Best Commercial Diet Plan

Best Commercial Diet Plan

Best Commercial Diet Plan: Weight Watchers. Cost is $20/day

Weight Watchers is reviewed by numerous medical and general-interest publications, including Consumer Reports magazine, The Journal of the American Medical Association, the British Medical Journal, Health magazine and WebMD.com. We also consulted user opinions of this plan on TopDiets.com.

Weight Watchers has been subjected to the most clinical studies of all the commercial weight-loss programs. This program encourages a sensible diet of healthy, ordinary foods, combined with exercise and a positive attitude. Weight Watchers is also flexible, reviewers say, which makes it easier to stick with, and its costs are reasonable. In-person group meetings and weigh-ins are the cornerstone of the Weight Watchers diet plan; the food plan demands strict calorie control, but does not require the purchase of prepackaged food.

Cons:Counting “points” doesn’t necessarily encourage healthier eating, but overall, Weight Watchers has a better long-term record than any other commercial diet plan, including Slim-Fast (*est. $40 per week for shakes/bars). Still it is more expensive than phentermine ($.60/day)

Best Readily Available Commercial Diet With Pre-packaged Food: Slim-Fast. Cost is $40/day

The Slim-Fast weight-loss program is included in Consumer Reports’ latest comparative review; this plan is also weighed against other diets by the British Medical Journal. We also consulted user comments about Slim-Fast posted on TopDiets.com.

If you need to eat your meals on the go or don’t have time to prepare healthy foods, as is encouraged by the Weight Watchers program (*est. $20 to join, $9 monthly), reviewers say Slim-Fast’s meals-in-a-can (or bar) are nutritionally sound, and the plan does produce weight loss, at least in the short term. The trouble is that although most people can stick with Slim-Fast for a couple of months, studies have shown that most can’t adhere to the program for longer periods.

Cons: Following the full Slim-Fast diet plan requires the purchase of expensive prepackaged shakes and bars and cooking one meal a day; the plan is convenient, participants say, but it can be costly, and there’s not a lot of variety.