Best Weight-Loss Programs

Weight Watchers has the most-proven track record

If you're looking for a healthy weight-loss program with in-person group support, reviewers recommend Weight Watchers (*est. $20 to join; $9 weekly) over all others. This plan is reasonably priced, and you pay as you go, without any major up-front expenses. Better yet, if you reach your goal weight and stay there for six weeks, you can continue as a lifetime member and get maintenance support for free.

Weight Watchers has a proven track record that is backed up by medical studies and lay reviewers. The program is flexible and can accommodate special dietary needs, but encourages eating selections from all the food groups, as well as reducing fat, increasing fiber, eating plenty of fruits and vegetables and getting enough water and calcium. Since you're eating real foods from the beginning, reviews say, you also learn about appropriate food choices and portion sizes.

Weight Watchers dieters have been extensively studied and found to be more successful than dieters following other programs, as reported in The Wall Street Journal. Two recent medical studies by the Journal of the American Medical Association and the BBC found that dieters following the Weight Watchers diet were more likely to stick to their diet and continue losing weight long-term than those on more extreme plans. Weight Watchers produces a line of prepackaged food that can be incorporated into the program, but members are not required to buy the food, unlike some other well-known diet plans like Jenny Craig and NutriSystem.

If you're not interested in cooking your own meals, one review recommends Slim-Fast (*est. $40 per week for shakes/bars) for being nutritionally sound and easy to use. The Slim-Fast products do not need to be mail-ordered since they're available in most supermarkets and pharmacies. Reviewers point to Slim-Fast as an option for people who don't have the time or inclination to prepare healthy meals. In one sense it's a good choice for those on the go, but the plan is not very flexible or variable and has a very high dropout rate over time. Also, while the shakes are technically healthy, this method of consumption doesn't help you develop better long-term eating habits. Medifast (*est. $300 per month for shakes, bars, soup and oatmeal) is also recommended in one review, but it should be noted that this plan is indicated for people who are very overweight, with 75 pounds or more to lose.

Experts concur that vegetarians are already healthier overall than the rest of the population, but if you are a vegetarian/vegan in need of a diet plan, or a carnivore looking for a vegetarian diet, the Dean Ornish Diet based on the book Eat More, Weigh Less (*est. $15 for the book) has been extensively studied. It recently scored higher in nutritional value than seven other diet plans analyzed by the American Dietetic Association. The Ornish Diet was originally developed to prevent heart disease back in the 1980s. In terms of weight loss and nutrition, it stacks up against the newer diets, but it may not be the most fun and flavor-filled diet. Menus rely on vegetables, fruits and legumes, with very low fat and sugar. Most dairy, olives, nuts and processed foods are to be avoided. While it's possible to eat a vegetarian diet on Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig or, with more difficulty, the South Beach Diet, the Ornish diet is the only diet formulated with all-vegetarianism in mind, and in that sense, the easiest diet for a vegetarian/vegan to undertake without a major diet adjustment.

The Mediterranean Diet (*est. $8 for the book) goes by a variety of names. The Sonoma Diet (*est. $15 for the book) is a variation that is mentioned in one review. Mediterranean diets have received a lot of press in recent years for their focus on the consumption of grains and "good" fats like olive oil, nuts and oily fish, along with red wine as a preventative of heart disease. A Mediterranean diet plan was recently studied alongside low-carb and low-fat diets in a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, and a Spanish Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet was the subject of a recent study in Nutrition Journal. In both cases, a Mediterranean diet was found to produce significant weight loss and reduce cardiovascular-disease risk factors. Despite the positive reviews we found, according to their website, the American Heart Association is not ready to endorse this diet, though they do say it is very close to their recommendations.

A newer diet to enter the fold that gets top marks wherever it's profiled, is Volumetrics, based on the book "The Volumetrics Eating Plan" (*est. $16 for the book). Formulated by a nutritionist with superb credentials, Volumetrics is designed around people's desire to eat more food. The diet makes use of foods that offer more volume per calorie, which makes you feel like you are eating more. People find the foods they can eat large quantities of while still losing the pounds. Vegetarians can be easily accommodated. The plan includes cooking strategies to reduce fat, and suggests that meals begin with a low-calorie soup or salad before the main course, which is intended to take the edge off hunger and make you feel fuller so you eat fewer calories overall.

If your physician has already prescribed a specific diet, but you want some in-person group support, experts say the nonprofit Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS) program is a good choice. TOPS is a nonprofit weight-loss club that's been around since 1948. It's inexpensive (*est. $26 to join and $5/month for chapter dues), and since its members all have their own prescribed diets, it doesn't endorse any plan in particular. As a member, you get to attend weekly meetings and lectures, participate in weigh-ins and receive other enticements to help you lose and maintain weight. You can search for a local chapter through their website (http://www.tops.org/).

Although we did not see Curves for Women compared to any other weight-loss program, this business is one of the fastest-growing franchises in the United States. Curves for Women is an exercise-based weight-loss program that revolves around a 30-minute aerobic/weights circuit. Although Curves suggests a modified low-carb eating plan, you're not pushed to follow it; the real emphasis is on regular exercise and periodic weigh-ins, along with incentives like rewards for frequent attendance and attaining weight-loss goals. The initial enrollment fee is steep (*est. $150), and the monthly fee is about $40. There is no prepackaged food and no counseling or group meetings.

The American Council on Exercise surveyed the Curves program in 2005. The study measured the overall fitness level of 15 Curves members, tracking their heart rate and oxygen consumption during a 30-minute Curves workout. The disappointing news is that ACE says that the average calorie burn was a mere 184 calories -- that's maybe half of a candy bar. The advantage to Curves is its low intimidation factor, especially for women who are self-conscious about going to a gym. Participants like the social aspect, and experts say this kind of aerobic activity is a health benefit, even if participants don't lose much weight from the Curves workout alone. The danger from "reward" eating is high, however, since participants may believe they burned more than 184 calories per session.

Jenny Craig (*est. $200 to $350 to join), which requires food purchases of roughly $90 per week, is in the news no doubt because celebrity spokespersons like Valerie Bertinelli and Kirstie Alley have used the diet. The program is not recommended often in reviews and is much more expensive than Weight Watchers. Jenny Craig provides support through meetings with counselors. Though counselors receive some training, they aren't dieticians, nor do they have any other medical qualifications. Experts, including those polled by Health magazine, say the nutrition behind the meals seems sound, but that dieting using prepackaged meals is expensive and unlikely to help you keep off the weight, since you never learn to cook for yourself or make healthful decisions on foods and portion sizes. Jenny Craig has not yet been the subject of a major clinical study.