Free weight loss programs are available for dieters not able to spend money on paid weight loss programs. These can be through the Internet or through regular meetings. Often behavioral changes that are meant to prevent a person from venturing on an eating binge are recommended and offered for free. In free trials, the diet is changed for few days. By replacing high calorie food items with low calorie substitutes, the effect of the diet can be noticed within a few weeks.

These programs provide similar resources as paid programs to dieters on taking charge of their own weight loss. Such programs usually lack individual guidance, and that is a major drawback. Secondly, the quality of free programs is often not as high as with paid programs. Thirdly, users tend to complain about vague plans not carefully planned or set out. Attention to detail is usually kept only to the bare minimum. Another drawback is the possibility of health damage due to improper diet and menu suggested.

One needs to avoid extremes mentioned in these weight loss programs/plans and decide for oneself the way a particular plan is to be administered or modified as the case may be. Free weight loss plans are a good way of starting out on weight loss programs and gaining knowledge of the same. They can serve as important aids in selecting the best-paid weight loss program later. Besides, many dieters claim to have been significantly benefited by such programs and thus, experimenting with them sounds a reasonable proposition. These programs mostly come with a 'try at your own risk' tagline and therefore discretion is essential when starting with these programs.