Anne Collins Diet: Reviewed

If you ever searched for weight loss information on the web, you've probably come across the site of Irish nutritionist Anne Collins. The site has an overwhelming amount of pages - although many of the pages seem like they are designed for a search engine rather than a person.

A brief perusal of the site map shows us information repeated over and over. Each of the following phrases has it's own web page (containing a paragraph or two telling us to eat less and exercise more); Fast Weight Loss, Lose Weight, Lose Weight Fast, Lose Weight Forever, Shed Fat, Shed Pounds, Get Lean, Get Leaner, Burn Fat Fast... I think you get the picture. This is spam and is designed to capture as many visitors and lead them to the weight loss program.

What You Get For Your Money

Anne Collins' weight loss program can be ordered on-line for the modest fee of $19.97. Once paid you create your user id, and are given access to the members-only page.

The one-off fee provides you with 12 months access to a private support forum, and access to all of the following eBooks:

• Low Carb Diet
  A healthy low carb diet for fastest possible weight loss.
• 14-Day Low Calorie Booster Diet
  Short-term 1000 calorie plan for maximum weight loss.
• No-Nonsense Balanced Weight Loss Diet
  Anne's No-Nonsense Weight Loss Plan.
• Low Glycemic Diet
  For people who need to lose weight and maintain stable blood-sugar levels.
• Cholesterol-Lowering Diet
  For people with raised cholesterol.
• 10-Minute Meals Diet
  Ultra-convenient, lots of fast-food options.
• Vegetarian Quick-Start Diet
  Simple plan for new or experienced vegetarians.
• Diet for Life
  An easy long term weight loss plan.
• Vegetarian Diet for Life
  An easy long term vegetarian weight loss plan.

There's a lot of choice there, but Anne Collins also provides a page to help you decide which one to choose.

Pick Your eBook

I chose the "No-nonsense balanced weight loss diet" and downloaded it. It is a 57 page PDF file containing 28 daily meal plans, snack and fast food options. Each day is made up of 3 meals plus snacks. There are two options for dinner - a home-cooked recipe or a packaged meal - such as Lean Cuisine.

The daily Calorie amounts total approximately 1100 Calories plus snacks. For variation, Anne Collins takes an unusual approach of allowing more Calories based on how much weight you have to lose.

For example; If you are female and have just 11-30 pounds to lose, add 200 calories each day from the snacks list (thus making a daily total of approximately 1300 Calories). If you are male and have up to 20 pounds to lose, add 200 Calories per day.

While I can see some sense in the approach (more calories for a heavier person) - it most definitely wouldn't work for me, and basing Calorie recommendations on how much a person feels they should lose seems a rather inaccurate method. For me personally this would mean just 1300 Calories per day. I know from experience that below 1500 Calories per day I rapidly lose muscle mass!

Exercise

There is mention in passing that recommends exercise, but this is most definitely a diet plan only. Based on some of these Calorie levels, I would find it very hard to have the energy to exercise anyway. Cardiovascular exercises and weight training are an extremely effective part of any weight loss program and need to be given more emphasis.

NOTE: I downloaded another plan - the Low Glycemic Diet - and this had an extensive section on exercise - so perhaps each eBook has evolved over time.

Health Issues

The eBooks make mention of a number of health issues (Diabetes and PCOS) and provides additional recommendations in this area.

Sample Low Glycemic Plan

DAY 1

• Breakfast: Traditional Oatmeal, Honey, Seeds and Nuts
• Lunch: Tuna and Bean Salad
• Dinner: Baked Chicken Breast and Vegetables
• Milk Allowance: 1 cup skimmed/fat-free milk

DAY 2

• Breakfast: Fruit Yogurt/Smoothie
• Lunch: Avocado and Chicken Salad
• Dinner: Baked Cod with Mustard Sauce, Green Beans, Carrots and Rice
• Milk Allowance: 1 cup skimmed/fat-free milk

Summary

When it comes to price - it seems that Anne Collins would be hard to beat. With a selection of eBooks addressing most nutritional regimes - Anne has all the bases covered. Every meal plan is detailed and comes with many options and substitutes.

This is no eDiets, but does provide a large selection of meal plans and diet ideas to choose from. The Calorie recommendations are a little concerning and certainly for me personally (190 pound male) would spell disaster. Yes I would lose weight but at huge cost to both my metabolism and muscle tone. The 14-Day Low Calorie Booster diet comes in at just 1,000 Calories (only 200 above the medical definition of a Very-Low-Calorie-Diet). The recommendation is to follow it for no more than 14 days - I would say no more than 3 days!

The program will appeal to some, but the large amount of spammy web pages in the main site detract from the appeal. The amount of information available can seem bewildering and lacks cohesion - although the membership is backed by a generous support mechanism (including forums and email to Anne herself).

Compared to many other weight loss eBooks on the market, Anne Collins is a better choice. However I feel other eBook offerings such as Tom Venuto's BFFM are superior. When it comes to nutrition and weight loss - there is no one-size-fits-all - we are all unique and must find what works for us.

See the Anne Collins diets