with lemon juice and a sprinkling of salt. If you want something sweet, try sugar-free hard candy or a fruit-and-ice smoothie with no-calorie sweetener.

Distract yourself.

If you can do something else for just a few minutes, the craving may pass Drink water. Sometimes thirst disguises itself as hunger. But make sure you're not substituting water for food; you still need nutrients as part of a healthy diet.

Survive the occasional slip-ups

Weight control is not like walking a tightrope — one misstep and you're done. If you slip, don't fall overboard with bad choices. Here are a few tips for recovering:Accept that mistakes happen. Forgive yourself and focus on what to do differently next time Persevere with your goals. Avoid "all-or-nothing" thoughts of giving up Identify triggers.

Try to understand what events or circumstances led to overeating. Anger, stress, loneliness, or the blues are common. Be ready for them Turn your back. When you sense a trigger, change direction. If you're in the kitchen, or near food, go somewhere else. Just walk away Do the math. If you want to be sure you have a low-fat diet, count the grams of fat in your daily food choices and compare them to the number of grams of fat suggested for your calorie level.

For more on daily fat and calorie targets, check out the target fat and calories chartsWatch portion sizeOne of the easiest weight loss strategies is to control portion size. Get to know the amount of food you eat. Often, we get in the habit of eating a certain amount of food to feel satisfied. And if we're served more food, we'll eat more.

Studies have shown that the more food people were given to eat, the more they ate, regardless of their feeling of satiety.If the full plate is important to you, try using a smaller plate. Or keep portion sizes the same, but cut calories by lowering the fat in your dishes and adding more low-calorie ingredients like crunchy vegetables and leafy salads. Pay attention to the "energy density" in foods.

All foods have a specific number of calories within a given amount (volume). Foods such as desserts, candies, and processed foods are high in energy density. A small volume of these foods has a large number of calories. But some foods such as fruits and vegetables have low energy density. So you can have a larger portion size with a fewer number of calories — and that can fill you up without the downside of calorie overload.

10 quick tips for portion control

Leave a portion of what you're served on your plate. Ask for a "to go" container so you can have the leftovers for another meal. Don't be fooled into thinking if you skip the bread, you're free to have a larger portion of steak. Cut back wherever you can. Ask for salad dressing on the side, and use one fewer tablespoon of dressing whenever you have salad.

Make gradual changes in portion size for lasting results. If you want larger portions, add more fruits, vegetables, and beans into your meals. A deck of cards is about the size of 3 ounces of cooked meat. A baseball is about the size of one cup. Use these visual cues when looking at portions. Don't let deprivation lead to a splurge. If you have a smaller entrée portion, fill up the rest of your plate with vegetables and a green salad.

Measure foods at home so when you eat out, you'll know how much pasta or rice you may be eating in a restaurant. Read food labels to get familiar with the calories and nutrients you're getting in each serving. Value meals may be good for the wallet but bad for the waist. You may be better off choosing individual items in smaller portion sizes.

Want to try Alli?

Most people think a diet that can work for their body type has to be as complicated to figure out as rocket science. It truly is not that difficult, but with the many choices and types of diets out there, it's no wonder that most people fail to get the results they are looking for.

When you look at the different weight loss diets, there are many programs and combinations of programs to choose from. The three main nutrients, proteins, fats and carbohydrates can be broken down to different ratios for total daily calorie intake. For example, you can have high, medium, low and zero calorie amounts of fats, proteins or carbohydrates. The calorie ratios of each nutrient set against the others are numerous. This is where a diet “guru” can come up with his or her own program, advertise it as the best and further confuse the general public with yet another choice.

It doesn't have to be this way if we look at the real key to this diet program conundrum. There are some general guidelines to follow when you are shopping for a weight loss diet that will allow you to decide if a particular one is right for you. These guidelines can be found in virtually every diet manual.

The aim here isn't an explanation of what diet you should actually follow, but to give you a logical approach as to how to succeed with whatever program you decide to do. Apply some common sense to a nutritional plan and you will make your weight loss permanent and lifelong.

If we can understand why diets fail in the long term, then we can try to prevent it from failing over and over again. Basically, weight loss goals for most people don't succeed because of the lack of long-term commitment. Most people already know that they need to expend more calories than they are taking in. No real rocket science here. Unfortunately most are not willing to do what it takes to achieve this calories deficient ratio for longer than a few months or less.

Generally all diets work. It can be high fat, low fat, high carbohydrates and the many combinations of fad diets we see so often. In the short term, by burning more calories than you consume there will be some weight loss, but we need to find the real key that will give us permanent weight loss.

Recent studies have shown that when the popular commercial diets were compared to each other over a 6-month to one-year span of time, they generally had the same weight loss results. The conclusion of one major study sited that the adherence level rather than the diet itself was the primary predictor of whether the weight loss program would work.

The bottom line is that even though some diets are healthier than others, or suppress the appetite better, virtually all diets work the same in the short term. What is clear is adhering to the diet becomes the most important thing when looking at weight loss for the long term.

Lifestyle alteration is the basis here and any thoughts of having permanent weight loss need to be addressed as life long management in order to succeed.

Although most people are looking for the magic bullet to end their weight loss woes, there hasn’t been any real advancement in trying to lose weight without drugs or surgery. People for hundreds of years have known about cutting calories as the method for getting leaner. So the guide to permanent weight loss is to reduce your calories and do your diet program for the long term. That is the real secret. Save your money looking for the next best thing and do what has been proven to work for every one throughout the ages.