Curves Diet Review

Diet Review

By Myatt Murphy

With over 10,000 Curves facilities worldwide, you would think that its numbers should speak volumes about how successful it is. However, the Curves program has its fair share of pluses and minuses.

On the plus side, the Curves program encourages women to lose weight through a combination of diet and exercise. More importantly, it gets them to strength-train, something many women never bother to do because they’re afraid of building big, bulky muscles. These types of centers also tend to be less nerve-wracking for novice exercisers, since the program is easy to follow and you’re surrounded by others who are also new to exercise.

On the minus side, the exercise routine never changes, so it can get redundant fairly quickly--unless you have no problem doing the same eight to 14 exercises over and over again. Curves also uses a series of hydraulic-resistance machines that make you pull and push against resistance--the more forceful you push or pull, the more resistance it creates for you. This type of resistance is flawed: The slower you go, the less resistance it creates, giving you less of an overall workout.

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 30 seconds. And for the price, dieters really aren’t getting their money’s worth—most gyms are around the same cost, yet offer dieters hundreds of resistance machines, cardiovascular machines such as treadmills, bikes, elliptical machines, free weights and an assortment of other weight-loss, muscle-toning options when you get tired of doing the same old routine.

Another flaw is that they claim to make exercise easier--you just walk in and start sweating at any Curves you happen to pass by! However, although they give the impression of being more convenient than regular gyms, many of them lack shower facilities. That makes sneaking in a workout session on your lunch hour difficult to do--unless you don’t mind going back to work sweaty or driving home to shower. You could achieve the same convenience by simply coming to a regular gym that has several affiliated facilities and walking in dressed in your gym clothes.

Is the diet healthy?

Questionable. Although both of their nutrition plans tell dieters to eat plenty of your standard healthy fare—fruits, veggies, lean meats, etc—there are a few questionable foods that are also allowed, such as butter, sausage links, dry roasted peanuts, soda and whole eggs. But it’s the low calorie levels that raise a few eyebrows. Experts agree that 1,200 calories a day is the borderline amount required for dieters to get the right balance of nutrients in their diet. Because exercise is a main component of the program, which places more of a demand for extra nutrients on the body, dieters eating only 1,200 calories a day during Phase One could be lacking certain key nutrients if they aren’t careful.

What do the experts say?

“I’m all for it, if it's a program that women will stick to doing consistently,” says Dixie Stanforth, MS, Department of Kinesiology and Health Education at the University of Texas in Austin, TX, “There are better plans, but [the program] introduces women to exercise in a way that is palatable. That alone could lead to even bigger and better behavioral choices that may have just as, if not an even bigger impact, on their lives.”

So why isn’t it the best way to lose weight? “The centers are very social, convenient and quick, but that doesn’t make them as effective as other forms of exercise,” says Heather Dillinger, certification specialist for the Aerobic and Fitness Association of America. “Because the program never changes, you essentially end up repeating the same workout over and over. This not only makes the workout dull over time--so you’re less inspired to give it your all--it also makes the routine less effective for your body. The more you repeat a workout, the more your body adapts to it, so each workout afterward becomes easier and less challenging.”

On the diet side of the program, it’s Phase One that raises a few eyebrows with most experts. “My main concern would be if there were an adequate amount of nutrients during the first phase,” says Susan Moores, M.S., R.D., spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, “It’s very difficult to get the proper mix of vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients eating a diet that’s 1,200 calories or lower.”

That might not sound that bad to dieters, since they’re only in Phase One for one to two weeks. In fact, many popular diets also start with a highly-restrictive “first phase” before pushing dieters into a second phase that’s more manageable (and nutrient-dense). However, the Curves program insists that dieters switch from one diet plan to the other diet plan whenever they start to plateau, starting once again with Phase One. “That means dieters could find themselves constantly repeating Phase One and placing themselves in a ‘nutrient-deficient’ state over and over again,” says Moores.

Who should consider the diet?

Beginners who want to start exercising, but don’t know where to start and/or feel intimidated by male-dominant gyms and clubs.

Bottom line

It’s hard to criticize a program that actually gets women to strength-train since most typically rely on cardiovascular machines when joining a gym. Strength training builds lean muscle tissue and stronger bones—two things that most women need to do to burn more fat throughout the day and lower their risk of osteoporosis. Although the circuit workout at Curves isn’t as effective as lifting weights for accomplishing those two goals, it can still be a good way to get women to strength-train and get their heart rate up at the same time.

Foods

Dieters following either plan--the high-carb plan or the high-protein plan--can expect to eat similar foods, especially since the program instructs dieters that hit a weight-loss plateau to switch between plans to jump-start their weight loss. The book spells out what you should eat during each day throughout Phase One and Phase Two (up to five weeks). For protein, you’ll find plenty of lean ham, bacon strips, sirloin steak, whole eggs, cheddar cheese, halibut, roast beef, Havarti cheese, peanuts, cod, lamb chops, cashews, tuna salad, chicken breast, cottage cheese and even buffalo meatballs on the menu. Most of the carbohydrates you’ll eat are low-glycemic: think broccoli, celery, snow peas, zucchini, asparagus, spinach, vegetable soup and whole-wheat bread.

See the Curves Diet at a Glance