I'm always trying out new weight loss programs. I think that, between me and my friends, we've tried them all... Atkins, Sugar Busters, The Zone, Cabbage Soup Diet, Skier's Diet, Master Cleanse, and more! We've all learned from our weight-loss attempts that some work, some don't. Some I love and some I hate... So, here are my five favorite weight loss programs that I've seen be really the best!
1. Weight Watchers ...
Weight Loss: 1-3 pounds per week
Cost: Registration and weekly meeting fees vary by location, but average is $25-$35 to join and $13 a week. This does not include the cost of any food... just for meetings.
What I Think: I've been on Weight Watchers several times, and so have lots of my friends. Basically, you use a point system to determine how much you can eat each day. I think Weight Watchers is great for a lot of reasons. First of all, I love it because all foods are allowed... since there aren't any forbidden foods, I'm not tempted to cheat on those things I'm not supposed to have.
Also, a lot of companies are partnering with Weight Watchers, so they put the points right on the labels, which makes it easy for me to make the right choices. Also, saving points is really neat... I have saved points for the weekend before if I knew we were going out to eat somewhere great.
But, the downside of this program for me was the point calculations... I had to carry the little booklet and paper calculator in my purse all the time, and keeping up with the points got confusing for me. Also, the weight loss on this program has always been slow (but steady) for me and my friends... between one and three pounds a week. Learn more at the Weight Watchers website.
2. NutriSystem ...
Weight Loss: 3-5 pounds per week
Cost: $10 per day, or about $300 per month, for food program, plus cost of extra food like produce.
What I Think: My husband and I went on NutriSystem a few years ago before I had my daughter, and we had a lot of success using it! My husband lost 20 pounds, and I lost 35 pounds... which of course I gained back when I got pregnant! What I loved about this program was the convenience, convenience, convenience!
All your breakfasts, lunches, dinner entrees, and snacks are shipped to you each month, and everything is microwaveable. It was so super easy to stick to this diet... all we did was add a little milk, fruit, and salad in addition to the prepackaged food, and we were done! It was also really easy to stick to it at work because it was so easy to grab and go with the little microwaveable meals.
The downsides for us were that you really can't go out to eat... there was no way for us to really stick to the plan at a restaurant. Also, we thought it was a little expensive... it was about $800 for both of us by the time we ordered two boxes of food and bought produce and dairy at the store. Read more about it at NutriSystem.
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3. Jenny Craig ...
Weight Loss: 1-2 pounds per week
Cost: $359 per year membership, plus cost of food (between $12-$18 per day)
What I Think: I tried Jenny Craig one time, and I did lose about 15 pounds on it. Jenny Craig is a program very similar to NutriSystem where you eat prepackaged foods mixed with some fresh items. You also go to meet with a counselor, kind of like Weight Watchers.
I liked the food in the Jenny Craig program... some of the frozen entrees were really, really good. I loved the cheesecake! I also thought the vitamin supplements were really healthful, too. Bottom line on this program? I thought it was too expensive to only lose one pound a week.
It does work, and I did lose weight on it, but it took me about three months to lose fifteen pounds, and I really don't need to pay a big fee for that kind of weight loss. I've had several friends that have been on Jenny Craig, and they've all had the same results, but two of my girlfriends just love the program and wouldn't do anything else. Read about it yourself at Jenny Craig.
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