Best Diet Programs of 2024

Best Short-Term Weight Loss Plan 

With its pre-packaged meals, portion-controlled menus, and strict caloric restrictions, the Nutrisystem meal delivery plan is ideal for people looking to lose weight fast without having to do any complicated meal planning. The company claims its 28-day program can help you lose up to 13 pounds by eating healthier versions of the foods you already love.

What sets Nutrisystem apart:

• Nine available plans for men and women

• Does most of the work for you

• Flexi Meals allow some freedom

• Time-tested effectiveness

• Free shipping on all plans 

When we began our research on Nutrisystem, the first thing that stood out to us was the variety of  plans they offer. In total, there are nine different options, including plans for diabetics, vegetarians, and even special diets for men (a rarity in the diet industry). Also, most of their plans are highly customizable, so if you don’t like their recommendations you can customize your meal plan from chef-created menu items including staples like chicken masala, cheesesteak pizza, muffins, burgers, popcorn, and lots more.

After a free diet analysis based on your Body Mass Index and submitting your ideal weight, Nutrisystem will recommend a plan to help you reach your goal. This plan is designed by nutritionists and allows for six meals a day (4 of them delivered by Nutrisystem and 2 to be prepared by you, following Nutrisystem’s guidance and recipes). This way you won’t be hungry for long, making it easier to stick to the diet plan until its completion.

On average, the daily caloric intake on Nutrisystem is 1,500 calories for men and 1,200 for women (low enough to lose weight but high enough to prevent “hangryness”). The daily menus are high in fiber to help you feel full, and are divided as follows: 50% carbs, 25% fat, 25% protein. According to a 2015 study by the American College of Physicians, people on Nutrisystem lose 3.8% more bodyweight than dieters who only receive guidance and counseling. Plus, thousands of positive customer reviews attest to Nutrisystem’s effectiveness, as long as you follow the program faithfully.

As far as digital tools and expert support goes, all Nutrisystem plans include online tracking and support services through its dedicated NuMi app, which is available for free.

Once you place your first order, expect it to arrive in 4 to 10 days in a truck designed for frozen storage. If you’re not at home when the food arrives, don’t worry: all meals come in a dry-ice package that keeps food fresh for 6 to 8 hours. And the best part, free shipping is available on all of Nutrisystem’s 4-week plans.

Screenshot of Nutrisystem.com’s 4-Week Plans. August 13, 2019.

Last but not least, while most diet companies seem to deliver less-than-stellar customer service, Nutrisystem’s Customer Department was named “Best Customer Service for 2019” by Newsweek.

However, there’s this:

• With a basic cost ranging from $304.98 to $449.98, plus the cost of the additional foods you’ll be required to purchase at the grocery store, the monthly cost can be quite high for some people.

• The prepackaged meals delivered by Nutrisystem are mostly processed foods, considered unhealthy by some nutritionists.

• Nutrisystem may not be safe for people with food allergies, including peanuts, soy, dairy, and gluten.

Best App-Based Plan

Like most human activities, dieting has as much to do with the body as it has to do with the mind. The experts at NOOM know this very well, and that's why they’ve developed an app-centric dieting platform focused on behavioral psychology to help people change their eating habits and lose weight.

 What sets NOOM apart:

• It’s app-based and mobile-first

• Uses behavioral psychology to help you reach your weight goals and change your eating habits

• Its focus on caloric density means no foods are completely off the table

• Emphasis on personal coaching, goal setting, and group support

Available for Android and iOS, the Noom app is intuitive, user-friendly, and packed with useful features such as a food tracker, exercise log, step tracker, more than 1,000 recipes, and a wide array of nutrition-related articles and quizzes to keep you up to date with the latest science.

Once you download the app on your phone, free of charge, you’ll be asked to submit your age, weight, and weight goals, as well as information regarding your motivations, triggers, lifestyle, eating habits, and health issues. The app then uses its database to create your personalized, comprehensive diet plan and get you in touch with your goal specialist, your personal coach, and your support group.

• The goal specialist will use behavioral psychology techniques to help you determine your ultimate goal, or — to put it in Noom terms —your “Big Why.” According to Noom, this “Big Why” is the core of your motivation, the heart of your success.

• The personal coach will keep in touch with you regularly to keep you motivated, steer you away from tempting foods, and give you useful eating tips when you need them.

• The support group is an online community that you can reach 24/7 for emotional support and/or sharing success stories. 

Screenshot of NOOM.com’s registration questionnaire. August 13, 2019.  

The most unique aspect of Noom is that it lets you communicate with your personal coach via text message as many times as you want, so you can work hand in hand towards your goal without missing a step. Sometimes, a simple word of advice or support can make all the difference, especially during the stressful moments that inevitably happen during a strict diet. Also, in case you forget to log in your foods, the app will send you reminders via pop up messages.

Noom’s diet plans are based on caloric density, a diet approach that focuses on the weight/calorie ratios of different foods, categorizing items into three colors: green, yellow, and red. According to Noom, your daily intake should be divided as follows: 

• 30% Green foods (examples include egg whites, salad greens, and most fruits)

• 45% Yellow foods (examples include chicken, salmon, whole eggs, and white bread)

• 25% Red foods (examples include red meat, fried foods, pizza, and sugar) 

This approach is very user-friendly, mainly because it does not prohibit any foods and, as long as you keep your daily caloric intake below your individual threshold, you’ll lose weight. Noom claims 84% of its customers completed the plan, most of them losing 1 to 2 pounds per week. After reading hundreds of customer reviews, we believe this claim to be pretty accurate.

If you’re not looking to lose pounds but rather prevent or address certain health conditions, Noom offers specific plans for hypertension and diabetes. According to the company, its plan for diabetics reduces the risk of diabetes by 73%.

 As part of Noom’s services, you’ll receive daily articles and quizzes related to weight loss, nutrition, and dieting motivation. While the articles are pertinent and filled with useful information, they are not that different from the thousands of similar articles available for free on the web.

However, there’s this:

• At $49.50 per month, Noom sits on the pricey side, considering the app MyFitnessPal offers similar services (minus the dedicated coaching) free of charge.

• Many reviewers complained about having trouble with Noom’s billing and/or cancellation practices. However, we subscribed and canceled our plan without any problems.

• Some critics are wary of Noom’s focus on caloric density because it does not necessarily take nutrients into account.

• Finally, some customers claimed their coaches sounded “robotic” and were not available upon demand.

Best Long-Term Diet Plan

Very few diet plans outlive temporary fads and trends, and WeightWatchers Reimagined is definitely one of them. The diet company formerly known as Weight Watchers has kept up with the times by reinventing and rebranding itself as WeightWatchers Reimagined.  While the company’s diet approach is still based on the Smart Points food-tracking system, it has recently incorporated meditations, audio workouts, food logging, Zero-Point foods, a redesigned app, and online support for a more holistic approach to dieting.

What sets WW apart: 

• Emphasis on the benefits of community

• Award-winning app

• New “Zero-Point Foods” options

• Over 3,000 studio locations across the U.S.

For years, the Smart Points system has been the backbone of WW’s dieting strategy. It assigns value (points) to foods based on calories, saturated fat, sugar, and protein. The higher the number, the less you should be eating that specific food. After enrolling in one of WW’s plans, you’ll be given your personalized diet program, with a certain number of Smart Points (called your “budget”) to allocate however you want during the day. Daily points allow for three meals per day, two daily snacks, and a certain amount of free points. If you don't eat all the points, there are rules regarding “rollover” points.

And then there are WW’s “freebies.” The company recently incorporated the Zero-Point Foods concept to its dietary approach, a list of over 200 foods that do not have to be “tracked” or counted because they’re unlikely to be overeaten. (For example, one is more likely to binge on French fries than on chicken breasts). Examples of Zero-Point foods include skinless turkey breast, fish, shellfish, beans, tofu, lentils, corn, peas, fruits, vegetables, and non-fat unsweetened yogurt.

WW offers three subscription options, from the app-based “digital-only” plan to the one-on-one approach of a personal coach. Whichever one you choose depends on whether you thrive more by yourself or with the help of others. Here’s what you get with each plan: 

• Digital Only: For $19.95 per month, you get an all-access pass to WW’s award-winning app, featuring food, exercise and weight tracking, a database with more than 4K Smart Point recipes, 24/7 access to a WW expert, articles, videos, and the opportunity to share your process with an online community of peers.

• Workshop + Digital: For $44.95 per month, you get all the benefits of the digital-only plan, plus access to WW’s over 3,000 studio locations across the US, offering more than 14K group workshops a week. During the meetings, you’ll learn weight loss and nutrition strategies from certified coaches and get the chance to become part of a community.

• Personal Coach + Digital: For $54.95 per month, you’ll be assigned your very own personal coach, plus the benefits of the digital-only plan. This coach will work hand in hand with you to create a customized diet plan based on your needs and goals and be available for unlimited phone call sessions.

Screenshot of Weightwatchers.com’s Workshop + Digital Plan. August 13, 2019.

By encouraging food tracking, calorie counting, and the consumption of mostly fruits, veggies, and lean protein (sugar and unhealthy fats are discouraged), you can theoretically lose as many pounds as you want with WW, as long as you do not deviate from your established plan. And, because WW does not prohibit any foods, it is one of the most sustainable diet plans out there. Once you get the hang of the points system, you can even do it by yourself for the rest of your life. 

To help you on your way, the WW app allows you to track your food, weight, and activity, look up the Smart Points value of each food, chat live with experts, get over 4,000 recipes, sync your fitness device, scan foods, and find daily inspiration on Connect, a members-only digital community. The app won the 2019 People’s Voice Award Webby for Best Practices thanks to its “advanced practices in app and mobile site development.”

However, there’s this: 

• Food may become a number, leading to an unhealthy relationship with food.

• Beware of using your “points budget” on foods that are nutritionally unsound.

• Food planning and preparing are left entirely to you, so you need to be disciplined.

• WW does not offer home delivery.

Best Overall Diet Plan

Make room in your freezer for our best overall diet plan. Why is Diet-to-Go our “best overall”? Because it meets (and in some occasions surpasses) our selection criteria: it is sustainable over long periods of time, relatively easy to follow, less pricey than similar plans, healthy and nutritionally sound, very flexible, and takes away any meal planning hassles by delivering all your daily meals right to your door. And while other diet plans may exceed Diet-to-Go in certain criteria, our pick is certainly the most complete and “all-inclusive” of them all.

What sets Diet-to-Go apart:

• Weight management sustainability

• Meals are prepared in-house with fresh ingredients

• Home delivery AND pick-up locations

• Includes all meals and ingredients

• Weekly rather than monthly basis

• No preservatives

• Great plans for diabetics and vegetarians

• Rotating menus create diversity in flavors 

While Diet to Go doesn’t make any explicit, exclamation-point-laden claims (“Lose 10 pounds in 7 days!!!”) regarding their weight loss effectiveness, the 28-year-old meal delivery company’s low-calorie diet plans are specially designed to help you change your eating habits and, as a consequence, lose weight over time. 

By allowing a daily intake of 1,200 to 1,600 calories, broken into a ratio of 50% carbs, 25% protein, and 25% fat (except for the low-carb plan), Diet-to-Go’s portions achieve a caloric middle ground that provides you with energy and the feeling of fullness while still being low enough to allow for slow-but-steady weight loss. In short, you’ll shed 1 to 3 pounds per week without feeling “hangry” all the time.

Diet to Go offers four different menu options, so there’s something for almost everyone:

• Balance Menu: The company’s standard menu, and the most affordable and popular.

• Vegetarian: No meats, poultry, or fish but, since some items contain dairy, it's not suitable for vegans.

• Balance-D: Based on low-sodium and low-sugar recipes, this menu was created following the American Diabetes Association’s guidelines.

• Carb30: You’ll get to eat only 30 grams of carbs per day, which is within the recommended limits for a strict ketogenic diet. Because it focuses almost entirely on protein, it is the more expensive option.

Screenshot of Diettogo.com’s Menus to Choose From. August 13, 2019.

To prevent boredom, Diet-to-Go rotates their meal plans every 5 weeks. However, while most diet plans offer snacks, these foods are absent from Diet-to-Go’s plans.

However, the most unique aspect of Diet-to-Go is its freshness, as all meals are prepared in-house and flash-frozen so preservatives never have to be added. This freezing process allows for fresher foods that last longer and taste more natural. What’s more, Diet-to-Go’s kitchens adhere to several guidelines for food safety and handling, including the HACCP, USDA, and FDA.

Another thing that sets Diet-to-Go apart is the fact that it provides you with EVERYTHING you need, so there’s no need to go grocery shopping. This way, you won’t have to think about what or when to eat and will be able to calculate your budget more easily.

Diet-to-Go also offers 5-day and 7-day plans, and both of these options allow for lunch and dinner only (no breakfast). If you just want to try out the plan to see for yourself, know that with Diet-to-Go you only pay on a weekly, rather than monthly, basis. That way, the risk is minimal.  

After subscribing and placing your order, you’ll receive your weekly meal plan at home in a recyclable package. And, if you live in certain areas, you could also get your food at one of the company’s 200 local pick-up locations. One curious aspect of these locations is that most of them are located in fitness centers, so you can get your sweat on while picking your food. 

However, there’s this:

• Delivery is not available to Hawaii and Alaska

• Delivery is not free

• There are no snacks in the meal plan

• With weekly prices starting at $179.99 ($720 per month), this program is one of the priciest on this list. (Nevertheless, remember the plan provides all the food you’ll need)

Best for the Healthy-Minded

WIth HelloFresh, the concepts “fresh” and “meal delivery” are not mutually exclusive. One of the nation’s most popular meal delivery companies, the company enjoys a reputation for healthy recipes made from locally-sourced ingredients. HelloFresh customizes plans for families of two to four people.

HelloFresh recipes are easy to follow and come complete with nutritional information and step-by-step instructions. 

Best Low-Carb Diet Plan

Goodbye Atkins, hello South Beach Diet. If you haven’t heard of it by now, here’s our take on the diet plan that seems to be everywhere (or at least in everyone’s mouth).

What sets South Beach Diet apart:

• Distinction between “good” and “bad” fats

• Does not eliminate ALL carbs

• Transforms your metabolism

• Designed by a cardiologist to promote heart-healthy weight loss

• Use of phases makes it easier to follow

• Free delivery on all plans

Contrary to other low-carb approaches, the South Beach Diet makes a clear distinction between “good” and “bad” fats (avocado oil is good, butter is bad), and only prohibits the consumption of certain, but not all, carbs. This means that, while the South Beach Diet has certain similarities with the keto approach, is not strictly ketogenic, but rather keto-friendly.

One of the most unique aspects of this diet is that it takes you through three different phases, allowing for more flexibility as the plan unfolds. Let’s take a look at them:

• Phase 1: This is the “metabolism reboot” phase, and the most restrictive part of the plan (but it only lasts two weeks, so that’s good news). You’ll basically cut all carbs from your diet, as this phase allows for no more than 40 grams of net carbs per day. The purpose of this first phase is to reset your metabolism and help your body burn fat instead of carbs. Carb lovers beware! You will not be able to eat bread, pasta, rice, and some fruit, which might be too restrictive for some. Because of this strict approach, you’ll most definitely see weight loss results at the end of the plan’s first seven days.

• Phase 2: During this phase some carbs are back, so you have to watch out for any weight gain. (Following the strictness of Phase 1, you might be inclined to overeat your favorite carb-filled foods). You’ll get to eat no more than 50 grams of “good carbs” per day, including whole grains, beans, and fruits. Still, the bulk of your diet will consist of lean proteins, good fats, and vegetables.

• Phase 3: This is the “maintenance” phase, which could theoretically last your entire life. By this time, you’re supposed to have acclimated to the new eating habits set out by the South Beach Diet, making it easier to stick to the plan and continue on your weight maintenance, rather than weight loss.

Because of its focus on frequent meals, portion control, mindful eating, proper hydration, and exercise, the company claims (and some studies show) you’ll lose between 8 to 13 pounds in the first phase, and an average of 1 to 2 pounds per week. After reading client testimonies posted on the web, we feel these numbers to be fairly accurate of South Beach Diet’s effectiveness.

Once you subscribe and place your order, each week you’ll receive fully prepared breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, (and also snacks or protein shakes, depending on the plan you choose). The items will come in a box that keeps food frozen for 6 to 8 hours, and each food packet is individually labeled and complete with its nutritional information. Also, all the 4-week plans allow for free shipping.

Screenshot of Southbeachdiet.com’s Silver, Gold, and Platinum Plans. August 13, 2019.

With the first package, you’ll receive a printed guide on how, when, and what to eat during each phase. This way, there is no guesswork. These guides will also be available on the South Beach Diet app, available for free on Android and iOS, and on the company’s educational website, The Palm.

With the food choices, you have two basic options: let the staff pick the foods for you or choose the meals yourself. However, choosing items from the a la carte menu is much pricier and, with 4-week plans ranging from $300 to $370 on average per month, maybe you’ll want to save a bit of money by letting the experts pick the menu for you.

However, there’s this:

• Many reviewers noted the first phase is too restrictive (because of its cutting back on all carbs)

• This is not the plan for people looking for a strict keto diet, but rather a keto-friendly approach

• Long-term results have not been thoroughly studied