How to Choose a Diet or Weight Loss Plan
Did you know that Americans spend approximately $30 billion a year trying to lose weight? In the big business of weight loss, it pays to shop around for a program that suits your needs.
- Difficulty:
- Moderately Challenging
Instructions
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Choose a program that helps you set realistic goals and aim for gradual weight loss.
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Be sure to ask how much weight you can expect to lose per week, as well as how long it will take to reach your own weight loss goal.
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Research the credentials of the experts involved in the program, such as doctors, nurses, dieticians and counselors.
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Make sure the plan offers a variety of foods to ensure that you receive all the nutrients you need - your diet should include all the recommended daily allowances (RDAs) for vitamins, minerals and protein.
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Look for a plan that includes plenty of exercise to be combined with a balanced diet.
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Select a plan that not only helps you lose weight but teaches you to keep it off. You need to make permanent lifestyle changes to maintain a healthy body.
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Consider how much time you are willing to spend on this program. For instance, will you need to attend meetings or counseling sessions?
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Consider the total cost of the program, including the initial membership fee, special foods, supplements and other features.
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Tips & Warnings
Seek help from a variety of experts: a doctor, a dietitian, an exercise physiologist, a psychologist. Each can provide advice that the others cannot. Be sure to check credentials.
Weight loss medications provide only short-term weight loss.
Weight loss self-help support groups, such as Overeaters Anonymous or Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS), are available to those who would like peer support without following a particular commercial program.
Opt for a commercial weight loss program, such as Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers, if you want to lose at least 10 pounds and would like a structured weight loss plan, as well as extra services and special foods.
Ask your physician about weight loss programs that take place in a clinical setting, such as Optifast or Health Management Resources (HMR), if you are 20 to 30 percent above your ideal weight; these include liquid meal replacements in their plans.
Single-food reduction diets (such as grapefruit or cabbage diets) are not only boring but nutritionally unbalanced.
It is dangerous to lose more than 1 to 2 pounds per week after the first week.
If you have any questions or concerns, contact a physician or other health care professional before engaging in any activity related to health and diet. This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment.
