The history of diet plans has been one connected to scams, scandals, and skepticism, but some of Diet Plans have actually been proven to work. If you’re thinking of rolling the dice on one of the latest diet plans, here’s a quick rundown on four of the most popular.

The Kushner Personality Type Diets

The Dr. Kushner’s Personality Type Diet is focused on the concept that everyone who has a problem controlling their weight falls into different categories.

The “Night time Nibbler” loads up on calories at night.

The  “Unguided Grazer” chooses foods spontaneously, without regard for hunger or structure.

The “Deprived Sneaker” eats healthy food while in public, while choosing to indulge in the naughty stuff in private,

The “No Time To Exercise Protester” is, well you get it.

The book them goes on to give advice to each personality type on coping strategies and easy to follow tips for success.

Foods

When it comes to food choices, the Kushner Diet gets a little less creative. Kushner is a proponent of produce, high fiber grains, and low fat dairy. He allows for some indulgence in the snacks and desserts department, but recommends that you buy individual serving items, and leaving the wholesale size options in Smart and Final.  Drinking in moderation is fine, but be mindful of calories.

Exercise

The Kushner Diet recommends making realistic exercise goals and provides plans for an exercise program.

Cost

None other than the cost of food.

Level of Effort

When it comes to level of effort, the Kushner Diet comes somewhere in the middle. It requires  a little psychological adjustment in addition to restructuring eating habits.

Bottom Line

The major draw of the Kushner Diet is the personality hook: the quiz, the cute titles, the focus on individuality. It’s a diet with a sense of humor. But does it work?

As it turns out, the idea of creating a  nutritional profile can be a great way to improving your health habits. It not only puts a creative spin on weight loss, it also offers alternatives to adapt to your particular personality and preferences. Beyond that, the Kushner Diet is a standard and sensible approach to nutrition, and may be sustainable for the long haul.

French Women Don’t Get Fat Diet

The “French Women Don’t Get Fat Diet” Diet is the brainchild of  Mireille Guilano. In short: Rich food

In short: Rich food, skimpy portions. The advice here is any good food can be eaten in moderation, and a sliver of butter and toast is more pleasurable and  better for you than “pseudo fat substitutes like margarine which should be tossed in the trash together with Crisco.” Wine and chocolate are both acceptable, dressing must be top quality olive oil and vinegar; there is no such thing as a good bottled salad dressing.  Limit tea and coffee to two servings a day, as caffeine can make you hungry. The takeaway: It’s better to eat nothing than to eat cheaply.

The advice here is any good food can be eaten in moderation, and a sliver of butter and toast is more pleasurable and  better for you than “pseudo fat substitutes like margarine which should be tossed in the trash together with Crisco.” Wine and chocolate are both acceptable, dressing must be top quality olive oil and vinegar; there is no such thing as a good bottled salad dressing. Limit tea and coffee to two servings a day, as caffeine can make you hungry. The takeaway: It’s better to eat nothing than to eat cheaply.

The takeaway: It’s better to eat nothing than to eat cheaply.

Foods

When it comes to menu, Guilano is pretty specific. The diet starts with a semi fast, in which the dieter will eat only leek soup and drink large quantities of water. As the diet progresses, fish, fruit, and veggies are added. Fresh seasonal ingredients with plenty of herbs and seasonings are  recommended throughout the diet, to curb hunger, and two servings daily of yogurt are a requirement. Guilano often praises the French women for their highly reputed yogurt intake. Champagne and wine are permitted, but liquor is not. Sweets can be consumed in small quantities.

Here is a sample of a typical spring menu:

Breakfast: Cereal with strawberries, bread, yogurt, coffee or tea

Lunch: Green salad, cherry clafoutis sans dough, asparagus flan, and a non caloric beverage

Dinner: Pea soup (Guillano is big on soup, and claims her leek soup has “magical weight loss promoting qualities.), cauliflower gratin, grilled lamp chops, rhubarb compote, and a glass of red wine.

Guillano also allows for a “day of rest” once a week in which you are allowed to enjoy a ‘civilized portion” of some of your favorite foods.

Level of Effort

When it comes to level of effort, the “French Women Diet” comes in at about a solid 5. The advice is easy to follow, but it may not be great for those looking to shed a major amount of weight.

Exercise

In keeping with Guillano’s “no sweat style” there are no recommendations to spend quality time at the gym, but walking and light weightlifting are permitted.

Cost

There are no costs here beyond the purchase of foods, but Guillano’s menu may be a little beyond your usual grocery fare.

Bottom Line

If you can accept, and even appreciate Guillano’s French snobbery, the premise of the diet is perfectly acceptable. The idea of eating small portions of high quality food slowly can help a person lose weight. There is proof that eating slowly will help to cut down on portion size, because your brain will receive a sign of fullness after a certain amount of time spent at the table. That, combined with small amounts of physical activity can be a successful method of weight loss.

The Cookie Diet

This one may sound a little more like a 12 year old’s dream than any kind of weight loss program. The idea behind this one is that instead of giving up cookies, you give up everything else.

Here’s an example of Dr. Siegal Version

Step 1: Buy a week’s supply of cookies, (42) for $59.95.

Step 2: Eat six cookies a day

Step 3: Drink a glass of water (This should help you fell more full)

Step 4: Wait 15 minutes. If you are still hungry, have another cookie. Two is the limit.

Step 5: Eat a dinner of 500 to 700 calories.

Foods

Well, in a word cookies. Some companies, like Smart for Life, also offer shakes, muffins, and soups. The idea is consuming high fiber to keep hunger at bay. The calorie content is limited; even with the inclusion of a small dinner, the count is well under the 2,000 calorie daily recommendation.

Exercise

Many of the plans encourage exercise, but don’t give much specific direction. Some recommend a certain amount daily.

Cost 

Warning: These can be some pretty expensive cookies. The Hollywood Cookie Diet will cost about $100 for a 2 week supply, while Smart For Life more than doubles that amount, weighing in at a whopping $209 for 14 days.

Level of Effort

If you like the idea of eating cookies, this could be a pretty easy diet to follow, provided the caloric restrictions aren’t too severe.

Bottom Line

While in theory, the idea of calorie restriction is bound to result in weight loss, this diet can be really conducive to the phenomenon of yo yo dieting. Since eating cookies doesn’t seem like a practice that you’re likely to  follow for the rest of your life, the diet does not teach healthy eating habits, and the pounds that you shed are likely to reappear, once you get sick of cookies. Plus, you’re not getting your nutrition from a variety of sources, and eating the bulk of your calorie content in one meal can throw your blood sugar off. Sorry , but it seems like the smart cookies are not going to follow the cookie diet.

The High School Reunion Diet

So, you’ve just been invited to your 20th High School Reunion. Do you: (a) Immediately book a botox appointment with your dermatologist, (b) Send your younger, better looking brother, or (c) crash diet to lose 20 years from your appearance in 30 days.

If you picked (c), the “The High School Reunion Diet”by Dr. David Colbert may just be for you. According to this diet,  certain foods make you appear older than you are, and replacing them with other, healthier foods can help you to increase energy, lose weight, improve mental acuity, and bring back your youthful appearance.

The diet is divided into two separate plans: Level One is for those who need to lose quite a bit of weight and Level Two for those for whom weight is not a concern, but health is.

Foods

While this isn’t necessarily a low carb diet, it is a smart carb diet. Colbert eliminates processed foods and almost anything white from your diet. Sugar is a no no, unless it is in the form of whole fruits, which is okay because it is sugar in its most natural state. Potatoes are to be avoided, and you definitely don’t want to consume bread or soft drinks.There are good fats and bad fats ( good fats are good and bad fats are bad),  and fat free, low fat and non fat foods are frowned upon because of their tendencies  to compensate for lost flavor by including additives and sugars.

Here’s what a typical Colbert menu looks like:

Breakfast: Green eggs and ham (Colbert’s own recipe, included in the book, water with lemon zest and coffee of tea with a bit of milk

AM Snack: 1-2 slices of organic turkey

Lunch: Grilled chicken, arugula, and sesame seed salad with Dijon mustard vinagrette

PM Snack: 1/2 apple (hope the other half doesn’t get brown), 8-10 walnuts, black, white, or green tea

Dinner: Pan seared scallops with balsamic reduction ( another Colbert creation, recipe included in book), salad of mixed greens with chopped veggies, steamed asparagus, and fresh berries with a honey drizzle.

Level of Effort

There is no calorie count, but you will have to put in a good amount of work to make the 30 day goal, not to mention maintaining your results for the long hall.

Exercise

While there is no regularly prescribed detailed exercise program, daily exercise and walking is recommended.

Cost

Only the cost of food here, after you buy the book.

The Bottom Line

The dietary recommendation is this book are pretty much in accordance with most major health organizations, which, while there are no studies on this specific plan, have been shown to be helpful in reaching a  healthy weight. It’s high in fiber, and low in saturated fats, which makes it a good choice for those with cardiovascular issues. While this diet will work, and requires no drastic measures, it may not provide enough direction for those who are likely to splurge.

Which Diet is the Best?

While its safe to say, there are a lot of creative diet plans out there, and most of them can work, but that does not mean that every one will work for every person.

The “Personality Type Diet” operates on the assumptions that a personality flaw lies at the heart of failed dieting, and success can be achieved by identifying it and correcting it.

“The French Women Don’t Get Fat Diet” offers a glamourous approach to weight loss, offering an appealing reinvention of the self to change dieting habits.

“The Cookie Diet”  gives a clearly outlined plan, requiring very little effort on the part of the dieter, other than sticking to the diet.

The “High School Reunion Diet”  is a less structured plan, relying on the dieter’s own motivation to get and stay healthy.

Which one do you see working best for you? Let the person who knows you best decide: yourself. And let us know how it works for you. We love to hear your comments and suggestions.