Healthy Series Diet Comparisons

The topic of dieting has been on my mind lately. With the holidays here it seems like all anyone is talking about is the latest "diet" they are trying out. Family all around me is constantly delving into new diet fads, gym memberships, Weight Watchers meetings, etc. I have been wondering for a while which diet is "the best". Which one is healthiest and which one gives what everyone wants most--RESULTS?

Since Tony works for a magazine called Healthy Utah, I am constantly learning new things about health and fitness, and I really like learning about them! So, I did some homework and I have created my own little evaluation of four of today's popular weight loss programs. I don't want to have a post that takes four hours to read, so I'm splitting them up posting one diet evaluation every day or so, and then a big conclusion at the end.

Please remember these are MY opinions based on research I did on each diet.

My first diet evaluation is Jenny Craig.

Jenny’s plan is a tri-level program consisting of food, mind, and body.

For the first level—food—Jenny Craig offers pre-packaged meals. These meals have the intention of teaching dieters portion size, how many calories to consume (based on height, weight, age, gender, etc.), and that there are a variety of foods that can be eaten while on a “diet”. The frozen entrees reflect the USDA food pyramid guidelines containing 50% to 60% carbohydrate, 20% to 25% protein, and 20% to 25% fat. The dieters are to supplement each of these meals with fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and reduced fat dairy products. Like Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig proudly states that there is no food you cannot eat. As long as you eat in moderation, you can have all types of foods. Jenny and her counselors just want their clients to realize what they are doing when they have that second brownie.

The second level is body. The counselors at Jenny Craig believe that if you want to have long lasting results with your weight loss, the key is physical activity. They help clients determine their physical activity and then help them get to a place where calories are being burned.

The third level is mind. The folks at Jenny Craig do not want their clients to stay on the Jenny diet forever. The idea is to wean them off of the frozen meals with the idea that they will be able to cook/eat foods with similar caloric value and portion size to their frozen foods on their own. They also believe that surrounding yourself with support and affirmations plays a key role in creating the right weight loss mindset. Jenny Craig offers meetings, a 24/7 hotline for its clients to get around-the-clock information, as well as a website that provides them with tools for dieting.

PROS:
-You can eat what you want; there are no restrictions other than sticking to the frozen meals. But, there appears to be quite a selection of frozen meals offered by Jenny Craig.

-There is constant support. The 24/7 hotline and internet tools can really be helpful when you need some extra help.

-This program encourages exercise! They realize and teach their clients that for long-lasting weight loss results, exercise is key.

CONS:
-If you live with a family, and they don’t want to do Jenny Craig, you have to buy separate food for yourself and the family. You also have to cook yummy foods you can’t have, which could make the dieting process very difficult. This is only a problem in the first few months, however.

-Frozen meals, every meal. It kind of sounds like a diet astronauts would eat on their way to the moon. Frozen meals all the time could get pretty boring, pretty fast. Once you get out of the frozen meals stage, though, it seems to get easier.

-Convenience is a big issue. When you have frozen meals you are assigned to eat it makes dinner parties, date nights, and other food situations very difficult.

Cost: It is $199 to register for the Jenny Craig program, and buying the frozen meals averages about $1,470 for 15 weeks.
Long-Term Effectiveness*:
Your Doc would Recommend it:
Easy to Follow:
Universality :

* About one-third of original participants remained in the program at six months, and these individuals had an average weight loss of 15.0 pounds. Participants who remained in the program at one year had an average of 22.0 pounds weight loss.

TOTAL: 3.5 OUT OF 5