Weight Loss Season is Upon Us

Tis the season for people to take the plunge into the newest and latest weight loss plans.

The number of overweight Americans is at a record-breaking high. This epidemic gives way for weight loss gurus to work their magic. Everywhere you turn you hear of another diet plan that will be "The One". There are pros and cons to all of them. Your decision will be based on the results you are looking for. Some points to consider are:

How much weight do you want/need to lose?
How quickly do you want to lose the weight?
How strict of a diet do you want to follow?
Do you have any medical problems that will impact your weight loss?

Here are three popular plans. I think it's hard to say if these plans are the best but they are definitely not the worst.

Weight Watchers - This plan has been tried and true for many people. There are Weight Watchers meetings all over the country. Go online and find the nearest one for your convenience. Weight Watchers also has a system where you can monitor your progress online. Weight Watchers provides a support community, nutritional advice, weekly weigh-ins and monitoring, special foods to purchase (if you want, you don't have to), and a system that is flexible. The system is called Weight Watchers TurnAround. This system allows you to pick the plan that is best for you either the Flexible Points Plan or the No Counting Core Plan. The Flexible Points plan allows for the flexibility to eat all the foods you love while watching the amount of foods you take in. The Core Plan focuses on wholesome foods without the need for counting points. This plan has helped many people reach their goal weight. Once you hit your goal weight you will be a lifetime member, free membership as long as you stay within your goal weight range.

The South Beach Diet - The brainchild of Dr. Arthur Agatston, a Miami cardiologist, The South Beach Diet was developed to help his heart patients to lose weight in a healthy way. It has become one of the most popular diet plans around. The South Beach Diet teaches you how to get rid of the bad carbs and bad fats and start eating good carbs and good fats! It's not low-carb or low-fat, the key is to learning about good versus bad carbs and fats. The plan is intense. It requires you to not eat any carbs (bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, fruits, sweets, or alcohol) for two weeks. You will then be able to slowly add certain good carbs and fats back into your diet balancing them with proteins and veggies. There are books to assist you along the way. You can also follow the diet online for meal ideas and support.

Michael Thurmond's 6 Week Body Makeover - This system is presented online and in infomercials. You must purchase the plan for approximately $100. Michael Thurmond's 6 Week Body Makeover is an interesting blueprinting system in which you answer a series of questions then are "assigned" a Body Type (A, B, C, etc). Your eating plan is based on your body type. You customize a binder with specific information for your body type. You will be provided with a very specific eating plan to follow balancing proteins, carbs, veggies, and fruits, again based upon your body type. You then continue customizing your binder by blueprinting your body and customizing body sculpting exercises that target your areas of need. The balance of foods and exercise and lots of water is a guarantee for success. The only downfall is that it really is a lifestyle change because once you start eating like the old days, you'll end up regaining all the weight you've lost. Provida.com offers an amazing support community with recipes and a network of people who are extremely supportive and informative.

Good Luck and Happy Losing! Remember, Nothing Tastes as Good as Being Thin Feels!