The Skinny on Big, Fat Diet Programs

For Michelle Spaeth, dieting in a rocky economy has come down to this: buying food on eBay.

She didn’t plan it this way, but when Spaeth decided to join the NutriSystem weight-loss program last summer, the 34-year-old entrepreneur from Yerington, Nev., found that food costs were eating a big hole in her budget. So she started cutting corners every way she could. She waited until the company advertised a sign-up promotion offering three free weeks’ worth of chow, and to earn occasional food credits, she spends time wrangling new recruits. Now she’s even bidding online for other members’ cast-off food. Her most recent score: a three-week supply (including favorites like the fettucine alfredo lunch entree and white-cheddar soy chips) for only $105, nearly 60 percent off the company price. It’s a great deal, Spaeth says, as long as the packets come from a smoke-free home and haven’t outlived their freshness dates.

As anyone who’s struggled to lose those love handles or that double chin well knows, trying to drop more than a few pounds is rarely easy. But doing it in hard times can be even more of a challenge. With this year’s resolution season upon us, many would-be dieters face a double whammy. Not only is there the stress of an uncertain economy and lousy job market, which invariably leads more people to seek solace in a bag of Doritos and a pint of cookie-dough ice cream. (Yes, it’s official: “People gravitate toward food that is rich in calories during a recession,” says Adam Drewnowski, director of the nutritional sciences program at the University of Washington.) But eating light isn’t always easy on the wallet, whether signing up for a monthly load of freeze-dried food or opting for the weekly weigh-in and rap session. Indeed, choosing one of the mass-market diet routes can set you back between $5,000 and $10,000 a year, depending on how much food you order, how much counseling you seek, and how many calorie counters and exercise gadgets the companies can upsell to you.

Still, 2010 could be the year for anyone looking to join the weight-loss movement. Battered by a flurry of price-conscious dieters fleeing their programs—several saw double-digit losses in membership in early 2009 — most of the big diet firms have been rolling out a slew of discounts. Last fall, for example, Weight Watchers offered for the first time one free month of meetings and online support. NutriSystem began making its food available at discount chains like Wal-Mart and Costco — in some cases, for 15 percent off. And Jenny Craig has been offering new members a 20-pounds-for-$20 promotion. Indeed, says Rosa Welton, portfolio manager at investment firm Mesirow Financial, which invests heavily in the industry, “Dieting firms have tried to combat consumer pullback with aggressive promotions.”

The science on most of these plans is hardly conclusive, since most of the research has been paid for by the diet companies themselves. “Even journals considered to be rigorous have been criticized for publishing low-quality or potentially biased studies,” says Lona Sandon, a nutrition professor at University of Texas Southwestern. And most experts say there’s still the question of which diet methods work best for the long haul. Still, we decided to dig into six of the most popular weight-management programs to compare costs, poke at the science and talk to dieting consumers. Our goal: assess the latest and best ways to fight the battle of the bulge — and cut the fat from the ever-growing costs.

To cook or not to cook? That is the question. At least it’s one of the biggest decisions dieters have to make when they first choose a weight-loss program. Three of the most popular names in the business — Jenny Craig, NutriSystem and Medifast — offer a turnkey proposition: perfectly portioned, prepackaged food delivered to your doorstep. Of course, the word food might be stretching it, since some of the grub comes in the f orm of powdered nutritional shakes and “meal bars”; but others are complete precooked entrees that arrive freeze-dried or frozen — and just as important, tiny. These scaled-down servings of “classico” chicken parmesan and Swedish meatballs, says Sandon, are valuable for teaching people real portion sizes, especially in a world where many people eat on platters instead of plates. A 2007 study on Jenny Craig, conducted by the University of California, San Diego (paid for by the company), found that customers lost 8 percent of their body weight in nine months, compared with roughly 1.5 percent for a dieting control group.

On the other end of the convenience spectrum are slim-down systems that require more, er, heavy lifting. Some, like Weight Watchers, encourage you to closely measure portions and record every “bite, lick or taste.” Others, like low-carb proponents Atkins and South Beach, have you buying from strict lists of approved foods and practicing the lost art of self-deprivation — at least at the outset, when there’s a strict ban on potatoes, pasta, sweets, fruit, bread and alcohol. (The programs diverge, however, on what foods are allowed; South Beach promotes lean proteins, fresh produce and whole grains, while Atkins allows fatty faves like butter, eggs and bacon.) By engaging dieters in cooking, shopping and the myriad daily decisions that revolve around food, these programs aim to make consumers more mindful of their eating habits (note to the zaftig: Step away from chip bag) and more likely to make healthy food choices a long-term way of life.