The most complete weight loss programs provide advice and plans for both diet and exercise. The best programs help you learn how to incorporate healthy eating and physical activity into your lifestyle, without asking you to eliminate complete food groups or requiring you to spend hours in the gym. When considering diet plans, make sure that they offer foods and strategies that work with your lifestyle and preferences. The best workout and diet program is one that you will follow long enough to achieve success.
Body for Life
Bill Phillips is the author of the well-known "Body for Life" program. His book offers a full diet and fitness program that focuses on portion sizes and frequent mini-meals. Phillips recommends that each meal contain a portion of lean protein and a healthy carbohydrate. Regular exercise is intrinsic to the program and the book details both strength and cardio workouts. While you must be committed to stick to the plan, people report results when they follow the program.
Weight Watchers
The Weight Watchers program, introduced in 1963, has changed many times over the years. The most recent plan offers flexibility and teaches dieters how to make smart food and activity choices. Weight Watchers offers online support, food products, a magazine and brick-and-mortar offices to help you achieve your goals. While Weight Watchers does not prescribe a specific exercise plan, the program does emphasize the importance of exercise and offers suggestions about how to use exercise to reach your goals.
The Eat Clean Diet
"The Eat Clean Diet" by Tosca Reno, a fitness competitor and weight loss success story, encourages the consumption of unprocessed, whole foods as the key to weight loss success. Rather than focusing on calories, dieters can lose weight by removing additives, excess sugars, refined flours, saturated fats, trans fats and preservatives from their diet. The bulk of the diet comprises fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and beans, lean protein like skinless chicken and fish, and monounsaturated fats. Exercise is an important part of the "Eat Clean" lifestyle. Reno encourages a minimum of three 30-minute cardiovascular sessions each week along with regular resistance training.
You, On a Diet
"You, On a Diet," provides guidelines on how to make smart food choices and incorporate exercise to reach a healthy weight. Dr. Mehmet Oz, known for his role on the Oprah show, and co-author Michael F. Roizen, M.D. offer understandable medical explanations of how your body processes food and gains weight. The book provides recipes as well as many basic strength-training exercises and yoga poses.
References
- Every Diet: Weight Watchers
- Harvard School of Public Health: What Should You Eat?
- "You, On a Diet"; Michael F. Roizen, M.D., Mehmet C. Oz, M.D.; 2006
- "How to Eat and Live Clean," Clean Eating Magazine, March/April 2010
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