There are so many weight loss and fad diets out there that it can be overwhelming when deciding which, if any, are right for you, and that is not even taking into consideration the many dieting gimics floating around. This article provides a brief overview for some of the more popular programs available and the pros and cons that go along with them.
A Quick Disclaimer
I am by no means endorsing any of these diets, but to be completely fair and honest, I have tried more than one of these diets and found some to be seriously lacking in areas, while others were more adaptable to the long term. The best diet for you is one that you can stick with long-term and one that fits into your lifestyle. You may find, like I have, that a combination of diets works best for your life, such as Weight Watchers with a SlimFast breakfast. The most successful diets are ones that change dietary and physical activity habits for life.
This article does not provide dietary advice. What it does provide is information regarding the most popular diets and weight loss options that I have found through experience and extensive research. As always, if you are interested in losing weight or changing your diet and lifestyle please do so after consulting with your physician; frequently physicians will sit down with you and help you determine which diet will work best to meet your medical and nutritional needs.
Weight Watchers works through calorie and fat reduction, while encouraging increased physical activity. Weight Watchers uses a core food group or points system eating plan. The points system that allows a daily number of points, weekly flex points, and activity points; the daily point allowance is determined based on age, gender, work or daily activity (sedentary, light, moderate, and very active); and food points are assigned by determining the calories, fiber, and fat content of foods. This program offers extensive variety while teaching meal-planning skills and healthy alternatives to high-fat, high-calorie favorites.
Weight Watchers also offers social support group meetings that are lead by a Weight Watchers member who has successfully made “lifetime” or reached their goal weight and maintained the weight loss. Weight Watchers promotes safe weight loss and is inexpensive (group meetings average around $10 a week).
Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem
Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem are grouped together here because the dieting concepts are similar. Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem both work by limiting calorie consumption and encouraging increased physical activity. Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem are safe and convenient, but can get expensive. Both programs require purchase of their own special foods in addition to vegetables, breads, and fruits that have to be purchased separately. The numbers of special foods are limited, which makes sticking with these programs difficult over the long-term. In addition, it does not promote long-term behavior change through providing, cooking, and serving your own foods. Neither program offers social support.
SlimFast
SlimFast is a safe reduced calorie diet. It is fairly inexpensive, but it is not the best at promoting long-term behavior change, because one or two meals and perhaps some snacks are replaced by their pre-packaged bars and powdered drink mixes. I have found that the powdered drink mixes get quite boring after a while, but can be a great alternative to a milk shake that is loaded in calories and fats. SlimFast does not offer social support.
The New Beverly Hills Diet
The New Beverly Hills Diet calls for specific timing and food combinations that are based on unsound principles that lack scientific evidence to back them up. It is inexpensive, but does not promote long term behavior change and is nutritionally unsound. The New Beverly Hills Diet is a nutritional theory about not combining food groups and is not based on any sound nutritional or scientific data (eat fruit, carbs and fat but do not combine any of the two and once you have switched groups you cannot have anything from the previous groups for the rest of the day AND promotes the misconceptions that calories do not count). The New Beverly Hills Diet does not offer social support.
Optifast
Optifast is an extremely low calorie (under 800 calories a day) formula that promotes rapid weight loss. It is expensive and potentially dangerous if not monitored my medical professionals. There is no social support with this diet.
Fit or Fat
The Fit or Fat program promotes increased exercise. It safe and inexpensive, but provides no social support. The Fit or Fat program encourages weight lifting, cross training, aerobic exercise and cooking to keep vitamins in food, reduced fat, and low sodium. The Fit or Fat Nutrition and Exercise Program was developed by Covert Bailey, who has an undergraduate degree from Harvard and a Master of Science degree in biochemistry from MIT. His Fit or Fat series of eight books have sold millions of copies. He is also the inventor of the first “dunk tank” for underwater weighing that tested body fat percentage.
The F-Factor Diet
The F-Factor Diet was created by Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS, RD (registered dietician). It is based on the Exchange Lists created by the American Diabetes and American Dietetic Associations; however, Zuckerbrot’s version of the Exchange List is much more complicated and confusing than the actual thing. The F-Factor Diet focuses on high protein that is low fat and as many vegetables (low glycemic) that you can eat. The F-Factor Diet is nutritionally sound, safe and inexpensive. It provides no social support.
The Zone
The Zone is a low carbohydrate diet that is also low in whole grains and calcium which makes the principles behind the diet questionable at best. It is inexpensive and flexible, but provides no social support.
Thin for Life and Eating Thin for Life
Thin for Life (diet book) and Eating Thin for Life (hints, tips, and motivations from users who have lost weight and kept it off using the Thin for Life Diet book) was created by Anne M. Fletcher, MS, RD, LD, a licensed and registered dietician. The Thin for Life Diet promotes moderation and offers success stories, recipes, and menu ideas. It is inexpensive, but offers no social support.
Dieting with the Duchess
Dieting with the Duchess is a book written by Sarah, the Duchess of York who lost weight with Weight Watchers program by following the points system. She offers some simple nutrition and exercise tips. The book is inexpensive, offers flexible alternatives (choices), but provides no social support.
The Cabbage soup diet offers unlimited amounts of cabbage soup, fruit, coffee, and tea. It is inexpensive, but offers rapid weight loss. It offers no social support, does not promote long-term behavior changes, and lacks in variety. The Cabbage soup diet is not nutritionally sound to follow for an extended period of time.
The Grapefruit diet is based on the premise that certain foods have the “special” ability to burn fat. It is inexpensive, and it based on unsound principles, and it does not offer social support.
Sugar Busters
Sugar Busters is a low calorie restrictive diet that completely eliminates sugar. It is inexpensive, offers no social support, offers insufficient amounts of carbohydrates, and is based on unsound principles.
Volumetrics Weight Control Plan
Volumetrics stresses foods that contain high amounts of air, water, and fiber to promote fullness with very few calorie consumption. It is safe and inexpensive, but offers no social support. Volumetrics also does not promote an exercise component to its plan.
Who doesn’t know a little about this one? Atkins’ Diet is a diet that is very low in carbohydrates. It is inexpensive and offers a rapid initial weight loss for some. It is difficult to stick with long-term and offers no social support.
The South Beach Diet is also (at the start) very low in carbohydrate and gradually more carbohydrates are allowed back into the diet. South Beach is a safe, inexpensive weight loss method that is also heart healthy. South Beach does not offer social support.
As I am sure you noticed, some diets do not have a very detailed summary, and on those I felt that it was enough said to give readers some idea as to the diet’s quality (or lack thereof). I also included in the brief summary of each diet whether social support is offered. Some of these diets, such as Nutrisystem, do offer social support in an online format, others, I am sure, have some type of on-line social support that is not promoted or sponsored by the official website. If you can find social support for one of these diets, then please, by all means, disregard that I said there was none. My premise for including whether social support is provided is this: face to face social support systems have been proven time and time again to promote weight loss and assist in maintaining that weight loss. The reason on-line support is not listed as social support here is because there are few, if any, studies that have been conducted on their effectiveness in assisting weight loss.
As to the studies that offer evidence that face to face social support systems are effective in helping with weight loss, here is just one of the many:
In an article published in a random, controlled, clinical trial, Wing & Jeffrey (1999) studied 166 participants in clinical study to determine if there were benefits of social support for weight loss and maintenance. Of the 166 participants, some participants were alone and others were with 3 friends or family members; participants were randomly given a Standard Behavioral Treatment that included social support strategies. After a 10 month follow-up the participants who were recruited with friends had greater weight loss and maintenance. The results: those recruited alone but given the standard behavioral treatment completed the treatment at 76%, only 24% of those maintained the weight loss through the 10 month follow-up. Of those recruited with friends and given the standard behavioral treatment, 95% completed the treatment and 66% managed to maintain the full amount of weight loss through the 10 month follow-up. (Wing & Jeffrey, 1999)
References
*To access more information on these diets, click the name of the diet below, a link has been attached.
Wing, R. R., & Jeffery, R. W. (1999). Benefits of recruiting participants with friends and increasing social support for weight loss and maintenance. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 1999 Feb Vol 67(1) 132-138
Weight Watchers
Jenny Craig
Nutrisystem
SlimFast
The New Beverly Hills Diet
Optifast
Fit or Fat
The F-Factor Diet
The Zone/Mastering the Zone Diet
Eating Thin for Life
Dieting with the Duchess
Cabbage Soup Diet
Grapefruit Diet
Sugar Busters
Volumetrics Weight Control Plan
Atkins’ Diet
South Beach Diet
