Before you look for a diet plan, describe to yourself your goals for a new diet. If you’ve been feeling ill every time you eat, you might benefit from an elimination diet to isolate the ingredient that doesn’t agree with you. If you’re training for a marathon, a diet that provides long-lasting fuel is what you need. If dropping a couple of waist sizes is your goal, then a regimen that combines your ideal caloric intake with physical exercise to burn calories is the best.
Step 1
Visit your doctor. Although she might not have a comprehensive list of diet plans to recommend, she belongs to a formal or informal network of health professionals that includes nutritionists and other doctors who specialize in dietary issues and have a vast knowledge of the different diets available for your particular situation. Your doctor can refer you to one of these other professionals and set you in the right direction. It’s also a good idea to discuss the issue that prompted you to change the way you eat. Your doctor might uncover a health problem unrelated to how you eat that needs medical attention.
Step 2
Contact whoever has information on the type of diet plan you’re interested in learning about. If you'd like to cleanse your liver and kidneys, for example, your health food store is likely to have a section on detox diet books.
Step 3
Visit the websites of organizations that focus on different health conditions. A change in diet sometimes improves a medical problem. When that’s the case, these organizations post diet tips on their sites. If you’re concerned about your heart’s health, for instance, review the online recipe database of the American Heart Association’s Nutrition Center.
Step 4
Narrow your search for a diet plan to programs that include the foods you enjoy. For example, if you like meat, protein meal plans have menus to please your palate. Your new diet should also be easy to incorporate into your lifestyle. If your job requires you to work 60 hours a week, a commercial program that sells prepackaged meals helps you to stick to an eating plan better than a diet that requires you to cook three meals a day.
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