Curves Diet

Search

woman on exercise machine jupiterimages

"The workout itself is also not as innovative as it claims to be. You could just as well join a gym that offers a variety of machines and create your own routine by jumping from any machine to any machine every thirty seconds."

Read the Curves Diet Review

At a Glance

By Myatt Murphy

The Curves weight-loss and fitness program is based around a series of women-only fitness centers designed to make exercise less intimidating and more fun for women. After joining one of their centers, members are instructed to visit a Curves center three times a week and perform a 30-minute circuit training routine to build muscle and burn fat.

Each fitness center is set up with a series of exercise stations placed in a circle. As a member, you walk in, jump on a machine and start exercising until an instructor—or a pre-recorded voice over the stereo system—tells you to move to the next exercise station. Members jump from station to station—every 30 seconds—until they finally run through all of the exercise stations in the circle (usually between 8-14). Members repeat this circuit over and over again until they have exercised for a total of thirty minutes. Dieters who don’t want to join a Curves can also follow at at-home version of their workout found in their series of books instead.

The nutrition side of the Curves program is offered (for an additional fee) as a series of classes called the Curves 6-week Solution. Or, for non-members, it’s pretty much spelled out in detail in their books. The diet works as follows: Dieters can choose between using two types of weight-loss plans: a high-carbohydrate plan or a high-protein plan. Regardless of which plan they choose, dieters eat six smaller meals/snacks a day and are asked to move through three different phases.

In Phase One, dieters using the high-carb plan are limited to eating 137 grams of carbs, 91 grams of protein, 34 grams of fat and 1,200 calories daily, while dieters using the high-protein plan are limited to 91 grams of carbs, 137 grams of protein, 34 grams of fat and 1,200 calories a day. This phase lasts for 1-2 weeks (depending on how much weight you need to lose).

In Phase Two, dieters using the high-carb plan are allowed to eat 170 grams of carbs, 113 grams of protein, 42 grams of fat and 1,500 calories daily while dieters using the high-protein plan can eat up to 113 grams of carbs, 170 grams of protein, 42 grams of fat and 1,500 calories daily. Phase Two lasts until the dieter reaches their target weight, or, they plateau—in which case, they are told to switch plans (either high-carb or high-protein) and start with Phase One again. Dieters may continue to flip-flop between both plans indefinitely until they hit their target weight.

Phase Three takes place after you reach your target weight. Dieters are allowed to eat between 2,000 (for a sedentary person) and 2,500 (for an active person) grams of carbs daily as they continue exercising three times a week. Dieters can use any of the menus from Phase One and Phase Two, increasing the portion size to meet Phase Three calorie requirements.

Cost: Average to somewhat costly. Joining a Curves center runs around $29-$49 a month with a one-time membership fee that averages around $149. Because most centers expect a 12-month commitment, that can run dieters an average of $500-$750 for the year. However, if you follow the advice in the book, the diet doesn’t cost much more than what you would typically spend on healthy foods. If you go with that option instead, you’ll need to spend $6-$10 for a pair of resistance cords that allow you to mimic the same circuit-training workout performed at their centers.
Meals Provided: No. However, their books do offer a variety of recipes. Curves also sells their own line of supplements-meal replacement powders, multi-vitamins, and calcium pills at select centers.
Diet Duration: Both diet options—the high-carb plan and the high-protein plan—are the same commitment time. Phase One is 1-2 weeks; Phase Two lasts until you reach your target weight and Phase Three is a life-long commitment.
Fitness Requirements: The program prides itself on its thirty-minute, full-body workout routine. Dieters are required to exercise three times a week, either at a Curves center or at home, using a modified version of their centers' circuit workout routine.
Time Commitment: You’ll definitely be giving up 90 minutes each week to exercise—30 minutes a session, three times a week. As for the diet portion of the program, there is some measuring involved and you’ll either be counting protein or carbohydrates, depending on which plan you choose.
Eating Out: Average. Because you’re either counting protein or carbs, dieters still end up doing the occasional “diet math” with all their meals to stay on track. However, ordering a la carte—rather than ordering dishes that may not reveal what their protein or carb count is—can make that task easier to do.
Alcohol: If you follow either of the two diet plans recommended in their books, what you can drink will depend on which phase you are in. In Phase One, alcohol is prohibited. In Phase Two, dieters are allowed one or two drinks weekly. In Phase Three, dieters are allowed to have one drink nightly.
Vegetarian-Friendly: Depends on which eating plan you go with. The high-carb plan requires dieters to rely on certain types of meats to keep their carb intake low.
Strict/Flexible Eating Plan: The diet portion of Curves is strict during the Phase One and Phase Two of both diets. Dieters using the high-carb plan are limited to 137 grams of carbs, 91 grams of protein, 34 grams of fat and 1,200 calories daily in Phase One and 170 grams of carbs, 113 grams of protein, 42 grams of fat and 1,500 calories daily in Phase Two. Dieters using the high-protein plan are limited to 91 grams of carbs, 137 grams of protein, 34 grams of fat and 1,200 calories a day for Phase One and 113 grams of carbs, 170 grams of protein, 42 grams of fat and 1,500 calories a day for Phase Two. After that, Phase Three offers a bit more freedom.