LOW CARB DIETS

 

 

On the top of our low-carb diet plan list is Diet-to-Go. In business for 15 years, this company has made a success of creating a meal service that caters to dieter's needs yet meets all of the standards of the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, the American Diabetes Association and the American Dietetic Association. This company brings you convenience along with a commitment of sending you great food that you'll actually want to eat, guaranteed, and at a reasonable price.

At less than $6 a meal, a dieter has flexibility that includes the number of meals shipped each week. If you have business dinners or plans otherwise, Diet To Go sends you only the food you'll need that week.

How does Diet To Go know what meets your needs? One of the first steps with this program is you personally speak to a counselor. They will ask a series of questions in their quest to create a four-week menu plan that meets all of your needs. The food is shipped weekly and may or may not include snacks, different portion sizes, and more - all based on your specific needs. The average dieter spends $60-$75 dollars per week on the food service and average weight loss is expected at 2-3 pounds each week. Menu items may include pancakes, grilled chicken with vegetable couscous and shrimp fettuccini, gourmet sandwiches, and chocolate mousse.

Along with overwhelming convenience, Diet To Go counsels on why we eat when we're not hungry and provides tips on minimizing stress eating for long term success. Exercise is recommended and is encouraged to help overcome emotional eating and to further enhance your weight loss efforts.

For their personalized planning, delicious meals, and low overall cost, Diet To Go earns our highest rating.

 

 

The South Beach online diet plan gets a high score from us because it allows for flexibility, is simple to follow, and makes good health sense. The South Beach online tool, created to assist in managing your weight loss, did a great job of providing everything needed to successfully start and follow the diet. The online tool is a great helper; with it you can track your weight loss, find recipes, plan meals, conveniently make a grocery list, and ask questions of the cardiologist that created the diet. The online version even allows members to communicate with each other and share experiences and ideas.

Like other low-carb plans, South Beach is geared toward improving cholesterol and insulin levels. But unlike other low-carb or no-carb diets, South Beach allows a well-balanced diet of fruit, whole grains, nuts, and vegetables. Some say the diet is a lower-fat, better nutritionally sound plan than that of Atkins.

The plan is made up of three phases. In the initial induction phase, 8-13 pounds of weight loss can be anticipated. In subsequent phases, this settles down to an average of 1-2 pounds per week. Some feel the induction phase, consisting mainly of lean meats and specific vegetables, is too restrictive to maintain. With South Beach you're not counting carbs; instead, you learn which carbs are better choices. This information is conveniently provided through the online service. The diet is geared toward eating healthy fat, and bans the unhealthy choices. Education for long term success gets a plus!

Another important characteristic of South Beach is the approach to keep off the extra pounds. Long term studies of the success of this diet are not yet available, but its focus on teaching weight management is a big positive. This stress on education, combined with the plan effectiveness, sets South Beach above many other diets that allow you to walk away with nothing learned.

 

 

We like the personalization of Carb Track and the sophistication of the software. CarbTrack's program asks a series of questions to identify the dieters specific needs based on a number of factors. Some of those factors include body type, age, gender, etc. Once the dietary needs are established the software does a good job of calculating a personalized carb/calorie intake calculation for that dieter that aids in success. This diet eliminates the need to determine what the correct carb intake is for that person's weight loss success.

In addition, the software does a great job of tracking daily carb intake along with weight loss that are visible through fancy looking graphs. The software also provides an impressive list of over 3,000 foods with information regarding those foods specific calorie, fat, and carb information. The meal planner portion of the software was helpful in organizing meals, in advance, to help stay on the program.

We also liked that once the dieter had reached their desired weight, Carb Tracker continues to assist by identifying at what level that person can maintain their ideal weight. The software also includes another of extras including unlimited lifetime software updates, email support, low carb recipes, and helpful on-line videos to help walk you through using the software. We feel that once you get past some of the heavy sales pitch you'll enjoy the convenience and personalization this diet brings.

 

 

We were intrigued with the GI diet brought to the consumer by the excellent tools of Ediets. The basics of the diet are similar to South Beach but with an emphasis on Glycemic Load. Glycemic load is a method of measuring the impact of certain foods or combinations of food to the blood stream. The diet balances complex carbohydrates along with lean meats and healthy fats. This diet is said to stabilize blood sugar, keep the dieter feeling full, increases energy, and reduces the cravings onset by sugar. Weekly weight-loss is anticipated at 1-2 pounds per week. We like the healthy, well rounded diet this plan offers but was concerned with the feasibility.

We liked the convenience and simplicity of the website which provides recipes, shopping lists, and personalized weekly meal plans. However, the simplicity of the diet theory leaves some question. The GI diet suggests that some foods are taboo and too high in carbs to be a part of the plan. However, we know that with the combination of foods on our plates we can successfully eat certain foods in moderation if combined with healthy options free of simple sugars and highly processed grains.

Overall, is the dieter going to eat healthy? Probably yes. But, is the dieter going to feel restricted eating mainly fruits, vegetables and whole grains and therefore more likely to cheat? Perhaps so. Also, portion size is not an emphasis on this plan and for those that have a tendency to eat larger meals will struggle with having consumed too many calories at the end of each day.

 

 

Powered by Ediets, the Atkins online low carb plan gets two and a half stars. We're impressed overall with the thorough diet resources available online - including such things as assistance with determining a healthy weight based on BMI, sample menus, recipes, and nutritional articles on up-to-date research. However, we're concerned with the restrictive nature of the plan and it's potential long term success. The question is, can the common dieter successfully stick to the plan?

For those not familiar, this well known diet is marketed as a low sugar, high fiber plan that teaches a savvy approach to ingesting carbs. Theoretically, Atkins says our bodies burn carbohydrates first before other products; by reducing our carb intake we switch the body to burning stored fat instead of carbs. However, skeptics say that Atkins doesn't create a better fat burning body but simply allows the dieter to take in fewer calories by eating dense foods that make them feel fuller longer. The diet generally consists of meat, eggs, and some vegetables until the maintenance phase kicks in.

Studies of long term success are marginal and this diet may be too restrictive for success. Debates also rage on whether the plan is ultimately healthy for the dieter. Unlike The South Beach plan, Atkins steers clear of many fruits and nearly all grains. For those meat lovers out there, and those wanting to focus on controlling hunger,you may find success but the overall nutrition of the diet is in question.

 

 

Chefs Diet is a meal plan service that delivers food to your home and is catered to follow the Zone Diet. The meal plan and snacks are pre-established and catered to no ones specific needs nor meal preferences. If you are allergic to fish - stop reading now. In this economy you might find that tapping into your life savings for pre-made food might not be the smartest choice. While the food is considered tasty and the diet effective- it's a budget buster at nearly $1000.00 per month!

If you aren't familiar with the Zone Diet it is a rather complicated plan that requires 40% of your daily calories be carbohydrates, 30% proteins, and 30% fats. You are eating more carbs than some of the other diets on our list but otherwise the diet offers zero flexibility. Food has to be eaten at certain times per day, the list of foods is restrictive and measuring portion size is a big part of a dieter's day. You may anticipate losing between 2 and 3 pounds per week.

Overall, we like the concept of delicious food being conveniently delivered to our homes and that allows us to follow an effective yet complicated diet plan with ease. However, we didn't like that we'd have to shell out top dollar for food we may or may not have an aversion to. If you can afford such a luxury you might try-it-out but for the rest of us, choose one of our higher ranked diets that allows you to use your hard earned money more wisely.

 

 

The Carb Rotation Diet and website are about as hokey as they come. With a similar feel to the Zone Diet this plan boosts huge benefits of 2-4 pounds per week if the correct food is eaten, at the proper time, in the correct portion size creating "thermic" fat burning. That sounds impressive and scientific however, the flexibility and convenience of this diet is seriously lacking.

If you were to follow such a stringent diet you'd need an on-line tracking mechanism, quick reference information, recipes, and maybe even a full time nutritionist and chef. However, for your hard earned money, this particular diet plan does not offer any of those things. Once you send them your payment you receive a download of information to read. They market the product as multiple books related to dieting and exercise but without the cost of paper - a so called bargain.

No experts are on staff to answer your questions, no tracking tools to measure your success - just you and your computer reading away for hours information that is already available on the internet.

With all that said, we recommend choosing a higher ranked plan that offers more support and tools to aid you in your efforts. Dieting is a challenge; don't waste your money on the Carb Rotation Diet!