Top 7 Diets of 2011

Check out this great article I found about the most popular fad diets of recent years...

People looking to shed pounds are bombarded with new and old diet strategies. Some promise quick and easy weight loss, while others require a long-term commitment and lifestyle changes. Consumer Reports recently tackled the age-old question — which ones really work? — in their latest diet ratings, the first update since 2007.

According to Consumer Reports graders, the Jenny Craig diet program was the clear winner, beating out six other popular diets, including Slim-Fast and Weight Watchers. They graded the plans based on how well they adhered to the 2010 U.S. Dietary Guidelines and on the results of published clinical studies that examined the diets' short- and long-term weight loss and drop-out rates, according to ABC News.

A 332-participant study published in Journal of the American Medical Association last October is said to have given Jenny Craig an edge over other weight-loss programs, according to ABC News. The researchers found that 92 percent of Jenny Craig dieters, all women, stayed committed to the plan for two years and lost nearly 8 percent of their starting weight. (According to NPR, some critics have carped that the JAMA study was paid for by Jenny Craig.)

Nutrisystem ranked last in the diet rankings, in part because no long-term studies on its effectiveness were available.

So is the Jenny Craig diet the answer to your weight-loss woes, or will one of the runner-up diets work better for you? Get the facts on each of the diet plans, listed in rank order from the Consumer Reports review, from our Diets A to Z center.

No. 1: Jenny Craig Diet
The cornerstone of the Jenny Craig diet is support from a personal consultant (at one of its centers or by phone) who customizes a meal program and then checks in with you weekly. Costing upwards of $600 per month, the Jenny Craig diet includes three prepackaged meals and one snack each day, supplemented with your own fresh fruits and vegetables.
Read more about Jenny Craig.

No. 2: Slim-Fast Plan Diet
The Slim-Fast Plan is a low-calorie diet that focuses on swapping out meals for one of its meal-replacement products: shakes, snack bars, meal bars, smoothies, cookies, and powders for reconstituting by mixing with skimmed milk. Dieters eat six times a day — three snacks, two Slim-Fast products, and one “sensible meal.”
Read more about Slim-Fast.

No. 3: Weight Watchers Diet
Around since the 1960s, the Weight Watchers diet program assigns points to all foods, which you then use to figure out what and how much you can eat to achieve your goal weight. The program is known for its weight-loss support groups, both online and in person, and education about proper portion sizes.
Read more about Weight Watchers.

No. 4: Zone Diet
The low-calorie Zone diet offers the promise of warding off chronic health conditions and resetting your metabolism by changing the balance of the foods you eat. On the Zone diet, you get 30 percent of your calories from protein, 30 percent from fat, and 40 percent from carbohydrates.
Read more about the Zone Diet.

No. 5: Ornish Diet
Developed by Dean Ornish, MD, the Ornish diet plan is an extremely low-fat, high-fiber, vegetarian diet. It dictates that less than 10 percent of your calories come from fat. The diet excludes meat, fish, and fowl. Some research suggests this diet can lower cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure.

No. 6: Atkins Diet
The low-carbohydrate Atkins Diet focuses on eliminating refined carbs such as white bread, flour, and sugar. The premise of the Atkins Diet is that if you cut back on carbs, the body’s usual fuel source, you’re forced to burn your fat stores for energy and thereby lose weight.
Read more about the Atkins Diet.

No. 7: NutriSystem Diet
NutriSystem is a weight-loss program that controls calories with balanced, easy-to-prepare meals. The portions are small and composed of 55 percent carbohydrates, 25 percent protein, and 20 percent fat. The typical meal plan cycle is 28 days