Dieting web sites and dieting plans are so successful that it's almost a given that anybody can find the perfect free dieting scheme on the internet. Free diet plans are, well, free - you don't pay anything upfront. But many people don’t trust them having a good reason. The famed "cabbage soup diet" or the "3 days diet" are just two random examples of diet plans that will never work and can even be downright dangerous.

So how can you find a sound free diet plan? Is there any such a thing?

The keyword when you're looking for a diet plan is common sense. Use your knowledge and your intuition to pick between the various diets, it's not that hard. For example it would be a good thing to find out right from the start what the right amount of calories you need based on your current weight and daily activity. It's worth noting that even if you are 100 lbs and a complete couch potato, you still need about 1300 calories per day just to stay alive and well.

For most of us, a good dieting plan would do nothing more than give some guidelines on what to eat to stay within the daily limits for calories. And any plan that attempts to tell you that 500 calories per day is good for you won't help you at all.

After decades of dieting, many people have become more knowledgeable and it's easier to say when we are eating something we shouldn't. Any scheme, be it a free diet plan or one especially made for you by a dietician, will take into account that you will be faced with having to eat some no-so-healthy food sooner or later. You never know what will be on the menu at your cousin's wedding party or at that very important dinner meeting with out of town customers.

The next very important thing is to find a diet that can accommodate your favorite foods, even if they are pork chops and fries. You won't be able to diet and feel happy about it if you have to give up everything you like. Incorporating foods you like is beneficial in the long run and it will drastically decrease the danger of binge eating.

And another tricky part you have to take into account when you try a free diet plan is during the day you are most likely to eat. I am yet to find a person who likes to eat very early in the morning and needs to diet. Hey, maybe I'm on to something here!

A good diet plan will make the transition from a dedicated evening eater to a healthy morning eater seem easy and enjoyable. And the whole purpose of a diet plan is to make life and food enjoyable even when it's served in small, healthy bites. Dieting is supposed to be fun, to make you feel happier, healthier and ready to try even more nice new things in your life!