Losing weight is all about maintaining a healthy diet and workout plan. A well-rounded weight loss program can provide some extra help as you work to reach your health goals this year. However, it can be difficult to dig through all of the options find the best program for your needs. There are dozens of companies offering meal plans, coaching and even weight loss medications. To narrow down your search, I researched popular weight loss programs like WeightWatchers and Noom and personally taste-tested Nutrisystem and Optavia, while considering price, variety, taste and different motivations. I also consulted experts for advice on what makes the best weight loss program.
What is the best weight loss program overall?
After my research and testing, I crowned WeightWatchers as the best overall weight loss program. WeightWatchers makes the top of this list due to its general nutrition and wellness education, choices for those with diabetes and people who are vegan or vegetarian, the on-demand workouts and 24/7 support.
Editor’s note: Weight loss programs aren’t recommended for those with a history of disordered eating. Consult your doctor or dietitian before beginning any diet or weight loss program.
Best weight loss programs for 2026
Pros
- Accountability from group meetings (with an in-person option) and weigh-ins help with sustainability
- Flexibility with ZeroPoint foods
- Personalized food plans
- Discounts when you sign up provide a plan as low as $12/month
Cons
- Takes time to track and plan meals — Not for someone looking for convenience
- Not for someone who struggles with portion control
- Low points don’t always equal high nutritional value
Why we like it: WeightWatchers has been around for decades. The program is known for telling its customers that “no food is off limits.” Though clients follow a system that assigns a certain number of points to various food items, there are 350-plus ZeroPoint foods that are allowed.
Who is it best for: WeightWatchers often tops lists of “best diets,” with a primary reason being the education provided to help users make positive diet changes to drop body weight. The popular weight loss program also offers diabetes-tailored, vegetarian and plant-based diet plans.
Who should not get it: WeightWatchers wouldn’t be the right weight loss program for someone who is looking for convenience, who struggles with portion control or who doesn’t have the time to track and plan their meals.
Membership options
WeightWatchers offers several membership plans. There are introductory discounts available, including a 50% discount on eligible 12-month plans right now.
- Core: The Core plan starts at $12 per month for a 12-month plan. It includes access to the WeightWatchers app, a program based on intake quiz results and goals, an AI body scanner to track progress and a 24/7 chat service. You also get two weeks of free access to coaching and workshops.
- Core Plus: Starting at $22 per month, this plan includes unlimited access to coaching, workshops and peer support. You can also access tailored programs, including the GLP-1 Success Program and Menopause Program.
- Med Plus: Starting at $25 per month, the Med Plus plan includes virtual clinician visits and access to GLP-1 prescriptions. This doesn’t include the cost of prescription medication, which will vary and depend on a patient’s insurance. However, certain non-GLP-1 medications are included in the cost of the membership. Pricing may also vary depending on the length of the membership you choose.
Pros
- Focuses more on your behavior than the food
- Lots of educational resources available on the app
- Doesn’t ban food groups such as sugar or fats
- Middle-of-the-road price around $70/month, but cost goes down the longer you commit
Cons
- Noom isn’t for someone who doesn’t like social media or doesn’t want extra screen time
- No in-person time with your coach
- The weeklong free trial will turn into a paid subscription if you don’t cancel
Why we like it: Noom is a relative newcomer to the weight loss game. Calling itself “WeightWatchers for millennials,” this app-based program uses the stoplight method, assigning colors (orange, yellow and green) to foods based on their nutritional quality. Noom is also known for using a psychology-based approach by educating clients on healthy habits and lifestyles, as well as changing the way they think about food.
Who is it best for: Its app tracks your food intake and physical activity and helps you lose weight with no restrictive dieting. Noom typically has all diet plans: low-carb, DASH, low-fat diet, Mediterranean and flexitarian.
In 2023, Noom also launched Noom Med, which includes coaching support and telehealth assessments for weight-loss medications (GLP-1s).
Who should not get it: Noom wouldn’t be best for someone who wants to cut down on their screen time. If you want in-person time with a weight loss coach, Noom also isn’t for you.
Membership options
- Noom Med is about $70 per month. Noom Weight costs $17 to $42 per month, depending on plan length. The longer you commit, the lower the cost. Noom will recommend the duration of your program based on your weight loss goals.
Pros
- Premade meals are delivered to your door
- Shipment every four weeks with free shipping
- Available meal plans for vegetarians, partners or those with diabetes
Cons
- Sodium intake may be higher in prepackaged meals than home-cooked meals
- Very expensive, and you must factor in the cost of extra groceries
- Coaching isn’t one-on-one
- Cost of $10-$16/day is on the expensive side
Why we like it: Nutrisystem is a traditional weight loss program that features premade meals, shakes and snacks delivered to your home. The program focuses more on providing meals for you rather than strategies to maintain weight loss. It provides breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert.
Who is it best for: Nutrisystem would be best for someone who wants premade meals delivered right to their door. Although, in addition to your prepackaged meals, you’ll still have to buy kitchen staples and some other items. Meal plans are available for vegetarians, partners and those with diabetes.
Who should not get it: We wouldn’t recommend Nutrisystem to anyone who can’t afford the expensive $10-$16 daily cost (at least $200 monthly). Also, Nutrisystem doesn’t offer one-on-one coaching, so if that’s something you want, this wouldn’t be the weight loss program for you.
Membership options
Nutrisystem offers two membership plans for women, two for men and two for partners. The prices range from $10 – $16 per day ($200+ a month) and include food for five or seven days a week, access to the app, coaching, over 100 menu items and essential nonperishable items.
Pros
- Convenient and easy to follow
- Gives you access to a personal coach and a community of others on a weight loss journey
- Lean-and-green meals may encourage healthy eating after the program
Cons
- More expensive than other options and contains lots of Optavia-brand processed foods
- You could start relying on Optavia “fuelings,” which won’t set you up for healthy eating habits later on
- Optavia-brand food isn’t known for tasting the best
- Expensive at $180-$515/month
Why we like it: Optavia is a weight loss program that relies on shakes, bars and other Optavia-branded packaged foods, called “essential fuelings” to produce results. These fuelings include cookies, puddings, bars, cereals and soups that are shipped directly to your door. In addition to the fuelings, Optavia provides recipes for “lean-and-green meals” that you’re responsible for cooking with fresh ingredients.
Who is it best for: If you’re looking for a convenient weight loss plan that offers you a personal health coach and community, Optavia would be a good option for you. However, you should note that, according to CNET medical reviewer and dietitian Amelia Ti, most Optavia coaches are not actually licensed health professionals (i.e., board-certified health coaches), but rather previous customers who have graduated from the program (alumni).
Who should not get it: Optavia is on the more expensive side at $180-$515 per month. If this isn’t in your budget, Optavia won’t be for you. The program also contains Optavia-brand processed foods, which won’t help you maintain healthy habits.
Membership options
Optavia offers several membership plans. Select plans are 20% off for the first month.
- Optimal Weight 5-and-1 Plan: This plan costs $455 a month.
- Optimal Weight 5-and-1 Active Plan: This plan costs $515 a month.
- Optimal Weight 4-and-2 Active Plan: This plan costs $484 a month.
- GLP-1 Nutrition Support Plan: This plan costs $387 a month.
- Optimization Plan: This plan costs $392 a month.
- Optavia Active Bundle: This plan costs $180 a month.
Best weight loss programs compared
| Program | Primary focus | Coaching type | Meals included? | Medication option? | Length of plan | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WeightWatchers | Diet | Self-guided app; live coaching and group support | No | Yes | 1-12 months | $12+ per month |
| Noom | Diet, physical activity | App-based, one-on-one coaching, support groups | No | Yes | Depends on weight loss goals | $17+ per month |
| Nutrisystem | Diet | App-based; ready-made meals | Yes | No | 28 days | $10 to $16 per day |
| Optavia | Diet | Personal health coach and community; delivered meals; app | Yes | No | 30 days | $180 to $515 per month |
There isn’t a diet that will work for everyone. Consider these factors and choose a diet that will work best for you.
Variety and freedoms
While you may need to eat fewer calories to lose weight, you don’t have to eat fewer types of foods. Diets are often most successful when they offer a wide variety of foods and we feel less restricted. Don’t choose a diet that is very restrictive or makes you feel like you are missing out on something.
How enjoyable it is
The word “diet” has such negative connotations because of the way it’s thrown around regarding weight loss, but diets don’t have to be a negative experience. Try to find an eating pattern that’s enjoyable and interesting enough to stick to. Even the most popular diet won’t help with weight loss or weight management if you’re miserable.
Your motivation
What do you really want to gain from weight loss? What really motivates you? No matter what plan or diet you are following, unless you are motivated, it’s going to be very difficult to follow.
If you are motivated by coaches or a community, look for programs that offer one-on-one counseling or accountability. If you are motivated on your own, you won’t need the extra push.
Your budget
Diets can be expensive. If the price tag on a program looks intimidating, make sure to also consider the price of food on top of it (if the program doesn’t already include a meal plan). Find a program that fits your budget.
Lifestyle
Some weight loss programs offer premade meals delivered directly to your door, which can be helpful if you have a busy lifestyle. For those who have more time, you may want to consider a weight loss program that offers a one-on-one coach and a community you can interact with on a regular basis.
As a wellness expert, I considered each weight loss program’s price, support, exercise advice, nutritional value, overall wellness and convenience. I dug deep into WeightWatchers and Noom and had the opportunity to taste-test Nutrisystem and Optavia. Between testing and researching, it took me several weeks to compile this list.
Before creating this list, I tested each program’s website, app or supportive content. I also tapped experts to determine what makes a weight loss program successful and what factors to avoid.
Working one-on-one with someone who knows your lifestyle, medical history and eating habits is an ideal way to lose weight.
Getty ImagesWe consulted experts to help make sense of a successful diet and weight loss journey. How do you find the right program for you? Here’s what they had to say.
What makes a diet successful?
The best diet program for you will be the one that meets you where you are at in life. It must be “realistic, sustainable and flexible,” said Jamie Nadeau, a registered dietitian. “Learning to eat healthy consistently truly comes down to learning how to build healthful habits into your life.”
“If a diet program is too rigid or strict, it’s unlikely to work for most people,” she said. “If it’s asking you to do things that aren’t realistic for you or require tons of effort and change all at once, it’s not going to work.”
Dietitian Amelia Ti takes a different approach to the question. “I define a successful program as one that allows members to choose from a variety of foods without restriction and [one that] measures progress by how its clients/participants feel (their mood, energy levels, sleep, etc.),” she said. “I also define success by how sustainable a program is.”
Ti added, “A successful diet program should improve one’s relationship with food and their body, not worsen it.” Nadeau agreed: “The most successful diet programs are the ones that involve learning how to eat a normal, well-balanced diet that includes all food groups (and fun foods too).”
Dieting red flags
It is easy to fall for a weight loss program’s empty promises. Our two experts told us how to spot the red flags from miles away.
Nadeau said to watch out for “any program that requires you to buy their specific products or foods to be successful. If you have to buy their bars, shakes or prepacked foods, run. The minute you don’t have their food to rely on, any weight that you lost is going to return.”
In addition to the food, a program may tell you to eat, watch out for programs that are too restrictive. Ti said, “If a diet program instructs you to cut out various foods or food groups, red flag! A few others include if they label foods as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ and promise immediate results.”
Who should steer clear of weight loss programs?
Dieting programs are not for everyone — especially those at risk of developing eating disorders. Nadeau recommends working with a registered dietitian over a diet or weight loss program. She said, “Working with a registered dietitian means you’ll be getting individualized advice from a credentialed professional with experience working with people just like you.”
Below, we’ve rounded up a few other types of healthy diets you could consider for weight loss. However, if you want to lose weight or plan to change your diet, you should speak with your doctor first. They can help you find the right diet for your specific health goals.
The Mediterranean diet: Inspired by the diet of people living along the Mediterranean coast, the Mediterranean diet typically consists of fresh, plant-based food, whole grains, nuts, beans, lean poultry, seafood, olive oil, herbs and spices.
The DASH diet: The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet is designed to control blood pressure by limiting sweets, saturated fats and full-fat dairy while focusing on heart-health foods high in calcium, potassium, protein, magnesium and fiber.
A plant-based diet: Multiple diets, such as vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, Mediterranean and flexitarian, could fall into the plant-based diet category. Vegans don’t consume any animal products, while vegetarians don’t consume meat, poultry or fish. Pescatarians follow a vegetarian diet but consume fish. As for flexitarians, each person decides which animal products and how much of them they can consume.
The best weight loss program is the one that meets your needs, goals and lifestyle. Not every program is one-size-fits-all. In fact, if you are looking for a personalized nutrition program that lasts, you may be better off seeking a dietitian.
According to US News and World Report, the best diet overall is the Mediterranean diet, but this diet isn’t for everyone. The most successful weight loss program for you will be one that meets where you are in life.
Commercial weight loss programs have many benefits, but there are some downsides. These programs typically don’t offer personalized one-on-one counseling with a dietitian or nutritionist. Additionally, some programs provide pre-packaged frozen or nonperishable foods, but commercial weight loss programs typically don’t provide fresh food. This may leave you feeling a little dissatisfied with your daily meals.
Weight loss programs can either be good or bad for you, depending on what you’re looking to get out of it. If you want a quick fix or quick weight loss, programs might not be right for you. It can trigger disordered eating and not instill healthy eating habits. You could even gain the weight back once you stop your program. If you’re looking for a weight loss program to educate you, push you to exercise and help you in the long run, then a program could be beneficial.
Short answer: You don’t. Losing 1 to 2 pounds per week (or up to 8 pounds per month) is generally the most that’s considered safe. Otherwise, you risk nutritional deficiencies, muscle loss and other health issues over time.