Weight Loss Programs: Reviews

Weight Watchers has been proven in a variety of scientific studies, and this diet plan easily outshines the competition. The program encourages a sensible diet consisting of healthy foods, exercise and a positive… attitude. Weight Watchers is also flexible, which makes it easy to follow, and its cost is reasonable for a commercial program. In-person group meetings and weigh-ins are the cornerstone of the Weight Watchers diet plan, although online support is available as well. Dieters must keep strict track of their calorie intake, but they don't need to purchase special (and expensive) prepackaged food. Weight Watchers offers high-carb and high-protein variations of its classic plan. Critics of the plan say the idea of counting dietary "points" does not necessarily encourage healthier eating in the long term. But overall, Weight Watchers has a vastly better record than any other diet plan.

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If you don't have time to count calories or make complicated recipes, Slim-Fast shakes (or bars) are nutritionally sound, and the plan does produce weight loss -- at least in the short term. The trouble is that while many… people can stick with Slim-Fast for a few months, most can't adhere to it for longer than that. Following the full diet plan requires the purchase of prepackaged shakes and bars and then cooking one meal a day. The plan is convenient, but it can be costly and there's not a lot of variety. Even so, Slim-Fast has been studied in clinical settings, and has shown weight loss comparable to other popular commercial diets. Slim-Fast ready-to-drink shakes were recalled in December 2009, but snack bars and drink mixes were not affected and the problem has been fixed.

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Dean Ornish's plan is the best-known vegetarian diet out there, and it has been extensively studied by clinical researchers. Originally designed to reverse heart disease, Ornish's diet is low in salt, low in fat and high… in vegetables and whole grains. The Dean Ornish Eat More, Weigh Less diet gets high marks in scientific studies. In one comparison of eight popular diet plans conducted by the American Dietetic Association, the Ornish diet was the top scorer, and the study concluded that the weight-loss program could help prevent cardiovascular disease. The diet is pretty strict, and some experts think you will likely need more fat in your diet eventually. Non-vegetarians might find this diet requires too drastic a change in eating habits to stick with it.

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