Picking a diet plan just got easier.
From Eileen: So what’s the best diet out there? The one you can stick with over the long haul, of course.
To help you along the way, US News and World Report compiled a group of 22 experts and took an unbiased look at 20 popular diets. (For those of you who are curious, here is the methodology they used). The two big winners were Weight Watchers and the government developed DASH diet. (DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.)
In the weight loss category, Weight Watchers came in first, followed by Jenny Craig. In the overall best diets category, DASH came out on top and the Mediterranean Diet came in second.
Of course, just because a diet came out on top doesn’t mean it will work for you. Actually, the diet tools available on the website are the best part about this report. They are completely user friendly and comprehensive. Just click on a diet and you’ll find all the pros and cons, descriptions of the diet, health risks, short-term versus long-term weight loss, cost, sample menus – everything you need to make a well informed choice about what diet is best for you.
Here’s what they have to say:
Besides the rankings and data, each diet has a detailed profile that tells you how it works, what evidence supports (or refutes) its claims, a nutritional snapshot, right down to daily milligrams of potassium, and, of course, a close look at the food you’d eat—with photos. All of it is reliable and easy to understand.
These tools will be at least a start at helping you, your mother, your brother—whoever—find that elusive perfect-for-me diet. Once you’ve whittled down your eligible diets to a few, consider your personality and lifestyle. If you’re a foodie, you probably won’t be happy with a plan built around frozen dinners, like Nutrisystem and Jenny Craig, or mostly just-add-water meals, like Medifast. If cutting carbs will just make you cranky and resentful, you’ll want to stay away from low-carb diets like Atkins and South Beach.
Check it out and let us know what diet you picked and why. This really is one-stop shopping for diet plans!