Good For: Being the most extreme diet ever to reach the UK.

Overview:

Imagine a diet with NO FOOD for 10 days – that’s the KEN diet. KEN, standing for Ketogenic Enteral Nutrition, prohibits food completely and instead ‘feeds’ the dieter a special liquid formula via a tube up the nose. The tube delivers a constant drip of 130 calories, made up of protein and nutrients; dieters are also given extra supplements, antacids and laxatives.

They must wear the tube 23 hours a day (one hour a day is allowed off for bathing).

The diet is so severe that it encourages the body to enter into starvation mode, where it uses its existing fat stores for energy.

While there is nothing to physically prevent you from eating or drinking what you want while on the diet, the promoters say you won’t want to eat anything after a couple of days. Eating or drinking non-sanctioned food can obviously impact on the success of the diet, of course.

Pros:

• Claimed to help you lose up to 10% (average 4-9%) of your bodyweight every 10 days with KEN.
• Of that 10%, 66% is apparently fat, just under a third is water and you shouldn’t lose any muscle at all, say the creators.
• Allows subsequent cycles of KEN as long as you have 10 days off between cycles, during which time you will need to follow a special diet designed by the clinic.
• Supposedly suitable for most people; the liquid formula isn’t a high protein diet which can cause kidney problems. That said, however, anyone with existing kidney problems is not recommended to use it.
• The creators claim you won’t go hungry on the KEN diet.
• As well as losing weight, it is also claimed to help reduce blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol.

Cons:

• A healthy weight loss is considered to be 1-2lbs a week; this rapid weight loss can potentially be dangerous.
• Delivers an incredibly low 130 calories a day.
• Doesn’t help anyone who eats for emotional reasons.
• Doesn’t help the dieter to learn about proper portion control or healthy foods.
• Dieter has to walk around with a tube attached to their nose, and carry both the liquid and electric pump at all times. Even if it doesn’t feel uncomfortable, it’s certainly going to look odd.
• Installation of the tube in the first place can be unpleasant.
• Side-effects can include constipation as a result of a lack of fibre (though you will be given laxatives), as well as bad breath and exhaustion. Headaches can also be a problem if you don’t drink enough water.
• The KEN diet is expensive; at £350 per cycle, it’s not a cheap option.
• Experts warn it may encourage anorexia in those prone to it or with prior problems.
• You have to mix your own food; you will be given KEN powdered food to mix with a litre of water twice a day.
• As the diet is new in the UK, it remains to be seen if dieters can keep this weight off afterwards.
• If the tube becomes dislodged, there may be a risk of food going straight into the lungs.

Exercise:

Not recommended while on such a drastically reduced calorie diet.

Checklist:

Alcohol: No.
Caffeine: Tea and coffee are allowed, though sugar or sweeteners and milk are banned. Sugar-free herbal teas are also allowed.
Family-friendly: No.
Eating Out: No, though technically you will be ‘eating out’ whenever you leave the house.

Health Warnings:

Not suitable for anyone with kidney failure or an allergy to milk proteins.

Conclusion:

We’re willing to accept that the KEN diet does help people to lose weight; how can it not when you’re not actually eating anything? We still remain to be convinced of its safety however. Quite how refusing to eat anything at all can be considered a good thing, even for those clinically obese people whose health is in the balance, we can’t fathom.

One expert put it very well when he evaluated the KEN diet; he said the extreme nature of the diet was turning food into the enemy. We agree with him. The best diets are those that help dieters to address their issues with food and learn healthy eating habits, as opposed to making food your nemesis.

We think the KEN diet is just another example of an expensive fad diet that promises quick results with little consideration of the longer term.

Where to Buy:

Only available at www.WeightManagementSystems.co.uk

Good For: A low carb, high fat diet which encourages you to eat several times a day.

Overview:

We have to be honest; whether or not the Rosedale Diet actually works or not, we have concerns about some of the claims made in its book and on its website.

The book seems a little too evangelical about ‘evil carbohydrates’ for our liking – claiming the body doesn’t need any carbohydrates or sugar at all, for instance, in complete opposition to current accepted medical thinking, and urging us to get out and exercise quickly because ‘even broccoli has some sugar’.

Likewise, claiming that the American Diabetic Association and the American Heart Association are actually promoting diets that increase heart disease, diabetes, obesity and more, whereas The Rosedale Diet can reverse all of these conditions and even diminish or remove the need for medication completely, is a pretty confident (some may say overconfident) claim.

The Rosedale Diet is based upon the book by Dr Ron Rosedale, which advocates a diet very similar to Atkins – namely, low in carbohydrates and high in fat (though Dr Rosedale would say it’s ‘high quality’ fat). As with the Atkins Diet, the premise is that the body will switch to burning fat, entering into a state of ketosis, rather than carbohydrates and weight will therefore be lost.

Starchy carbohydrates, in particular, are a dieter’s worst enemy because of their ability to be turned into pure sugar, according to the Rosedale diet, which bans potatoes of any description, rice, breads, pasta and crackers etc… Protein is allowed but should be eaten according to your own measurements, namely by factoring in your weight, metabolism, activity level and gender.

What makes the Rosedale diet interesting is its attempt to control the amount of leptin in our bodies, the hormone that supposedly controls hunger. Dr Rosedale believes this can be controlled by our diet, ensuring we stop eating when we are full and don’t feel hungry during the diet.

The Rosedale Diet advocates eating several small meals or snacks throughout the day, as opposed to three large meals. You should eat only when you are hungry and don’t overeat at each mealtime.

The diet rates food on a sliding scale of A, B, or C. Those foods in the ‘A’ camp (such as olives, nuts, avocados, fish, goat’s cheese, Cornish game hen) should be eaten well; those classed as ‘B’ foods (fruit, steaks and beans) should be munched on moderately, while C foods (milk, hard cheese, hot dogs, fried and processed foods) should be avoided or rarely eaten. The core of the diet is a three week plan where you are mostly restricted to the A list (certain carbs are reduced or eliminated), before other foods are added back in (B list).

Pros:

• The diet plan itself is pretty straight forward and easy to follow.
• It does tend to deliver weight loss.
• No need to count calories, points or carbs; the diet provides a list of foods to eat and foods to avoid instead.
• It shows you how to read food labels for ‘hidden dangers’.
• Research has shown that the hormone leptin may have some control over how we regulate our hunger.
• Research also shows that insulin production may increase or create leptin resistance (where your fat cells are trying to tell your brain that they have enough energy (or food) but your brain doesn’t get the message and puts you into starvation mode, prompting you to eat more). Experts agree that reducing insulin production, by reducing the sugar in our diets, may well prevent this leptin resistance.
• There is some evidence that leptin may play a role in heart and bone health.

Cons:

• Very low carbohydrate diets are traditionally difficult to follow for any prolonged period of time.
• You may struggle to avoid the C foods on the list.
• The protein intake recommended may be too low, especially if you are doing vigorous exercise.
• You may feel fatigued within the first month of starting this program as your body begins to burn fat and not carbohydrate.
• The diet has caused some stomach problems for some dieters
• As with all diets that encourage ketosis, you may suffer from bad breath, a metallic taste in the mouth, irritability, nausea, dehydration and weakness.

Checklist:

Alcohol: A little is allowed.
Caffeine: If you must have your one cup in the morning, it is allowed but you are advised to avoid it if at all possible.
Eating Out: Unlikely.
Family-Friendly Meals: Not really.

Exercise:

You are encouraged to exercise after the last meal of the day (which should be no later than three hours before your bedtime). Fifteen to 20 minutes of mild resistance exercise is advocated.

Health warnings:

You are advised to be in regular contact with your GP as you do this plan if you take medication, as the amount needed may change. You are also recommended to take vitamin supplements, especially magnesium and potassium, to replace vitamins lost in the body.

Summary:

There’s no doubt that you’re going to need to be extremely disciplined in order to stick to the Rosedale Diet for any length of time; it is a strict diet that is going to be tough to follow. Some dieters have protested about health complaints as a result of following this diet, and it certainly won’t be suitable for everyone.

We give the Rosedale Diet points for its innovative regard of the hunger hormone leptin in its diet make-up. Studies do show that leptin could indeed play a part in obesity, though we have yet to see the evidence that proves diet alone can adjust it significantly enough to have an impact. The results could be interesting to watch, however.

Perhaps our biggest gripe with this diet is its attitude towards carbohydrates in general. We accept that some low carb diets can be healthy and beneficial for weight loss, but this diet seems to be so highly critical of carbs, that we can’t help but wonder if we’re at the mercy of someone’s personal obsession. We don’t know many people, for instance, who would agree that the human body doesn’t need any carbohydrates or any sugar, as Dr Rosedale insists.

As a result, we also can’t help wondering whether some of the extremes in his diet – no bananas, dried fruit or melon for instance, or some of the C foods that could surely be eaten in moderation – really need to be as drastic as they are.

There is no doubt a lot of very sensible advice couched in this diet; it seems a shame that its carb-phobic attitude tends to overshadow it.

Where to Buy:

Buy The Rosedale Diet: Turn Off Your Hunger Switch at Amazon.co.uk.

Good For: According to creator Dr Herman Tarnower, the Scarsdale Diet will help you lose a staggering, not to mention surely unhealthy, 20 pounds in two weeks.

Overview:

The Scarsdale Diet plan is another low-carbohydrate diet similar to Atkins that has been around since the seventies.

Its simple premise is eliminating most carbohydrates and severely restricting consumption of others over an intense two week period, followed by two weeks of more relaxing fare in order to prevent your body from adapting. It does allow some consumption of complex carbohydrates such as fruit and bread consisting of natural whole grains.

The diet also limits fat but not, it claims, to dangerous levels. Your typical calorie intake will be approximately 1,000 calories a day. Meals tend to consist of vegetables, fruits and lean sources of proteins.

After two weeks on this diet, you move onto the Keep Trim diet, which is still low-fat and low-carbohydrate but isn’t as restrictive as the first two weeks. You can now add cheese, skimmed or low-fat milk, two slices of bread a day, low calorie dressings, eggs and other food, though you are still not allowed to eat potatoes, cakes, fatty meats, spaghetti, chocolate, butter or sugar.

You are encouraged to eat more calories during the Keep Trim weeks. You should still continue to lose weight but not as dramatically as in your first two weeks. It is important that you do eat more calories, however, in order to avoid slowing your metabolism too far. An average woman needs 1,200 calories daily in order to keep her metabolism functioning correctly, according to the American College of Sports Medicine.

Pros:

• Easy to follow and very specific.
• Will no doubt appeal to those who like the Atkins Diet.
• Fans and critics alike admit it does tend to encourage rapid weight loss.
• Does allow high protein meals, which should help you to feel more satisfied after a meal.
• Certain foods are restricted in quantity but there is otherwise no portion size; you can eat as much as you want, though you are recommended to eat until you are satisfied and not stuffed.
• You are allowed to snack between meals, though your choices are limited to carrots, celery and low sodium vegetarian soups.

Cons

• Not appropriate for anyone with special dietary requirements; also not suitable for diabetics.
• Very low calorie diet, which may make it hard to stick to.
• The diet and meal plans are very strict and, in the first two weeks in particular, do not allow substitutions or alterations.
• There is no maintenance plan to keep the weight off once you have finished the diet.
• Due to the low calorie and low-carbohydrate nature of the diet, you may feel very hungry and very tired on this diet.
• Large initial weight loss is likely to be mostly water, no matter what the diet claims. As such, weight is likely to be regained very quickly.
• Encourages the use of herbal appetite suppressants, which can be dangerous.
• While you are not cutting out all carbohydrates or fat, the diet can easily be low in vitamins and minerals.
• Eating the same breakfast every day for 14 days can become repetitive.
• Has the potential to upset the digestive system.

Sample Meals

Breakfast Every Day

• One half grapefruit -if not available, use fruits in season
• One slice of protein bread, toasted, no spread added
• Coffee /tea (no sugar, cream or milk, no honey)

Lunches

• Assorted cold cuts
• Tomatoes – sliced, broiled, or stewed
• Coffee/Tea/Diet Soda/Water

OR

• Fruit salad, any combination of fruits
• Coffee/Tea/Diet Soda/Water

OR

• Tuna fish or salmon salad (oil drained off) with lemon and vinegar dressing
• Grapefruit, or melon, or fruit in season
• Coffee/Tea/Diet Soda/Water

Dinners

• Fish or shellfish, any kind
• Combination salad, any greens and vegetables as you wish
• One slice protein bread, toasted
• Grapefruit – if not available, use fruits in season
• Coffee/Tea/Diet Soda/Water

OR

• Plenty of broiled, lean hamburger
• Tomatoes, lettuce, celery, olives (limit 4), cucumbers and/or Brussels Sprouts
• Coffee/Tea/Diet Soda/Water

OR

• Sliced roast lamb, all visible fat removed
• Salad of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, celery
• Coffee/Tea/Diet Soda/Water

Checklist:

Alcohol: No
Caffeine: Yes, but sugar, cream, milk or honey are prohibited. Artificial sweetener is allowed.
Eating Out: No.
Family-friendly Meals: No.

Exercise:

Not recommended due to the low calorie nature of the plan.

Health Warnings:

Not advisable for anyone with special dietary restrictions; advises you to consult your doctor before beginning this plan.

Summary:

Any diet that promises you can lose 20 pounds in two weeks is just too severe in our opinion; as any dietician or nutritionist would tell you, a healthy weight loss is around 1lb to 2lb per week, not between five or ten times that.

We’re not saying that you won’t lose weight; by all accounts, rapid weight loss is certainly possible on this diet. What it doesn’t promise, however, is the ability to keep it off. We think you’re almost certain to put weight back on after you finish this diet.

That’s a lot of dieting pain for very little pay off. Eating such a restricted diet of low calorie and low carbohydrate food for 14 days is unhealthy; you may instead want to find a low carbohydrate diet that doesn’t make you jump through quite as many hoops and is more relaxed and focused on the long term than the Scarsdale Diet.

Where to Buy:

Buy the book, The Complete Scarsdale Medial Diet at Amazon.co.uk.

Good For: Those who dislike traditional diet plans.

Overview:

Unlike a great deal of the other weight loss plans out there, Weight Loss Resources doesn’t offer a set diet plan. Instead, you are encouraged to take responsibility for your own weight loss by setting your own goals, recording your progress – and crucially – counting calories. The ethos is simple: weight loss is as straightforward as counting the calories in versus the calories going out.

Weight Loss Resources enables you to take control of your diet by the use of various online tools, such as an interactive food diary (enables you to add the food you have eaten and tots up the calorie count for you); a weekly online weigh in; a recipe database, an exercise calorie converter and calorie history.

You are encouraged to take a free trial which asks for your personal details, height, weight, your ideal weight, current lifestyle and how much weight you would like to lose each week. From there it tells you how many calories you will need to eat each day in order to achieve your target.

Pros:

• Weight Loss Resources provides you with a tailored calorie allowance per day, specific to your personal requirements.
• No fad diets to follow; the approach is straight forward, eminently sensible and relatively hassle free.
• Has all the online tools you need in one place.
• The tools are very easy to use and straightforward.
• Very useful for anyone who doesn’t like strict, planned diets or wants to do their own thing.
• Offers six meal plans to go with your calorie requirements should you want ideas for daily foods to match your calorie limits; choose from the everyday plan, working person’s diet plan, budget plan, vegetarian plan, New Year New You plan and the holiday countdown plan.
• You have the ability to add these diet plans to your food diary.
• The free trial gives you free access for 24 hours, so you can play with the tools and get an impression of how useful it may be to you before you buy.
• Offers an incentive to do exercise as the calories lost from exercise are added to the calories you can eat in order to still achieve your target weight.
• Takes into account your lifestyle and whether it is active or sedentary and adjusts the calories accordingly.
• Offers online forums with peer to peer support.
• Expert articles on a whole range of diet and fitness topics, most written by nutritionists or doctors.
• No judgements on what you do or do not eat, drink or do.

Cons:

• Doesn’t offer customised meal plans.
• Takes time to add everything you eat and drink to your diary each day.
• For best and most accurate results, you have to remember to add everything to your food diary. Don’t forget to specify how much skimmed milk you drink in your coffee throughout the day, for instance.
• Won’t help you to correct your problems if you eat for emotional reasons or if you lack willpower.
• The food diary expects you to know exactly how much (in terms of weight) you have eaten for every item you consume. This could lead to misleading figures if you don’t know the exact number of grams in a food item — how many grams are in an average bowl of cereal, for instance? – and are forced to guess.
• If they don’t have exactly the same food item in their food diary (though it is extensive), you are forced to take the nearest option, which again may skew the results slightly.
• Food diary does seem skewed towards meals bought from stores, as opposed to homemade. Can’t just add banana for instance; you also have to add which store it was bought from.
• No handholding; if you’re the sort of person who needs taking through a diet or given a strict programme to follow, this may leave you feeling a little exposed and alone.

Exercise:

Exercise is encouraged but is optional. You do have the choice to select Extremely Sedentary, for instance, as your lifestyle. The exercise log, however, does include such every day activities as weeding, walking up the stairs and dusting in order to ensure you really track all of your calories burned. Any calories burnt via exercise are added to your calorie allowance for the day, giving you an incentive to be just that bit more active.

Checklist:

Alcohol: Yes. Nothing is banned as long as you add it to your food diary.
Caffeine: Allowed but again, make sure to add it to your food diary.
Family-Friendly Meals: Yes.
Eating Out: Yes.

Summary:

The important fact to grasp about Weight Loss Resources is that it is essentially a food and exercise log; it’s not a diet in its own right and nor does it claim to be. It’s a little like being a grown up; the responsibility for keeping the log up to date and keeping to within your calorie recommendation is entirely down to you.

There may be a lot of initial work as you set up your favourite foods but it should pay off over the longer term by making it quicker and easier to populate your food log.

Those dieters who need active prompting or pushing, or who need a customised diet plan to follow, would do better with a different and more traditional diet programme; Weight Loss Resources is unlikely to work for them.

For those people who want to lose weight and need just a little helping hand (in the form of calorie counters and food/ exercise diaries) – and particularly, those people who don’t want to follow a set diet plan but prefer instead to keep a closer track of the normal food they’re eating – Weight Loss Resources could well be the ticket to laid back but happy success.

Its price at £6.95 a month seems very reasonable for easy access to the tools and peer support you need as well.

In short, we would heartily recommend this to anyone who can’t bear the thought of joining an established diet or weight loss plan – but only if you have willpower.

Where to Buy:

Sign up for £6.95 a month at www.WeightLossResources.co.uk.

If you’re in the UK and looking for diet help, one organization that you’ll definitely want to check out is the Super Slim slimming clubs. These clubs have been designed to provide top-notch user support so that you can easily choose a diet plan that meets your needs while you work your way to fast weight loss success.

Let’s take a closer look at what Super Slim UK Slimming Clubs are all about so you can make an informed decision if this is the right choice for you.

How It Works:

This program works by offering you a number of different diet plans to choose from, so you can be sure to use one that’s completely customized to your needs and preferences. With diet plans such as the back to basics diet, the fat buster diet, the lifestyle diet, the high protein diet, and the super diet, you’ll have an endless number of possibilities to choose from.

This club realizes that diets are not a one size fits all situation and they’ve come up with a solution to solve the common weight loss problems people face.

After selecting your diet, you’ll get access to many online tools including recipes, articles, as well as their online slimming community. This makes sticking with your chosen plan incredibly easy as you get help and support each step of the way.

Pros:

• Is a highly customised plan
• Will provide numerous different diet options for those with personal preferences
• Includes many information articles to increase your knowledge base
• Offers a wide array of recipes to choose from to prevent dietary boredom
• Users see fast weight loss results that stay off over time

Cons:

• You will still have to follow a calorie reduced diet to see results
• If you have no nutritional knowledge choosing the best plan may prove to be a struggle
• Exercise should be included for superior results

Summary:

Overall, if you’re someone who feels that they need more customised diet options and are tired of not feeling in control of your progress, you’ll likely really benefit from using the Super Slim clubs. These clubs do offer so many different diets that you’d be hard pressed not to find one that you’ll enjoy and with the various levels of support and resources offered, it’ll make sticking with your diet that much easier.

As long as you are someone who can carry out a diet plan effectively, you should be able to see great weight loss results by using these clubs.

Where To Join:

To find out Super Slim if a class is running in your local area, visit the official Super Slim website.

One of the hottest diet plans circulating around right now is the 17 Day Diet program, created by Dr. Mike Moreno. Appearing on such shows like ‘The Doctors’ and ‘Dr. Phil’, this diet is catching on quickly as it claims you can lose weight rapidly over a 17 day period.

While it was originally designed to help battle through holiday weight gain, this program can be used at any point throughout the year to provide a nice jump-start to your weight loss progress.

The online website for the program provides a quick calorie counter that will allow you to assess how many calories you should be taking in daily and then also offers a wide variety of recipes that can be used to help you reach your goal weight.

How It Works:

The 17 Day Diet plan is structured around the concept of maximizing the metabolism while promoting the highest rate of weight loss possible. By using a principle he coined ‘metabolic confusion’, you’re going to trick your metabolism to stay running on high rather than decreasing like it does with most diets.

The program is broken up into four different cycles with the first one being the accelerate cycle where you’re going to encourage fast weight loss while promoting total body cleansing and fat burning. The second cycle will take you through a metabolic resetting procedure, the third cycle will allow you to learn proper eating habits, and the four cycle will be a combination of the first three where you structure your diet to promote fat loss over the long term. You’ll eat healthy during the week and then be allowed to eat your favorite foods on weekends.

In addition to the food intake on this plan, you’ll also be provided with 17 minute workout sessions that will further rev your metabolism and tone the body.

Pros:

• By cycling your food intake you’ll help reduce cravings and prevent dietary boredom
• Will prevent unwanted yo-yo weight gain with this diet since the metabolism is high at all times
• Promotes learning healthy eating strategies
• Provides you with a very solid eating plan structure so there’s never any guessing
• Encourages physical activity
• Easy to follow even for the busiest of people

Cons:

• Book can only be purchased online, not in local bookstores
• Many people may return back to their former eating habits shortly after finishing the 17 day cycle
• Those who have many pounds to lose will have to perform many cycles in order to reach their goal weight

Summary:

Overall, this diet is based around a very solid concept and avoids some of the major problems that do typically happen with the more common, low calorie diet approach. Because you do get a chance to move on and off a diet over a short period of time, this will really help to keep your mental motivation strong to continue so that you don’t slip up and fall off the bandwagon.

Because of the fact that it has been designed from a medical professional, you can feel confident that it’s not some crash diet that will set you up for poor health down the road but rather a plan that will deliver quality weight loss results when used correctly.

Where To Buy:

The 17 Day Diet can be purchased online at Amazon.com.

Good For: A diet with no banned foods that doesn’t make you feel as if you’re missing out.

Overview:

The Boots Diet emphasises the importance of a positive, balanced approach to food, stressing that no food is every completely ‘good’ or ‘bad’. That’s why there are no banned foods, no diet plan to follow and no need to panic – or to blow the entire diet – if you have one ‘bad day’. Instead, you use an online food diary to track what you eat and drink and are provided with a daily calorie target that you must stay within in order to lose weight.

Pros:

• As well as daily calorie targets, you are also set daily targets for fat and exercise as well.
• The programme offers you the flexibility to eat how you want to – all within the calorie framework, of course.
• No intricate diet plans or set meals to follow. The programme does offer calorie-counted recipes, however, if you want mealtime inspiration.
• The plan gives you the knowledge to create your own healthy diet, meaning there’s a far greater chance that you will be able to maintain the weight loss afterwards.
• Extensive food database of 40,000 foods lets you work out the calorie and fat content of the food you plan to eat.
• It classes itself as a lifestyle change and not a quick fix.
• The programme gives you a series of tools to help you track other aspects of your diet, such as a 5-a-day fruit and vegetable tracker, a water metre to encourage you to drink your eight glasses a day as well as a diet summary which shows you the highest calorie and fat foods that you’re eating at a glance.
• There is support and encouragement available from fellow slimmers in the online forums.
• Ability to ‘find a diet buddy’ to share and chat to.
• You can update your diary from your mobile phone.
• Weight loss awards for certain milestones.
• Cheaper than many of its competitors, based on the price per week.

Cons:

• You’ll need to remember to enter everything you eat and drink into the food diary regularly and you’ll need to be completely honest – otherwise it won’t work.
• Some people may find that it’s fiddly to constantly have to check the calories and fat in the food they eat.
• With no set meals, there’s a possible temptation to splurge one day and think you’ll make up for it the next.

Sample Meals:

Are whatever you choose. There are no set meals or plans to choose from; just choose the food you want to eat and check its calories/ fat content to make sure you’re not eating more than your daily target.

Exercise:

Exercise is recommended and you are set daily exercise tasks, though there’s not as much information on this as there is on the eating side of the programme. An exercise diary does count the amount of calories burnt.

Checklist:

Alcohol: Yes
Family Friendly Meals: Yes.
Caffeine: Yes.
Eating Out: Yes.

Summary:

If you want to lose weight but don’t fancy being stuck with a restrictive diet or banned foods, the Boots Diet plan is a great choice for you. Its calorie and fat content information on the food you eat will help to educate you about your eating habits and enable you to make significant long-lasting changes for the future. Boots Diets is one of the best diets around for flexibility and maturity.

Where to Buy:

Sign up at www.BootsDiets.com

Latest Discounts/ Offers: Save a third on membership. Three month’s membership now £13.99 (previously £21.99). Offer ends 28 February 2012. Click Here to View Offer.

Good For: Personalised diet and fitness plans

Overview:

Tesco Diets offers a sensible healthy approach to weight loss, with programmes designed to help members lose a healthy 1-2lbs per week. By inputting your dietary, lifestyle and medical information, Tesco Diets will provide you with personalised diet and fitness plans based on your lifestyle, calorie requirements and dietary preferences, as well as a printable shopping list for the supermarket of your choice based on those meals. (NB: The food is not included in the price). Tesco Diets has 16 diet plans to choose from, such as Gi, low carb, vegetarian, gluten-free, Mediterranean, heart smart, high fibre, low fat and more. Each plan can be tailored to your specific needs, with hundreds of recipes.

If you don’t want to follow a set diet plan, Tesco Diet’s Totals plan allows you to track what you eat rather than plan in advance, and not tie yourself to any supermarket.

Pros:

• A printable weekly shopping list (with ability to edit before selecting), helping you to buy the food on your menu plan easily.
• You’re not restricted to shopping at Tesco’s but can choose your preferred supermarket of choice.
• Home delivery via Tesco’s Diet to Your Door. (Available to Tesco Diet members who selected Tesco or none as their supermarket preference, and who are NOT signed up to the Totals Plan.)
• Access to a personal mentor via phone, email or live chat, and nutritionists on hand to answer questions
• Your individual plan is updated weekly to reflect your progress
• The plan is flexible and allows you to further personalise your diet by excluding certain foods such as fish, soya, milk, pork, dairy and egg.
• Private weigh-ins online – only you need to know how much weight you’ve lost
• You can change diets at any time during your membership for free should your current plan no longer be suitable.
• Special meal plan for vegetarians, diabetics and gluten-free.
• Advanced tracking tool allows members to track their meals and moods and identify destructive dieting patterns of behaviour.
• Gain online support from other members via 45 support boards.
• Budget friendly options available.

Cons:

• Tesco Diet’s personalised fitness plans are available but for an additional cost – choose from an eight week plan (£8), a three month plan (£12), a six month plan (£20) or a 12 month plan (£40). Select Tesco Diets Fitness when you join Tesco Diets.

Sample Meals:

Sample meals are available online via www.tescodiets.com.

A typical day’s menu for the Total Wellbeing Diet (higher in protein, lower in fat) includes:

• Breakfast: Muesli with yoghurt, almonds & fruit juice
• Lunch: Crispbread with ham, mustard & mayo
• Dinner: Cajun fish fillets
• Snack: Cadbury’s caramel (mini)

A typical day’s menu for Tesco Diet’s High Fibre diet includes:

• Breakfast – Bran Flakes with almonds (if you’re busy); yoghurt with fruit and nuts (if you like to make it yourself) or cereal with beans on toast (for an easy-to-make option).
• Lunch – Baked potato with tuna salad (if you’re busy); warm beef and sesame salad (if you like to cook), or cheese and tomato on toast with juice (for an easy-to-make option).
• Dinner – Teriyaki chicken (if you’re busy); broccoli pasta crunch (if you like to cook), or chicken curry with brown rice (for an easy-to-make option).
• Snack – Yoghurt with dried fruit or popcorn and milk or oatcake with peanut butter.

Exercise:

Tesco Diets recommends exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle and offers Tesco Diet Fitness with personalised weekly fitness plans for an extra cost. You can use Tesco Diets without the fitness plan, however; when you join simply tell Tesco Diets what your intended level of activity will be and it will adapt your calorie allowance accordingly to help you to continue to lose weight.

Checklist:

Alcohol: Yes
Family friendly meals: Yes
Eating Out: No. Meal plans are not intended for eating out, but members can eat out under the Totals plan and add up their calories via the tracker

Health Warnings:

Not suitable for pregnant or breastfeeding women, or those who have medical conditions affected by diet.

Summary:

Tesco Diets is one of the most comprehensive diet plans on the market, catering for all tastes. Its extensive diet plans and recipes should ensure you never get bored or tempted to binge on your diet.

Where to Buy:

Sign up at www.TescoDiets.com

Latest Discounts/ Offers: Save £27.70 on a six month plan with one month free thrown in: cost £49.90. Save £8.90 on a three month plan: cost £29.90.
Click Here to View All Offers.

Plus: Tesco Diets offers a no quibble money back guarantee within 14 days of joining if you’re not happy with your purchase.

Good For: Offering two different ways of losing weight.

Overview:

Sainsbury’s Diets gives you two ways of losing or maintaining weight – calorie-controlled set meal plans, plus a food diary which allows you to make you own meal choices within your personal calorie target. Choose personalised meal plans from nine weight loss plans such as their Vegetarian Plan, the Avoiding Gluten Plan, Health & Vitality Plan, Reduced Fat Plan, GI Plan and Healthy Heart Plan among others.

Alternatively, if you don’t want to be restricted by set meal plans or simply want a break, switch to the food diary service. This keeps you on target by tracking the food you’ve eaten and the alcohol you’ve drunk, automatically totting up the calories you have consumed and showing how you’re doing against your target. You don’t have to shop at Sainsbury’s to be a member of Sainsbury’s Diets.

Both forms of diets are included for the same price and you can switch between the two whenever you want. Calories are calculated according to a set target of 2lbs per week.

Pros:

• No banned foods when using the food diary service; simply keep track of your calorie intake.
• The food diary also tracks your five-a-day and alcohol intake.
• Studies revealed that people who kept a food diary lost twice as much weight as those who did not.
• The food diary’s graphs and reports allow you to see your progress at a glance and review your fat, calories and alcohol intake, as well as exercise taken.
• The combination of the two services allows flexibility for the choosiest of dieters.
• Includes a tailored Body Shape plan to help you tone up.
• You can get your diet plans on your mobile phone.
• Diet forums offer support to dieters.
• Option to find a diet buddy online to help with your motivation.
• You can choose to remove food from the Sainsbury’s diet menu.
• Ability to choose an indulgent meal or treat each week as part of your meal plan settings.

Cons:

• It’s not currently possible to order your meal plans at Sainsburys.co.uk.
• Sainsbury’s Diets has a smaller range of diet plans than some of its competitors.
• Certain meals tend to be based on Sainsbury’s brands and while you don’t have to shop at Sainsbury’s, it makes it a little more effort to find an equivalent elsewhere.

Sample Menu Plans:

Be Good To Yourself Plan
(Based on Sainsbury’s Be Good To Yourself range.)

• Breakfast: Be Good to Yourself croissant with jam, yogurt and plums
• Lunch: Reduced fat egg & watercress wholemeal roll with crisps
• Dinner: Be Good to Yourself Thai chicken curry with rice and two poppadums. A piece of fruit.
• Snacks: Raspberry sorbet and Be Good To Yourself rice cakes.

Reduced Fat Plan

• Breakfast: Sainsbury’s raisin wheats breakfast cereal with banana chips & fresh raspberries
• Lunch: Turkey and tomato salad wholemeal sandwich with a chocolate mousse & piece of fruit
• Dinner: Italian Meatball bolognese with wholewheat pasta & a piece of fruit for dessert
• Snacks: Toffee coated popcorn snack and a low fat yogurt.

Exercise:

Sainsbury’s Diets recommends exercise and provides a personalised Body Shape plan when you join, while the food diary allows you to track your exercise taken. If you don’t want to include exercise as part of the plan however, just be sure to select ‘inactive’ as your activity level and your meal plans will be personalised accordingly.

Checklist:

Alcohol: Yes
Family friendly meals: Yes
Eating Out: Yes. The ability to switch between the meal plans and the food diary gives the opportunity for a night off.

Summary:

The Sainsbury’s Diet is sensible and flexible enough to work if you are choosy about the food you eat. Its free fitness plan is an added bonus that many other weight loss programmes don’t offer or insist that you must pay for, making it a wise all-round choice to make.

Where to Buy:

Join at www.SainsburysDiets.co.uk.

Latest Discounts/ Offers: 20% off all memberships until 30th April 2012.
Click Here to View Offer.

Good For: A trusted proven weight loss programme with peer support

Overview:

Weight Watchers is based upon a points system – called ProPoints – that is said to be based on the latest science. Food and drink is allocated a points value, allowing you to mix and match your intake until you reach your daily points allowance with an emphasis on nutrition and foods that keep you feeling fuller for longer.

The ProPoints plan was a radical departure for Weight Watchers when introduced late in 2010; previously its Points system (used since 1995) assigned points based on calories and saturated fat. ProPoints was introduced when the science moved on. Now The ProPoints plan is based on the amount of protein, carbohydrate, fat and fibre in the food, taking into account how different nutrients are processed by the body, how satisfying they are and therefore how positive (or negative) they can be for your weight loss efforts. A daily allowance is usually around 26 ProPoints.

Weight Watchers focuses on four key principles – diet, physical exercise, positive thinking and community support. The latter is either offered via in-person meetings in your local area, or online via forums.

Pros:

• The ProPoints plan is flexible enough to fit in with your life.
• No banned foods; the points system allows you to eat what you like, when you like until you reach your daily target
• An extra weekly ProPoints allowance (on top of your daily allowance) allows you to enjoy the odd treat and nights out without blowing your weight loss plan.
• Confidential weigh-ins even at meetings.
• Fruit and vegetables are zero points on the plan so you can eat as much as you like.
• Weight Watchers is tailored for both men and women.
• Weight Watchers’ own extensive range of foods offers lower point alternatives to traditional foods, allowing you to make more of your points.
• Extensive community and peer support; likewise your Weight Watchers Leader (if you attend meetings) will also be available between meetings on the phone or by email.
• Vegetarian and non-vegetarian options are available.
• Strong emphasis on exercise as well as diet.
• Ability to create your own recipes by searching for your dietary preference.
• Emphasis on nutrition means the plan guides you towards healthier foods (that carry fewer points).
• There is a strong emphasis on keeping the weight off permanently.
• Backed up by independent studies. A study published in the Lancet found that overweight adults sent to Weight Watchers by their GPs lost more than twice the weight of those who were not.
• Extensive recipes online; more than 1,000 recipes and 30,000 food options to choose from.
• Easy to find meetings near you. Search the Weight Watchers’ site for your nearest meeting.
• Guidance is available for any weight goal and for specific circumstances, such as getting married or being a nursing mum.

Cons:

• Some people may find the ProPoints system to be a little finicky
• May need to stick to the smaller serving sizes in order to lose weight
• The in-person meetings are not gender specific
• Weight regain could occur if you don’t continue to count points in the long run

Sample Meals:

Here are some typical meals and recipes offered on the Weight Watchers’ site and their corresponding ProPoints values.

Fish and Chips: ProPoints® Value:    8
Thai Style Chilli Chicken: ProPoints® Value:    10
Chicken Drumsticks and Chips: ProPoints® Value:    8
Chicken and Potato Casserole: ProPoints® Value:    8
Little Apricot Cheesecakes: ProPoints® Value:    4

Exercise:

Weight Watchers places a strong emphasis on exercise, with points for workouts. There are more than 60 video exercise demonstrations online.

Checklist:

Alcohol: Yes. As long as you count it as points
Family friendly meals: Yes.
Eating out: Yes. Weight Watchers has tips for eating out and suggestions for your favourite restaurants

Summary:

Weight Watchers dieting is a well-known name in its field and has had proven success. Its emphasis on information as well as points offers a long term approach to a healthier way to live. All weight loss is sensible and its community element is really second to none.

Where to Buy:

Sign up at www.WeightWatchers.co.uk

Latest Discounts/ Offers: Join MonthlyPass and pay £14.95 for your first month (compared to the standard monthly rate of £19.99). Join now and your registration fee is waived. Click Here to Find Out More.