Which Diet Foods Work?

"We care as much about delicious foods and results as we do about service," says Mark Newhouse, co-founder of Nu-Kitchen, which focuses on eating healthy and tasty food, not just losing weight. "Our level of attention is what keeps our customers with us."

That attention is worth paying for, and it could be why even some Zone Chefs customers have crossed over to Nu-Kitchen, which offers a flexible and accessible plan with online menu managing, as well as the ability to cancel orders or change a delivery address online.

However, those who don't live in a house or an apartment building with a 24-hour doorman might have trouble receiving orders from either gourmet delivery company or might have to be awakened midsleep to accept them.

Food on the Brain

What NutriSystem and Jenny Craig lack in food freshness and quality they make up for in counseling, which the companies consider a vital part of any diet plan.

Counseling comes free with membership. Jenny Craig representatives offer the service at individual locations, and NutriSystem has a staff of behavioral psychologists fielding calls from distressed dieters tempted to quit.

Regardless of the diet plan, a big part of what the diets are designed to teach is portion control.

"We recommend taking their food and putting it on a plate so they can eyeball what a portion looks like," says Lynn Dolgicer, a Jenny Craig Center Director in New York. "Then later, [they] can see that at a restaurant what they're getting is two portions."

But one of the most important things Jenny Craig's diet plan teaches, Dolgicer says, is that "they don't have to eat till they're stuffed." Eating smaller portions five or six times a day helps control appetite and prevents blood sugar levels from spiking, according to Dr. Satz. This also helps to curb the urge to binge.

"We all move to the dark side for a little while," Dr. Satz explains. "But if you do fall off the wagon for one day, you just get right back on."

And finally, it's essential to keep in mind that no weight-loss plan is complete without exercise.

NutriSystem and Jenny Craig counselors encourage exercise in addition to dieting to lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle, while Zone Chefs and Nu-Kitchen mention exercise on their Web sites but focus primarily on food.

If only a personal trainer came with that little black bag of food delivered each morning, it really could be the perfect weight-loss solution.

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