Balance Commercial Programs

Diet/Nutrition Plans

MyPyramid

http://www.mypyramid.gov/

(OK, it's not actually commercial.) The MyPyramid diet/wellness plan from the USDA recommends consuming a certain amount of each food group each day depending on factors such as age, weight, gender, and activity level. The MyPyramid quantities are measured in cups and ounces.

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Reference Daily Intake (RDI)

(OK, it's not actually commercial.) The RDI guidelines from the USDA recommend consuming certain amounts of food types and vitamins (in grams and mg) per day based on gender and age.

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Weight Watchers

http://www.weightwatchers.com/

Weight Watchers claims that it is a balanced plan that considers 4 aspects of healthy living: food, exercise, behavior, and support. It seems that the behavior and support aspects are mainly meant to be serviced via the weekly meetings. For the food portion, there are two main plains: Flex and Core.

Flex Plan: In the Flex Plan you continue to eat whatever you want within the day's POINT value. A POINT value is assigned to a food based on calories, fat, and fiber. Maximum daily POINT values are given to an individual based on age, weight, height, gender, etc. There are additional POINT values allocated to a special weekly splurge.

Core Plan: The Core Plan is more like a traditional diet in that you are restricted to certain kinds of foods. You are, however, given a weekly splurge POINT value to fill.

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South Beach Diet

http://www.southbeachdiet.com/

The South Beach Diet is organized into 3 phases (1, 2, and 3). The diet emphasizes food choices and does not integrate (caloric, portion-size, etc.) counting.

1: In Stage 1 (2 weeks) you are restricted to certain foods for the purpose of stabilizing blood sugar and eliminating cravings.

2: Stage 2 is continued until the subject reaches the desired weight. Stage 2 adds carbohydrates and some desserts to the list of foods allowed in Stage 1.

3: Stage 3 is meant to be the weight-maintenance phase (lifelong). This stage adds most foods back onto the list of allowed meals.

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Atkins Diet

http://www.atkins.com/

The Atkins Diet has 4 phases: Induction, Ongoing Weight Loss, Pre-Maintenance, and Lifelong Maintenance. The Atkins approach centers around controlling the amount of carbohydrates incorporated into the subject's diet.

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Zone Diet

http://www.zonediet.com

The Zone Diet is focused on controlling the levels of insulin, glucagon, and eicosanoids in the body in order to promote weight loss. The main idea is the balance the amount of protein, carbohydrates, and fat in each meal (1/3, 2/3, and a dash, respectively). In addition, the consumption of the meals is supposed to be timed throughout the day.

Diet/Nutrition Software

DietSite

http://www.dietsite.com

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FitDay.com

http://www.fitday.com

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CyberDiet

http://www.cyberdiet.com/