Ryan Phillipe is a man with a diet plan. After splitting with Reese Witherspoon, the actor has been losing some lbs with a food delivery service according to Us Weekly mag. Just 3 weeks on his new diet, it sounds like it’s part of his plan to get in shape for upcoming roles in Last Battle Dreamer and the 2008 drama, Franklyn.

It’s billed as a low-carb, and low sodium plan. Ryan’s menu includes smoked turkey wraps, pomegranate pancakes and pot roast. The pomegranate pancakes don’t sound low carb to me, but it’s possible they are partially made with soy flour which has a high protein content. I couldn’t find an ingredient list on the site but you can check it out at freshdining.com Unfortunately it’s only available in southern California. Btw, Ricki Lake also used this service to shed some unwanted weight.

I am a fan of food delivery meal plans, provided they are healthy, contain lots of fruits and veggies, and don’t contain refined sugars, trans fats etc. A meal plan is simple and helps you avoid temptation.

                                                                                   source: © Retna Ltd.
Tori Spelling has a spread in the latest US weekly highlighting her 22 pound, post-baby weight loss using NutriSystem. Can you say “product placement?” Supposedly an “US Exclusive,” it was a poorly executed marketing pitch for NutriSystem with Tori Spelling as their shill.

Following her 40 lb weight gain during her pregnancy, the article “reveals” how Tori uses NutriSystem. Peppered throughout are quotes about her workouts, how she’s going to wear a bikini after she drops another 10 lbs on the system yadda yadda…

Hey, I have no problem with celebrity endorsements, but at least Weight Watchers had the decency to formally announce Jenny McCarthy as their spokeswomen, when she dropped her post-partum weight. Without full disclosure, these article embedded product-placements start becoming another form of spam. This is not isolated to US weekly. The pay-per-post “endorsements” by bloggers posing as objective consumers are equally deceptive.

btw, “this article was not brought to you by NutriSystem.”

Ricki Lake, best known for her role on Hairspray and as a talk show host (Ricki Lake show), is on the cover of this month’s US magazine and looks great! Now weighing in at a svelte 123 lbs, she lost over half her body weight from her heaviest of 250 lbs in 1991. How did she do it?

She reveals she has tried many diets in the past, including the Zone, Atkins and the Master Cleanse, but never considered gastric bypass surgery. On one “extreme diet” she states she wasn’t eating and always exercising causing her to faint.

Her weight loss plan

• She uses a food delivery program (freshdining.com) that allows her to stick to a 1200 calorie-a-day diet
• She hikes 4 1/2 miles uphill in 1 1/2 hours and runs down. She does not use a fitness trainer.
• She weighs herself everyday

Best part of losing weight
Loves that she can cross her legs. Even her Jimmy Choos are are too big for her feet.

Ricki Lake has a successful long term weight loss strategy
Whether she is aware of this or not, she is following the most successful weight loss strategies of individuals who averaged over 70 lbs of weight loss and have kept it off for an average of 6 years. Way to go Ricki and much continued success!

Food delivery services have become all the rage recently with the remarkable success of Nutrisystems. With all the calorie counting and portion control done for you they are especially convenient for those on the go. Epicurious recently rated 5 of the top diet-food delivery plans.

In descending order here’s how the plans were rated:

1. eDiets Deliciously Yours (formerly eDiets express) – daily price $39.26

2. Zone Chefs (endorsed by Liza Minnelli, Ivanka Trump and football player Jason Fabini) - daily price $52.13

3. Pure Foods fresh low carb (formerly Atkins at Home) – daily price $47.80

4. Jenny Craig – (endorsed by Kristie Alley and Valerie Bertinelli) daily price $23.99

5. Nutrisystem – (endorsed by Dan Marino) daily price $12.23

The eDiets plan was rated number one primarily for it’s flexibility compared with the other plans. Here’s a little secret you may not be aware of; eDiets, Zone Chefs and Pure Foods low carb are all contracted from the same manufacturer, so it’s no surprise that the same Very Berry Chicken dish was found on all 3 plans. Under the less costly eDiets plan you can also choose the same dishes on the Zone Chefs and Pure Foods plans so this may be a way to save a few bucks.

Zone chefs follows the Zone Diet by Barry Sears, Phd, which advocates 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fats. Celebrity devotees of the Zone diet include Jennifer Aniston and Cindy Crawford. More gourmet in flavor it was considered too costly by the epicurious team.

The Atkins plan, Pure Foods fresh low carb dominated by meats and artificial sweetners, is high in saturated fats and low in fiber. The Jenny Craig plan was panned for too much sugar (almost a quarter of total calories) and trans-fats. Fiber content was also noted to be too low. The least liked by the ePicurious team, the Nutrisystem plan was noted to be high in artificial sweetners, trans-fats, preservatives and low in fiber. The add-water component to many of the packaged meals reminded them of “astronaut” food. Another aviation inspired comment included “much of the plan tastes like airline food.” Ouch!