The Jenny Craig diet is not so much a diet but a weight loss program that is based around special packaged food. The program operates out of weight loss centers around the world. These are run on a franchise basis – that is, the owner of the franchise is thoroughly trained in operating the program and is licensed to use the company name and sell Jenny Craig products.

What Can You Expect?

If you sign up with the Jenny Craig program you can expect to visit one of their centers to meet with a weight loss counselor. This will establish what your calorie level should be depending on your current build and the amount of weight that you want to lose. You will sign up to the program for a certain length of time or until you have reached your target weight.

You will then be advised on your nutritional program which will include the special food that you buy from them. You will return once a week to be weighed, buy more food and discuss your progress and any problems you are having.

If you do not live near a center or if you prefer not to have one on one sessions in person, you can take the counseling by phone and have the supplies delivered.

Why Does It Work?

This is a calorie controlled diet, which together with exercise should ensure weight loss if you follow it.

The weekly weighing session means that you have someone out there who knows how you are doing. You can also have phone calls with the counselors. Being accountable to someone in this way often helps people to lose weight or keep to any other resolution that they make.

Any Negatives?

Like all diets involving special food that you would not normally eat, it can be difficult to limit yourself to their meal choices and it is likely to be hard to keep the weight off afterward. On the other hand if you like not having to cook or think about what to eat, the prepared meals will suit you just fine.

The food is prepared with a fairly high sodium content and is not necessarily low on the glycemic index so it will not suit everybody. If you are insulin resistant or have high blood pressure or other special nutritional needs you may not be able to take the program. They do advise you to see your doctor before starting (as with all diet programs) and they give you an information sheet to take along.

Both the membership and the food that you need to buy can be expensive. Shipping is extra if you have the supplies delivered. You may be better off with a program that is based around regular food, such as Weight Watchers. Do find out what your costs are likely to be for food as well as counseling before signing up for the Jenny Craig diet.

The Scarsdale diet was published in a book called ‘The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet’ by Dr Herman Tarnower of Scarsdale, NY and Samm Sinclair Baker in 1979. Its popularity benefited from a storm of publicity in 1980 when Dr Tarnower was murdered by his long time lover, the headmistress of a well known girls’ boarding school.

The claim is that you can lose up to 20 pounds in 14 days.

What Does It Involve?

The Scarsdale diet plan could be described as a more nutritionally varied version of the grapefruit diet. Half a grapefruit is included every day at breakfast for the supposed ‘fat burning enzyme’ that it contains.

Dr Tarnower proposes a strict diet plan which you follow for 14 days. You then follow a less restrictive plan for 1-2 weeks before going back onto the diet plan for another 14 days if you need to.

Generally, it is a high protein, low carbohydrate plan but with fruit and 1-3 slices of protein-enriched bread per day. Breakfast is half a grapefruit and 1 slice of bread. Lunch may be fruit alone, or meat, fish or cheese with salad or vegetables. Dinner is meat or fish with vegetables. Bread is allowed at lunch or dinner some days.

Snacks are limited to raw carrot, celery etc. You may drink tea, coffee, diet soda and of course water. You can use ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, mustard and herbs.

No potatoes, corn, peas, beans (other than green beans) or lentils are allowed, and no pasta, rice or other grains except for bread when specified.

Why Does It Work?

This is a strictly calorie controlled diet. Most people will lose weight over the 14 days if they can stick to it.

The cyclical nature of the plan (2 weeks on, 1-2 weeks off) is said to optimize results because it prevents the metabolism adjusting to the lower calorie intake.

Any Negatives?

Most people will be very hungry on this diet and that will make it hard to stick to. Some people use appetite suppressants but these may have risks of their own. If you can keep to the plan, most of the initial weight loss will be water.

There is a heavy emphasis on lean meats with most of the calories coming from animal protein foods. It would be a difficult diet for vegetarians to follow. There is no scientific basis for the idea of a fat burning enzyme in grapefruit.

The cyclical style of the diet is also difficult for many people. There is a risk you will go completely off the diet at the end of the 14 days and regain all the weight.

It has been criticized for promoting yoyo dieting where weight is constantly gained and lost in a short time. This is generally considered bad for the health. Consult your doctor before starting on the Scarsdale diet.

The Subway Diet was invented accidentally by Jared Fogle, a student at Indiana University, who dropped from 425 pounds to 180 pounds in just one year in the 1990s. It began to be popular in 2000 after the Subway food chain discovered Jared and based an advertising campaign around his diet.

How Jared Fogle Lost 245 Pounds In One Year

Jared was in his junior year when his weight reached its all time high. Like many young men in college he ate a lot of junk food, but unlike his friends he took virtually no exercise. He was told by a doctor that he risked serious health problems if he did not lose weight. He tried various diets without much success.

Then one day he discovered a Subway restaurant near his dorm. He tried a low fat Sub and liked it, so he began eating there twice a day. He would skip breakfast, walk to Subway for lunch, eat one low fat Sub with maybe some baked potato chips and diet soda, and do the same thing in the evening for dinner.

The Subway Diet consists of doing basically what Jared did. You take 2 meals a day at Subway and eat nothing else. You can choose one Sub from the ‘Eight For Six’ range which contain 6 grams of fat or less, plus low fat baked potato chips or other low fat side dish. You also have to drink water and do some exercise.

Why Does It Work?

It works because it is a very low calorie diet. Jared Fogle went from eating up to an estimated 10,000 calories in a day right down to around 1000 calories a day. This is half of the amount that a normal sized person of average height needs to maintain a healthy weight, so it is a major calorie restriction.

Another reason why Jared lost his weight so fast (it works out to almost 5 pounds per week) is all the walking that he did. After he reached around 300 pounds he began walking pretty much everywhere instead of taking the bus.

Any Negatives?

Most doctors recommend losing a maximum of 2 pounds per week, so it could be argued that Jared Fogle lost weight too fast for optimum health. However he did succeed in keeping his weight down and is still at a healthy weight 10 years later. He now works for Subway promoting healthy eating.

Without going into the detailed nutritional analysis of the eight Subs that you can choose from, it is unlikely that you would get your full vitamin and mineral needs met on this diet. However, it is not as easy as people think to get the RDAs of all vitamins and minerals. Eating only 1000 calories a day it would be difficult on almost any diet. You are also likely to be very hungry between meals.

Two of the major nutritional elements lacking in the Subway diet are vitamin A and fiber. Add a large portion of orange or red vegetables such as carrots or red bell peppers to boost your intake of these elements. If you eat them raw you will benefit from their vitamin C too. Adding these as snacks will help with the hunger problem.

Of course you should consult your doctor before going on any diet, but remember that many college students, even those who are not overweight, live mainly on junk food. The Subway diet may not be the healthiest diet you could have, but it is a lot healthier than what Jared was consuming before.