My wife and I lost a lot of weight using Nutrisystem several years ago, but some of the weight has crept back and we decided to use the beginning of the year as our start date to get back down within our "normal" weight range.
Seeing that we didn't want to start NS again (cost and some of our favorites are gone), we looked at several different programs and decided on Chris & Heidi Powell's Extreme Transformation using carb cycling. Reading how much food we would be eating made me a bit skeptical but we decided to proceed anyway.
We recommitted to visiting our health club 3 days per week at a minimum (I'd prefer 5 but our schedules don't accommodate) and so far we've been accomplishing that goal.
The only problem I see with the recipes is that there are too many ingredients and too much prep time, when looked at as an average. I would prefer to have more of the meals be simple, like a salad with some protein, so we I will improv when we go for our second round of 21 days.
So far the program has been a success! Although she did not join the dietbet, she has lost 6 pounds in 12 days, and I have lost 11.4. I'm guessing that she's lost more than 3% and I've lost over 6%. She's not happy that I always lose weight much faster than her, but that seems to be a common occurrence for the genders, and specifically us.
We like most of the recipes (a few dislikes but no big deal) but we haven't been following the exercise regimen included. We will add the exercises when we repeat the cycle.
I highly recommend the program. My primary concern is how we transition several months from now from following the 21 day cycle to being on our own. But I have time to figure that out.
To aid in my prevention of slipping again, I've gotten rid of all my fat pants. If I decide to gain weight again, not only will I feel terrible, but I will have to spend cash on larger clothes again, and I hope that additional incentive prevents it from happening.
The secret of losing weight and staying within a healthy range seems to be:
Drink 8+ glasses of water daily (and no soda and limited alcohol)
Reduced sodium consumption
Some form of reasonable eating plan (lifestyle change), and sticking to it
Exercise more than half the days of the week
A partner to hold you accountable
Work hard and reach your goal!