The general idea of all weight loss programs is the same: giving people a structured plan to help them lose weight. Of course, the weight loss programs can vary considerably depending on the one you are following. These programs will teach you the concepts you need to follow and the lifestyle you need to maintain in order to achieve your optimal weight and other fitness goals.
Many of these programs also come with dieticians you can consult for weight loss and healthy eating advice. Others will include professional trainers you can speak to as well to cover the fitness aspect of your weight loss program.
How Do Weight Loss Programs Work?
Basic weight loss programs come with a general diet plan. This tells you which foods are healthy and which foods to avoid. This is helpful if you are just looking for a basic guideline and have the willpower to stick to it on your own.
A little more involved weight loss program may offer more specific diet plans. This could be a detailed menu for you to follow. This is easier for people who don’t know or don’t want to make a menu for themselves. Even more detailed weight loss plans will give you a workout program to follow. This can help promote further calorie burn and help you achieve your weight loss goals faster.
Another type of weight loss program comes in the form of ready-made meals. These are the easiest ones to follow since all the work is done for you. Menus are created, ingredients are shopped for, and meals are even completely prepared for you. All you have to do is just heat and eat. It's the easiest way to lose weight and stick to a diet.
What Types of Diets Help You Lose Weight?
Weight loss programs have been studied intensely, and those studies have shown that these programs can and do help people lose weight. This is because a lot of research has gone into designing the programs for optimal results.
The best diet plans are designed by doctors, dieticians, and experts in the field of nutritional science. A good diet plan might focus on calorie count, ingredients, or portion control, and sometimes incorporate all three into a single diet.
Nutrisystem, for example, offers customized diet plans that focus on portion control and eating habits. Noom, another successful diet plan, blends calorie counting, fitness tracking, and personal coaching. Some weight loss plans may focus on specific diets like keto and gluten-free meals, while others may take an ingredient-based approach and offer organic or plant-based foods as a route to getting in shape.
How to Choose a Weight Loss Program
From medical diets to clean-eating programs and portion controlling, there are myriad types of weight loss plans out there. The best diet to lose weight is the one that works for you: for your body, your lifestyle, and your weight loss goals.
For example, if you need help with discipline, you may want to opt for a program that offers personal coaching, motivational resources, and diet tracking. If you have a medical condition such as diabetes, it’s best to find a program like Diet to Go, which offers medically-based plans designed explicitly for those with health issues. Other factors to consider are cost, convenience, and availability.
And last but not least, there’s taste. Just because you’re trying to lose weight doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy your food. Today’s best diet plans enlist professional chefs to create delicious entrees. Before you settle on a weight loss plan, peruse the menus online and make sure the entrees appeal to your tastes.
How to Lose Weight When You’re Staying at Home
Sheltering in place adds another element of difficulty to losing weight. We’re forced to spend all day within arm’s reach of our refrigerators and snack drawers, and we have less distractions that may keep our minds off of eating.
If you can’t seem to stop snacking while at home, it might be a good idea to simply replace your snacks with healthier alternatives. This is the approach Nutrisystem takes. It understands that eating is not only necessary but a comfort, and instead of forcing us to avoid food, Nutrisystem designs its weight loss plans around eating frequently but eating healthier. The plans are structured around 6 small meals a day, supplemented by healthy snacks that ensure even though you may be snacking, you’re snacking on healthy, low-calories, portion-controlled meals and snacks.
How easy a weight loss program is to follow at home really depends on the structure and style of the plan. A program that gives you the basic guidelines will be harder to follow since you need to do all the work. On the other hand, there are generally fewer restrictions on these types of programs. So, it might be easier for you to maintain in the long-run. Ready-made meal programs are the easiest to follow. Plus, the ones that come with plenty of options help keep boredom at bay, so you want to find a weight loss program that works best for you and gives you the type of variety you can live with.
