Among the hundreds of diet programs available are weight loss programs that offer prepackaged foods for purchase in stores or to be delivered to your home. While purchasing portion-controlled food that may be delivered to your door makes weight loss easy, it does not help you learn how to eat "real" food once you go off the program. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases recommends you select a program that offers plenty of variety, makes accommodations for cultural concerns and provides options if you suffer from food allergies.
Jenny Craig
The Jenny Craig program offers prepackaged, single-portion frozen or shelf-stable meals through online purchase or in counseling centers. According to the Jenny Craig website, the menus are based on the 2005 United States Department of Agriculture Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and are low in fat and cholesterol and high in fiber. Depending on your weight-loss goals and daily calorie needs, daily menus range from 1,200 to 2,300 calories per day.
Jenny Craig provides breakfast, lunch and dinner foods such as french toast, pancakes, pizza, macaroni and cheese, chicken fettuccine and a beef sirloin bowl. Snacks offered include cheese curls, cheesecake and double chocolate cake. Dieters are encouraged to augment the program foods with fresh fruits and vegetables. The program does not offer a lot of options for those with food allergies, but does provide a specific plan for vegetarians and teenage tastes.
Nutrisystem
Nutrisystem sells its foods on the company's website to be delivered to your home. A typical daily menu includes three meals and two snacks. Nutrisystem tailors menus to women, men and vegetarians, basing all the meals on foods low on the glycemic index.
You may select prearranged menu plans, or choose to create your own menus with individual food items. Most of the foods are vacuum-sealed and shelf stable. For breakfast you might enjoy any of the program's branded cereals, granola bars or flavored scrambled eggs. For lunch, offerings such as pizza or burgers are available. Dinners might be prepackaged pasta dishes or meatloaf. Snack products include cheddar soy chips, hot cocoa or blueberry lemon dessert bars.
Medifast
Medifast is an extremely low-calorie diet that involves consuming meal replacement products for a specific period of time to achieve a 2- to 5-pound per week weight loss. Usually followed under a doctor's care, the Medifast program requires you to consume five meal replacements per day.
While the Medifast program emphasizes its shakes, choices such as bars, soups, oatmeal and puddings are also available. In addition to the meal replacement products, you eat one meal consisting of a small serving of lean protein and up to 2 cups of vegetables. After you reach your weight-loss goal, Medifast's plan recommends a transition period during which you slowly wean yourself off the meal replacements and ease back into normal eating.
Bistro MD
Bistro MD offers 1,200-calorie daily menu plans designed by a team of chefs and nutritionists, including Dr. Caroline Cederquist, NBC's weight management expert, medical editor for the "Today" show and author of "The Honest Diet for Busy Women." The company ships its vacuum-sealed, frozen foods across the United States.
The plan provides enough food for three meals and two snacks per day. Typical breakfasts include a lemon poppy muffin or bagel, Canadian bacon and egg sandwich. Lunches and dinners sound gourmet, with descriptions such blackened chicken breast in champagne sauce with lentils, chick peas and a blend of seasonal vegetables or turkey in a cranberry and chutney sauce with roasted rosemary potatoes and asparagus spears. Snacks such as cheddar-flavored pretzels, protein shakes and cakes round out the daily calorie count. The food may be microwaved or heated in a water bath and is clearly labeled with nutritional information and ingredients.
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