The Hourglass Diet Plan

The Hourglass Diet Plan
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The Hourglass Diet plan incorporates a low-calorie meal program with regular exercise to achieve weight-loss goals. The diet gained national prominence in 2008 when Ruby Gettinger, the 500-pound star of the Style Network TV show "Ruby," followed the program in her quest to lose weight. Unlike other fad diets, the Hourglass Diet plan has full support of physicians and follows the guidelines of the American Diabetes Association, the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society.

Location

The official Hourglass Weight Loss and Fitness Center is located in the Savannah, Georgia area, offering individuals personal support. The center has an on-site gym so dieters may take advantage of its Hydraulic Fitness Circuit, which provides a fun, fast-paced 30-minute workout routine. Program participants may either join workout classes or receive personal one-on-one attention from certified trainers.

Function

Individuals on the Hourglass Diet may choose meal plans of 1200, 1400, 1700 or 2100 calories. Dieters must purchase the plan's prepackaged meals, with each meal costing less than $7. All meals feature healthy, preservative-free foods designed to provide optimum nutrition. Dieters may purchase meals in 7-day supplies, 5-day supplies or individually as needed.

Features

Participants in the Hourglass Diet plan also have access to two web-based programs known as INTERxVENT. Designed by Dr. Neil Gordon, the INTERxVENT programs provide a science-based approach to weight loss. INTERxVENT Nutrition is a 12-week program that helps individuals who are close to a healthy weight fine tune their eating habits and nutrition, providing personalized meal plans along with shopping and cooking tips. The other 12-week program, INTERxVENT Weight Management, helps those individuals who still need to shed pounds in order to reach a healthy weight.

Benefits

The Hourglass Diet plan offers a wide range of prepackaged meals to give dieters plenty of variety, with every meal healthy and nutritionally balanced. Unlike other weight-loss plans, the Hourglass Diet makes no promises of quick, easy results, instead instructing dieters how to make the necessary changes to live a healthy lifestyle and maintain long-term weight loss. The program also incorporates exercise, a key component in any successful weight-management plan.

Considerations

The Hourglass Weight Loss and Fitness Center has only one location, making it inconvenient for dieters outside the immediate Georgia area to receive the same personal attention and support. Dieters may also find it difficult sticking to the low-calorie meals. Finally, any weight loss program will require a full commitment to the plan even though results may not be seen right away.

References

Article reviewed by Lisa Dittrich Last updated on: Jun 14, 2011

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