Diet Plan Review: Best Ways to Lose 20 Pounds

[Guest guest]

With the holidays over, you may be looking down at the bulging evidence of

too much merriment around your waistline. If you’ve resolved to lose weight

in 2011, you might be considering signing up for a commercial diet plan,

such as Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, or Craig.

The TV ads, filled with celebrity endorsers and regular people holding out

their enormous “old jeans,” make the diet plans sound terribly tempting.

Although an FTC rule <http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm> now

requires testimonial ads to cite typical results, the looming question still

remains: Which of these diet programs are worth your money?

To find out, MoneyWatch analyzed eight of the biggest diet plans. Three are

support-only plans that don’t require you to buy their food, and five are

food-delivery plans. We interviewed leading nutritionists and weight-loss

professionals, pored through clinical studies, and tallied up membership

fees and food costs to determine the ones most likely to help you slim down

and to see how much you’d pay to drop 20 pounds.

Our favorite for value and efficacy is Weight

Watchers<http://www.weightwatchers.com/index.aspx>,

designed to help you change your eating habits for good.

Nutrisystem<http://www.nutrisystem.com/>is the least expensive meal

delivery plan we reviewed (

Medifast <http://www.medifast1.com/> is cheaper, but you have to provide one

meal a day on your own). And the silver-spoon award undoubtedly goes to In

The Zone Delivery <http://www.inthezonedelivery.com/>, a white-glove service

for people who’ll spare no expense to drop the pounds.

Here’s how the plans stack up. See the handy chart at the bottom of the page

for a side-by-side comparison.

Weight Watchers

*Cost:* Choose the 39.95 monthly pass, which includes unlimited meetings and

online support. If you won’t go to meetings, try three months of online-only

services for $53.85 (with automatic renewal at $17.95 a month thereafter),

plus a $30 sign-up fee.

*The skinny:* The oldest national weight-loss program, its members rave

about the encouragement they get at weekly meetings led by former Weight

Watchers dieters. Nutritionists praise the portion-control points system:

Each food is assigned points based on its serving size, calories, fiber, and

fat; and no foods are forbidden. Your point allowance is based on your

weight, height, gender, age, and activity level. “Weight Watchers has done a

good job incorporating cognitive behavioral change to weight management,”

says Binks, professor of psychology at Duke University Medical

Center.

*Does it work?* Yes. A recent clinical study in the New England Journal of

Medicine linked group counseling sessions to weight-loss success. That

explains why Weight Watchers has impressive short-term results. A 2005 study

in the ls of Internal

Medicine<http://www.annals.org/content/142/1/56.short#rel-summary-for-patients>s\

howed

participants lost an average of about 5 percent of their body weight

(10 pounds) in six months. Two years later, they had kept about half the

weight off. To help members stay on track, Weight Watchers encourages them

to attend meetings until they’ve stayed within 2 pounds of their goal weight

for six weeks. After that, you get free lifetime membership. The company

says members using its online tools in addition to attending meetings lost

50 percent more weight than those going to meetings alone.

*How much can you expect to lose? *Up to 2 pounds per week

*Cost to lose 20 pounds:* $160 for three months of unlimited meetings plus

one more month to complete the maintenance period. For the online-only

option, plan on spending $72 for the same four months.

*Cost per pound of weight loss:* $4 or $8, not including food

*Worth the money?* Yes. It’s economical and has a proven track record.

eDiets

We looked at two plans from eDiets <http://www.ediets.com/> — one that

offers support alone, and another with meal delivery.

*Cost:* The support-only plan runs about $18 per month or $99 a year, billed

to your credit card (with a $25 fee if you cancel within three months). The

optional meal delivery service, eDiets Fresh Prepared Meal Delivery, costs

$110 per week for five days of meals or $140 for a full week, plus $22

shipping, and includes the online service.

*The skinny: * You can choose from among more than 20 diet plans, including

ones for diabetics and vegetarians. Online tools let you set goals, plan

menus and generate shopping lists. There’s no face-to-face support, but you

get support through online message boards, and you can reach a registered

dietitian and personal trainer by phone at any time. The optional meal

delivery service offers freshly prepared, calorie-controlled meals delivered

in a cooler.

*Does it work? * “People really seem to love message boards, but there is no

data yet to show whether they are effective in helping with weight loss,”

says Binks. But telephone support has some evidence in its favor: “A couple

of studies have shown that telephone support is just as effective as live

support,” says Gerbstadt, M.D., spokeswoman for the American

Dietetic Association.

*How much can you expect to lose? *1 to 2 pounds per week

*Cost to lose 20 pounds: * For online membership, $54 for three months. For

meal delivery, which includes online membership, $1,716 to $2,106 for 13

weeks.

*Cost per pound of weight loss: * $2.70 for online-only plan; about $86 to

$105 for meal delivery.

*Worth the money? * Online membership: Yes, it’s a bargain for

round-the-clock support. Meal delivery: No — for about the same money, other

services offer better track records.

Southbeachdiet.com

*Cost:* $5 a week after a free seven-day trial with a minimum commitment of

four weeks, plus the cost of the South Beach Diet

book<http://www.southbeachdiet.com/sbd/publicsite/storeredirect.aspx?SI=B5A1 & PI=\

B7A9 & PP=B5A0EF & ret=/sbd/publicsite/market/Books.aspx>.

*The skinny: * Southbeachdiet.com <http://www.southbeachdiet.com/> is an

online version of the “good carbs/good fats” diet created by cardiologist

Arthur Agatston. For the first two weeks, you eat three extremely low-carb

meals a day plus two snacks. After that, you gradually add “good carbs,”

such as fruits and whole grains. You can customize menus, search a database

of more than 1,000 recipes and get a personalized shopping list. There’s

online support from staff dieticians and members plus daily motivational

emails.

*Does it work? * Studies have shown that after one year, carb-restricted

diets led to greater weight loss and increased heart health than low-fat

diets. However, the advantage disappeared over the long term.

*How much can you expect to lose? * Figure on 8 to 13 pounds during the

two-week kick-start phase, then 1 to 2 pounds a week thereafter.

*Cost to lose 20 pounds: * $55 for nine weeks, including the book

*Cost per pound of weight loss: * $2.75, not including food

*Worth the money? * Maybe: It doesn’t cost much, but you don’t get as much

support as with Weight Watchers or eDiets.

In the Zone Delivery

*Cost: * About $40 to $50 per day (plus a $10 delivery fee) for three meals

and two snacks depending on whether you choose “chef selected” or custom.

*The skinny:* The Zone diet is mostly meat, fruits, and vegetables.

Home-delivered “gourmet” frozen meals have a ratio of 40 percent carbs/30

percent proteins/30 percent favorable fats, designed to promote stable

insulin levels, increased energy and weight loss. You eat three meals per

day plus two Zone protein-powder snacks.

*Does it work? * Yes. A 2007 study of 160

people<http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/297/9/969>in the

Journal of American Medical Association found the Zone diet helped

people achieve modest weight loss after one year, comparable with those on

the Atkins <http://www.atkins.com/Homepage.aspx>, Weight Watchers and

Ornish<http://www.pmri.org/spectrum/>diets, and improved cardiac risk

factors.

*How much can you expect to lose? *“Many customers lose 5 pounds a week, but

don’t get confused: Some of this is water weight,” says Don Ruttenberg, CEO

of Fresh Food Delivered, the company behind In the Zone Delivery. “What you

really lose in body fat is 1 to 1.5 pounds per week.”

*Cost to lose 20 pounds: * $5,600 to $6,720 for 16 weeks of food, depending

on your food choices

*Cost per pound of weight loss: * $280 to $336

*Worth the money? * No, unless you’re looking for white-glove service.

Craig

*Cost: * Pricing information is noticeably, frustratingly absent from the

Craig Web site. A sales agent told us that the program fee will soon

change to $30 for 30 days. Meals average $5 a pop; the total cost for 3

meals and two snacks a day runs $18 to $22.

*The skinny:* Premium-priced Craig offers nutritionally balanced

packaged food; you order by phone and pick it up at a Craig center or

have it delivered through Direct (for a $65 delivery fee). You eat

three Craig meals plus a snack per day, and supplement with fruit,

vegetables and dairy. “The food may lack zesty flavor, but it teaches

portion control through visualizing, so when you go out to eat in a

restaurant you’ll know how big a piece of meat you want to eat,” says

Gerbstadt. Once a week, you get a weigh-in and pep talk with a consultant —

who is not a dietician and who earns commissions from selling you products.

There’s also round-the-clock phone support and online tools that include a

menu planner, activity planner and progress tracker.

*Does it work? * Craig has a good track record for short-term weight

loss (up to one year). In a UC San Diego clinical trial of 442 dieters

(funded by Craig), Craig clients lost 11 percent of their

initial weight after 12 months, compared with 3 percent weight loss by those

who were dieting on their own.

*How much can you expect to lose? * 1 to 2 pounds per week

Cost of losing 20 pounds: $1,910 for 13 weeks, including food

*Cost per pound of weight loss:* $96

*Worth the money? *Yes — it’s got reasonably priced meal delivery and

in-person support.

Bistro M.D.

*Cost: * About $145 a week for weekdays only or $180 for seven days,

including snacks —plus $25 FedEx delivery. (Shipping is free the first

week.)

*The skinny: * The “doctor-designed” Bistro M.D.

<http://www.bistromd.com/>program aims to provide a rotating menu of

FedEx’d, portion-controlled,

frozen meals that are a cut above the usual packaged diet fare. (The price

is a cut above the competition, too.) The plan tries to help you avoid a

weight-loss stall out by varying the daily calorie intake between 1,100 and

1,400. By eating a little more some days and a little less on others, you’ll

supposedly prevent your body from becoming used to the same number of

calories every day. Bistro M.D. doesn’t do much in the way of organized

support, but you can speak with a registered dietitian by phone upon

request.

*Does it work? * While no university studies support the theory that varying

caloric intake aids weight loss, the high quality of the food and the

relatively large portion sizes have been praised by Health magazine, Dr.

Phil and The New York Times. Some plan users have complained of a lack of

choices and menu flexibility compared to other plans, but a company

spokesman says they offer more than 100 entrees and can make substitutions

to accommodate allergies and food preferences.

*How much can you expect to lose? * 1 to 3 pounds per week

*Cost of losing 20 pounds: * $1,525 to $2,025 for 10 weeks of food

*Cost per pound of weight loss:* About $76 to $101

*Worth the money?* Yes: It’s a reasonable price for well-made food with

slightly faster average weight loss than with Craig.

Nutrisystem

*Cost:* $329 for a 28-day plan that includes nonperishable “ready to go”

meals or $299 for 28-day plan in which one-third of the meals are

“fresh-frozen.” There’s also a $148, 14-day starter

program<http://www.walmart.com/ip/Nutrisystem-14-Day-Starter-Diet-Weight-Loss-Pr\

ogram-Card/12521521>available

through Walmart.

*The skinny: * This meal-delivery service, endorsed by Marie Osmond and Dan

Marino, emphasizes foods with a low glycemic index. The underlying premise

is that controlling blood sugar levels leads to weight loss. The

heat-and-eat prepared meals and snacks contain 55 to 60 percent “good”

carbs, and 20 to 25 percent each of protein and fats; like Craig, you

add fruits, vegetables and dairy. Support is available through phone

counseling, weekly e-classes with a dietician and tracking tools.

*Does it work? * There’s plenty of research showing that following a diet of

1,200 to 1,500 calories a day, such as Nutrisystem, can cause weight loss.

For example, a study by the Obesity Research

Center<http://nature.com/oby/journal/v10/n9/abs/oby2002121a.html>at

St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital in New York found that postmenopausal

women

who followed a 1,200-calorie plan for 16 weeks lost an average of 21 pounds.

*How much can you expect to lose? *1 to 2 pounds per week

*Cost of losing 20 pounds: *$1,196 to $1,316 for four 28-day cycles

*Cost per pound of weight loss: *$60 to $66

*Worth the money? *Yes: For a meal-delivery diet system, Nutrisystem is more

economical than Craig.

Medifast

*Cost:* $75 a week

*The skinny:* Although today’s program is not as stringent as the original

liquid fast Medifast launched decades ago, the low-fat, relatively low-carb

plan is designed to bring about rapid weight loss by coaxing your body into

a “fat-burning state” known as ketosis. With the Medifast 5 & 1 Plan, you

eat five small meal replacements a day that are about 100 calories each

(which you order online and have delivered) plus one “lean and green” meal

you prepare, consisting of about 500 calories of lean chicken, fish or meat

plus three servings of low-carb salad or green vegetables. The 70 meal

replacement choices include shakes, bars, soups, pudding, oatmeal, chili,

pretzel sticks, cheese puffs, and scrambled eggs.

*Does it work? * If you can stick with it, a diet of 1,000 calories a day

can certainly induce rapid weight loss. A common concern with such

low-calorie diets is that you’ll quickly regain the weight, but in a small

clinical trial published in the journal Experimental

Biology<http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01011491>,

after 10 months, only about one in five people regained all the weight they

had lost.

*How much can you expect to lose? * 2 to 5 pounds per week

*Cost of losing 20 pounds: * $300 to $750, depending on the speed of your

weight loss, plus grocery costs for your “lean and green” meals

*Cost per pound of weight loss: * $15 to $38 (plus groceries)

*Worth the money? * Maybe: Choose this more extreme plan only if quick

weight loss is your priority.

------------------------------

*Support-Only Plans*

*Plan* *Cost* *Cost per pound of weight loss* *Avg. pounds lost per

week* *Cost

to lose 20 pounds* Weight Watchers $39.95/month

$54/three months

online only

plus $30 sign-up fee $4 or $8 Up to 2 $72 or $160 eDiets About $18/month

$2.70 1 to 2 $54 Southbeachdiet.com $5/week $2.75 1 to 2

after initial period $40

+

$15 book

*Food Delivery Plans*

*Plan* *Cost* *Cost per pound of weight loss* *Avg. pounds lost per

week* *Cost

to lose 20 pounds* In The Zone Delivery $40 to $50/day + $10 delivery

charge $280 to $336 1 to 1.5 $5,600 to $6,720 Craig $30 for 30 days +

about $140/week for food $96 1 to 2 $1,910 eDiets Fresh Prepared Meal

Delivery $110 to $140/week

+

$22 shipping $86 to $105 1 to 2 $1,716 to $2,106 Bistro M.D. $145 to

$180/week

+

$25 delivery $76 to $101 1 to 3 $1,525 to $2,025 Nutrisystem $299 to $329

for 4 weeks $60 to $66 1 to 2 $1,196 to $1,316 Medifast $75/week $15 to $38

(plus groceries) 2 to 5 $300 to $750

+

groceriesLINK

here<http://moneywatch.bnet.com/saving-money/article/diet-plan-review-best-ways-\

to-lose-weight/377880/?tag=col1;fd-banner-news>

--

Ortiz, MS, RD

*The FRUGAL Dietitian* <http://www.thefrugaldietitian.com>

Check out my blog: mixture of deals and nutrition

New scams to watch out for…

<http://thefrugaldietitian.com/?p=12747>**<http://thefrugaldietitian.com/?p=1200\

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