Have you been searching through all the effective weight loss programs out there and wondering which will be best for you? It's hard to know which will be right for your body type, especially if you already have to follow a diet for medical reasons such as being diabetic or celiac. The effectiveness of these programs also depends on how much weight you need to use.

Before you go any further with checking out the most effective weight loss programs, check with your doctor. If you are suffering from a chronic disease such as diabetes, heart failure or pulmonary oedema it is important that a health care professional gives you the go ahead to participate in such a program.

If you have other symptoms such as weight gain without increased calorie intake and you have been taking a normal amount of exercise, it's possible that you have an underactive thyroid or some other medical complaint. It is also possible that medication which you are taking is causing your weight gain, so you may need to get the pills changed or just put up with it in the short term such as when taking steroids.

Your doctor will almost certainly want to know about your lifestyle, eating and drinking habits, whether you exercise and whether you smoke. Don't try to cover up the truth; if you're serious about losing weight you need to face facts. You also need to know what it is safe for you to do in terms of exercise and reduction of calorific intake.

It's possible that your doctor will recommend some effective weight loss programs himself or may make an appointment for you to see a dietician.

If you decide to go it alone, be sure that you choose a program which includes an eating plan which makes use of all the food groups (unless you have intolerances) in a healthy way and gives you an exercise plan to follow. You need to go for a program which provides help with meal planning but which isn't too difficult to follow.

Effective weight loss programs are usually long term and result in slow weight loss of say, two pounds (one kilo) per week. Losing weight at that rate means that the weight won't come back the minute you treat yourself to a doughnut. It will also be better for your self-esteem and personal motivation. Imagine the difference between getting on the scales each Monday and finding that you've lost another two pounds, rather than losing five pounds one week then finding the next week that you've put three back on.