The Best Online Weight Loss Programs

Being overweight increases the risk for several medical conditions, and maintaining a healthy weight is extremely important to decrease these risks. Losing weight should be a gradual process, according to "Nutrition and Diet Therapy" by Ruth A. Ross, with no more than 1 to 2 lbs. per week. A balance of eating healthy and exercise seem to be key with all diet programs, including the best online diets.

Nutrisystem

The Nutrisystem diet program structures around a 28-day preplanned meal program. This program provides online support as well as prepackaged meals to the consumer, says Nutrisystem. The consumer will still need to buy a few items from the local grocery story, such as fruits, vegetables and dairy items.
There are several options to choose from when signing up for this program, and there is a diet for just about everyone. The Basic program is for adults who do not have any special dietary needs, while the Silver program focuses on older adults who have a regular diet. Nurtisystem also offers an alternative lifestyle program for vegetarians and a special diet designed for diabetics. Nutrisystem claims all meals are heart healthy, and that typical results average 1 to 2 lbs. a week.

Jenny Craig

Jenny Craig's diet program is a comprehensive plan for food, body and mind. This diet program attempts to teach participants to have a health relationship with food. Portion control and eating healthy is the focus. Physical activity is also scheduled into the program, designed specifically for the dieter's activity level and lifestyle. A personal consultant works with each participant in the Jenny Craig program to guide them to reach weight-loss goals. The consultant is available in-person at local Jenny Craig centers or via phone with the Jenney Craig At Home program. The participant has access to online programs and meal guides, which help prepare them for transitioning the diet program into everyday life. Programs also available are Jenny Craig Silver, Jenny Craig for Men, and Jenny Craig Type 2.

Weight Watchers

Weight Watchers-based diet program works because they teach the four pillars of healthy weight loss, which are to eat smarter, move more, helpful habits and get support. This program claims to have 45 years of experience, which is why they believe the four pillars work so well. There is no special food to buy with this program and the participant can continue to eat normal foods. However, this diet focuses on portion control, assigning points to each particular food by portion size. The participant's allotment of points per day depends on current body size and is determined during sign up of the program. Meetings are also required in this program. The two options to attend meetings are online or group meetings. Weigh-in occurs at these meetings, which allows the dieter and Weight Watchers to keep track of the participant's progress.