Top-rated Diet Plans and Diet Books - Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports has an in-depth report on dieting with practical, evidence-based tips backed by scientific results from clinical trials. The article discusses the shift in the research of dieting plans with increased emphasis on successful dieters and what they do to control their weight.

The article lists the plans that work best and the top-rated diet books. The article also outlines eight winning strategies for losing weight and three tactics that are unlikely to help. Full listing and ratings are only available by subscription and in the print edition.

Diet Plan Winners:

1. Volumetrics diet aims to maximize the amount of food available per calorie, mainly by the use of reduced-fat products. Diet stresses eating foods with low “energy density”, foods with relatively few calories per portion, such as, fruits, salads, and soups.
2. Weight Watchers uses weekly meetings and weigh-ins for motivation and behavioral support for diet and exercise changes.
3. Jenny Craig’s emphasis is on Jenny Craig-prepared foods of single-serving entrees and snacks.

Diet Book Winners:

1. The Best Life Diet by Bob Greene, best known for helping Oprah achieve her dramatic weight loss. Book emphasizes that in order to address your weight, you must first address your life.
2. Eat, Drink, and Weigh Less by Dr. Walter C. Willett and Mollie Katzen, best known for the Moosewood Cookbooks. This book combines sound advice from a nutritionist with recipes from Mollie Katzen.
3. You: On A Diet by Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz. An entertaining weight loss book that explains in plain language how your body gains and loses weight and details a sensible diet and exercise plan.

The Volumetrics Eating Plan book is not discussed in the article but may be of interest to dieters looking for more details on the top-rated Volumetrics diet

You can read most of the report at ConsumerReports.org. The news article at ConsumerAffairs.Com has additional detail on the diet plans.
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Giglish SnapReview:
Excellent article by Consumer Reports that should be useful for most dieters. We appreciate the increased emphasis on the sustainability of a diet plan, with plans that dieters are more likely to stick with getting more attention. The article could have done a better job of linking the best Diet Plans with the best Diet books. We would like to see more efforts to match a dieter with a plan based on individual capability to control eating or increase exercise.
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Giglish Bonus:

For a critical review of the article and responses from the Diet Authors read “What Is the Best Diet?” article at WebMD.com. Not surprisingly, authors of lower-rated diet plans and books have issues with the Consumer Reports methodology.

Dr Mike Roizen’s Amazon blog has the details on 9 people who followed the YOU-Diet and YOU-Activity plan that makes for interesting reading.