Dieting is when you restrict yourself to small amounts or special kinds of food to lose weight.
Many people do lose weight when dieting. The problem is a diet is a temporary, short-term plan, not a long-term solution. Many regain lost weight after the diet ends.
Continuous dieting is very restrictive and often difficult to maintain for the required length of time to hit goal weight levels. This has led to increased interest in intermittent energy restriction. An example of intermittent energy restriction is alternate-day fasting. This type of dieting involves a “fast day” with reduced or no energy consumed followed by an all you want “feast day”. Another intermittent energy restriction example is a 5 and 2 regime where you eat however you desire five days and fast on two days.
However, the greater problems with diets is seen at the six month mark when weight regain often occurs.