Hi! I keep seeing commercials for Nutri System,Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers that all feature some kind of celebrity. I want to know if anyone has tried these diets and if the food is really good or is it really crap. Thanks in advance !

I have not had experience with any of them but know a lot of people who have had success with Weight Watchers. The key with all of them seemed to be being very diligent about making time for some sort of physical activity every day or every other day, and switching up what program they fallowed if their weight started to plateau. I also get the sense that the community aspect of it helps a lot because they always had someone to turn to for advice, help, or encouragement.

I lost from 229 to 130 in 93 on WW.

The most important part is that I have been able to keep it off. WW is not really a diet to me, but a way of living. You can eat anything but it is the portion amount that you have to adjust. I use to set down and eat a whole pie, now I just have a small slice.

Any kind of diet might work in the short term, but until you control your portion sizes and make healty choices, the weight will just come back.

WW is definitely my fave. I love the freedom you have with it.

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I agree with Ruthie. I lost 40 lbs. with the help of eDiets.com but you have to find something that works for you. I eat on the run and eat out alot so I needed a program that would fit with my lifestyle. I ate 1200 calories/day, 80+ ounces of water and exercised 3-5 days a week.

To lose weight, it's simple math. You have to burn more calories than you are taking in. A completely sedentary person burns between 800 and 1,500 food calories per day, creating the energy for the daily obligatory functions of all the cells in the body. Therefore, if your RMR-resting metabolic rate (what your body burns to function) is 1400 and you are eating 1400 calories and not exercising, you will not lose any weight. You either have to cut your calories or increase your exercise, or both.

Two free things that have helped are:

Calculate your BMR/RMR - Calories Burned, BMI, BMR & RMR Calculator | CaloriesPerHour.com
SparkPeople - Free Diet Plans at SparkPeople (sign up and use their free calorie counter to track what you're eating; you'll be amazed once you start keeping track)

Good luck!!!

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Marcy
Proud wife of Tim, Mom to Sean (8/87), Ethan (10/98), Sam (9/02)
and angels Nathanial (8/6/97-8/8/97) and Benjamin (8/6/97-8/21/97)

Until they all come home......
Life is a Journey (follow my blog about my journey)

With WW you don't have to buy prepackaged foods, but just change your lifestyle to what fits you. That way, you are more likely to keep the weight off.

I agree with Claire. And with weight watchers you can eat all your favorites still .. you just have to count them. I like that!

I lost my 20 lbs with WW in 1999 just before dd was conceived.

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Mom to dd (age 9) and ds (age 11)
blogging daily about purpose and personal identity

I think it depends on the person I have done WW and south beach.... I have lost with both but hit a wall at 10lbs with both... ww was nice to be able to eat what I wanted and stay in my points but that is not something that was working for me.

The key to any of them tho is plan and simple eat less move more. Less doenst always mean less in a day but less in a single sitting.

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I have lost 30lbs with WW and have kept it off for 1 year. I like WW because I eat my favorite foods still. It's all about portion control.
Also check out sparkpeople.com -- great FREE website for tracking food intake!

I agree with the others WW, sparkspeople, ediets are all good. Part of the reason those work better IMO than Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig, etc is because you are held accountable to learn what a portion looks like and to calculate your calories and exercise. I've had clients who have yo-yo'd doing diets like Nutrisystem and Jenny Craig because they don't learn what a portion looks like and they don't learn to modify their eating habits. They just eat what's in front of them. They lose the weight eating the prepackaged food and once they reach their desired weight they go back to eating normal food, without the tools that WW, sparkspeople and e-diets teach.