According to Consumer Reports, ninety-one million Americans are currently trying to lose weight.
EzineArticles recently posted "weight-loss" as the number one topic searched for on their website.
Everyday, the media reports on magic bullets guaranteed to help weight obsessed Americans shed their pounds.
Is there a magic bullet? According to consumer reports, the answer is a most emphatic, "No.
" However, the good news is that some diet plans seem to have more success than others.
Here are four weight-loss plans that according to consumer reports actually seem to work.
Coming in at number one is Volumetrics, in which dieters are urged to eat more "high-density" foods like fruits, vegetables, soups and salads before meals in order curb their appetites and eat less "low-density" foods during meals.
Strangely, I have been eating this way for years and it works.
I call it grazing.
I keep an endless amount of low calorie but highly nutritious "snacks" around, which I feel free to eat whenever I like.
Yes, we are talking about fruits and vegetables.
This plan proved to be the most effective in long-term adherence and actual weight loss.
It was also the least expensive since it costs nothing more than the price of the Volumetrics book.
But dieters are urged to be realistic; they are not allowed to order a little salad to go with their ranch and blue cheese dressings and still call it "high-density.
" Coming in at number two is Weight Watchers.
It scored average on weight loss, but high on long term adherence.
The plan is relatively easy to follow, and the recipes are rated favorably.
What makes the plan stand out are weekly meetings and weigh-ins that provide ongoing motivation and support to its members.
As with all challenges, support and motivation play a key role in long-term success.
Coming in at number three is Jenny Craig.
It scored high in weight loss, but low in long-term adherence.
In other words, the plan works but people tend to drop out over time.
The plan is based upon weekly meetings with weight loss counselors, and consuming prepackaged meals.
Jenny Craig provides support and motivation through their counselors; however, meal costs were slightly higher than meals prepared at home, and the plan does not leave much room for freedom over time.
Coming in at number four is Slim-Fast.
This plan features easy to find meal replacement shakes and bars.
It scored above average in actual weight loss, but drop out rates were also above average.
This plan seems to be ideal for short-term weight-loss, and occasional meal replacements when you are too busy to stop for lunch or breakfast.
The report also asked successful dieters for the techniques that helped them stay on track; most successful dieters practiced the following: 1.
They never skipped breakfast, but they kept it simple and healthy.
The best weight loss breakfasts included sugar free cereal with non-fat milk, or some fruit.
2.
They got moving.
All successful dieters also added exercise to their routines.
Happily, they didn't all join the gym.
Many simply added a few more activities to their day: walking, hiking, swimming, playing, housekeeping, gardening, or dancing through the television commercials.
It doesn't matter "how you move" as long as you "get moving.
" 3.
They filled up on healthy low-density foods.
Volumetrics, the most successful diet on this list, is based on this technique.
Dieters are allowed unlimited amounts of healthy low calorie foods.
In other words, whenever you feel hungry reach for the nutrients your body actually needs.
You will find them located in the most amazing snacks pack of all...
nature's fruits and vegetables.
Here is what A River Worth Riding: Fourteen Rules for Navigating Life has to say about diet: "The old saying about what you eat is true.
You literally are what you eat.
So, if you want to be a potato chip then go ahead and eat potato chips.
Your body actually uses the food that you eat to rebuild itself daily; therefore, you ought to give a little thought into what you put inside your mouth.
The link between heath and diet is increasingly evident.
If all you eat is junk food, then you can eat all day and still not intake the vital nutrients that your body needs to maintain itself.
You need lots of water, lots of fruits, lots of vegetables, a variety of grains, a little protein, a little calcium, some omega fatty acids, some healthy oils, and a whole lot less of everything else.
Studies on aging actually hint at a connection between calorie intake and the build-up of free radicals in our bodies.
Free radicals are believed to cause cancer, as well as the breakdown of tissues associated with old age.
In one study, rats were given a diet with an extremely high nutritional content, coupled with an extraordinarily low calorie count.
The rats in the study lived twice as long as rats normally do.
Imagine, aging might actually be caused by poor nutrition coupled with over-eating.
Now don't go changing your life because of one study.
Studies about diets are being published all the time, and the evidence often seems contradictory.
So until all the evidence is in, try to avoid fads and practice balance instead.
Remember that your body uses what you put in your mouth to create your cells and muscles.
Therefore, avoid the stuff that you know your body doesn't need and surrounded yourself with the foods that your body thrives on.
Unfortunately, many people eat, not because they're hungry, but because they don't want to feel.
They use food to ease their pain, their discomfort, their boredom, or their low self-esteem.
Still other people become addicted to sugar, caffeine, alcohol, or complex carbohydrates because of the chemical reactions that their bodies have to those substances.
If you have any of these problems, you'll need more than a diet to fix your health.
You may need to learn how to feed your spirit, instead of your stomach.
That's a hard journey, and you shouldn't take it alone...
"