This link gives a good overview:
http://www.fatnutritionist.com/index.php/why-diets-dont-work/
I find the comments at the bottom of the page particularly poignant.
http://www.cracked.com/quick-fixes/fat-officially-incurable-according-to-science/
A humorous article that is, in my experience very accurate
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/74/5/579.full
There is some evidence that yo yo dieting (which I did for years) is worse for you than staying fat, eating well and being reasonably fit (all of which I currently do). In my dieting days I used to average 1/2 stone of weight gain a year.
I'm fat and a darn sight happier now that when I had this mythic slim Me waiting just around the corner.
I have also promised myself that I will NEVER inflict another low fat, restricted calorie, portion control diet on body EVER AGAIN. The sense of relief when I made that promise had me in tears.
By eating low carb and keeping my blood glucose under reasonable control, I do not put on weight. If I lower the carbs a wee bit more, I may lose the odd pound here and there. I do not look for it, but I do enjoy it when it happens.
And it is worth bearing in mind that after spending my entire adult life carrying significant amount of excess weight, getting slim would deflate me like a sagging water balloon. Lovely thought, eh?
Edited for typo