Are all diets that have products you have to buy bad?

[MadMike]

Are there any diets with specific food or “merchandise” that are good or are they all just money grabs?

[JennyR]

No. A quality diet will provide you with quality products. I've heard good things about both Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig products. Usually a product that you are meant to buy for a certain diet has been made so that it contains only a certain number of calories and is also good for you. But, yes, the only trouble is that they are expensive and following this kind of diet for a prolonged length of time can get rather costly.

[Bethie]

Do you have to buy products if you use weight watchers? I thought you could just do the program. I am really out of date with the latest from these diets, I think. I did hear good things about jenny craig, too. The food tastes good but the portion sizes are pretty small. When they show them on tv they're using small plates.

[Speeddemon]

I don't think you have to buy the products. I'm sure they want you to, but I think the whole point to following weight watchers is to make sure you're not blowing your daily calorie limit. I could be wrong, but that's what I understand from it. I wouldn't buy any products offered by diet programs. It's not because I don't trust them, but the cost of them just isn't practical. You're way better off just buying your own food and cooking for yourself. Plus, I don't think it's great that a diet plan promote laziness when it comes to eating/cooking, which is exactly what these diets are doing when they encourage you buy their products. Honestly, if you can't take the time to pay attention to what you're eating and cook for yourself, I don't care what diet plan you're following, you're not going to be successful over the long term.

[KittyKatt]

I think you’re right, Speeddemon. I think weight watchers just has a points program that is essentially an easier form of calorie counting, but you don’t need to buy any of their other products. They’re just there if you think that you can benefit from it and so that they can make more money from it, but essentially they’re just a subscription based diet.

[BabyButtons]

Most of them are not bad for you, but ya, they are pretty much money grabs. I would recommend that you find out what ingredients go into the products they recommend you to buy and make the food yourself. You may end up making it even healthier! Also, if you are looking to save time. Make a whole bunch of meals in advance when you have the time and freeze them. This will save you time during the week and still ensure that you are eating well!

[enviroTodd]

Most of them are not bad for you, but ya, they are pretty much money grabs. I would recommend that you find out what ingredients go into the products they recommend you to buy and make the food yourself. You may end up making it even healthier! Also, if you are looking to save time. Make a whole bunch of meals in advance when you have the time and freeze them. This will save you time during the week and still ensure that you are eating well!

I couldn’t agree with you more, Babybuttons. Whole foods are always the way to go whenever you want to lose weight in a healthy way, particularly if you want to keep it off. So many diets package products that are full of processed ingredients that may provide you with a lower dose of calories but that don’t do anything for your body or for the building of the right habits to keep the weight from coming back on again.

If you don’t commit to living a healthier lifestyle with more balanced foods and regular exercise then you will only end up losing out in the long run because any achievements that you will make will be temporary ones.

[Firefly77]

They're not bad for you but they are mostly money grabs but they sure are convenient LOL!

[MadMike]

Thanks for the thoughts on this, everyone. I guess they’re just a convenience thing and a way for the diet programs to make money. Does anyone actually like the products that they’ve tried from a diet before?