As the new year rolls in so do the New Year’s Resolutions. I am sure that there are many of us out there who have lose weight at the top of their resolution list. Weight loss is definitely another one of those things that you must take day by day. It is a constant battle. Over the years I have lost and gained lots of weight. I have tried basically every weight loss plan that is out there. Including a 9 day detox where I couldn’t eat for 4 of the 9 days. The only thing I could eat was a few almonds!! Crazy!!

Since my research into weight loss plans is extensive I can confidently say the two plans that worked the best for me were Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers. Both plans have pros and cons. The best thing about Jenny Craig is the ease of the program. All of the food is pre-prepared and most can be made in a microwave. It is so simple and easy. If you eat their food you can easily drop the pounds. Every week you weigh in and have meetings with your personal consultant. People say the cost of Jenny Craig is a drawback. This is because Jenny makes you pay up front for the whole year and in addition you need to buy their food. However, if you divide the cost over the 12 months it is comparable to the monthly cost at WW. The cost weekly for food was anywhere from $100-$140 dollars based on what meals you purchase. Honestly, it is only a little bit more that what I was spending on food a week with eating out for lunch and going out to dinner on the weekends, so I thought that was a wash. The biggest drawback I found was the transition from Jenny food to regular food. I found their plan for eating on your own harder to follow and more restrictive than the WW point system. Also there online interactive site was not user friendly and didn’t really offer much.

Weight Watchers is great because there is so much freedom. There is a registration fee and you must pay weekly for the meetings. They also offer a monthly pass option where you are billed monthly for the meetings and it renews automatically. I haven’t tried weight watchers in a while but basically you get a certain amount of points per day based on your age, gender, physical activity, etc. Then each food has a point value and you can plan out your day based on the number of points you are allotted. Fruits and vegetables have zero points values so you can fill up on those foods. The drawback with point is that there is a lot of planning and food preparation. One of the best things WW offers is their online service. Their online tools are great and very helpful unlike the Jenny online tools. Like Jenny you weigh in weekly but instead of a private consultations you attend weekly meetings with other weight watchers. Meetings usually run about 30-45 minutes. The meetings are helpful because everyone is fighting the same battle and can share ideas that worked for them and those that didn’t. I also like that only people who become lifetime members can work for WW. I always felt this gave them a unique perspective since they had once been in our shoes. Currently you can join WW for free and they are rolling out a new plan called points plus.

Exercise is also a huge factor for losing and maintaining you goal weight. Both Jenny and WW do recommend weekly exercise with their programs.

I haven’t decided yet what plan I will go back to in 2012. But at the end of the day, no matter what plan you pick it is perseverance that will get you to goal. I always tend to get close to goal and then lose my determination. Hopefully this will be the year I get to goal!