Summer is fast approaching and you want a body that you’ll be proud to show off on the beach. It’s time to start now so you’ll be ready in 3 months. But what if you’re not a cook or just too busy to cook? Many people are looking at Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, or Medifast meal replacement plans to have them do the cooking for them. The problems: These plans are VERY expensive (about $300-$700 per month), some of the food isn’t very good, and you also pay shipping costs. How would you like to achieve the same but do it better? You’ll eat tastier food with much more variety, spend up to 50% less, and completely eliminate all shipping costs.

Let’s see what you’re getting right now when you order from Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem or Medifast. Nutrisystem and Jenny Craig give you 3 regular meals and 2 snacks. With Medifast, eat 5 smaller meals of shakes, energy bars, soups, or puddings, then make 1 regular 600-900 calorie meal for dinner. Most of them want you to supplement with fresh vegetables and salads from your local supermarket.

You might ask yourself, what helps you lose more pounds, a plan with a regular breakfast, lunch, and dinner, or a plan with a smoothie for breakfast and lunch (and a few snacks) and a regular meal for dinner? In multi-year studies, both here and in the UK, shakes plus a regular meal far outperformed all regular meals. With the first 2 regular eating plans, she loses 1-2 pounds a week, with Medifast, up to 20 pounds the first month. But with Medifast, as the name implies, you are fasting (only 1,300 calories per day).

So, let’s talk about a new plan. As you supplement with fresh vegetables and salads at your local grocery store, don’t stop there. The secret is that you can find a better, cheaper version of EVERY item in those brand-name diets right there at your local grocery store. You’ll have to shop around a bit more to find the right combination for you. The following are 4 ways to double every item in the 3 best meal replacement plans right there at your local grocery store. You will get better quality and pay much less.

1. Shakes or energy bars for the first two meals and snacks

Many people have complained that brand name diet plans have shakes that don’t taste very good. The same goes for energy bars. Which is the best? a survey in Good Housekeeping The magazine ranked Walmart’s $18/week EQUAL CHOCOLATE SHAKES (pre-mixed, not the mix) as having by far the BEST TASTE! I tried them and they are DELICIOUS, like a cold and melted Wendy’s Chocolate Frosty. These shakes have lots of added nutrients and 5 grams of fiber! For energy bars, Fiber One has a variety of bars that are also affordable and delicious. Check the calorie count before you buy.

2. The real food dinner meal

Have you looked at the frozen dinner section of your supermarket TV lately? There are new foods coming out almost every month. Lean Cuisine and several other brands offer tasty diet meals that are better than what you get from a delivery service. Plus, there are so many diet food options that you can pick your favorites. Some are larger with more food. Some have desserts, some don’t. Obviously, men need more calories than women. Adjust your total calorie count for the day based on how fast or slow you want to lose weight.

3. Snacks

Many of the brand name diet plans actually give you 6 meals, including snacks. You have to be careful here. Some snacks are much healthier than others. Fresh apples and oranges from the store are much healthier and more satisfying than energy bars.

4. Drinks

Don’t drink diet soda. The artificial sweetener in diet soda, which is many times sweeter than sugar, will make you crave more sugar. Try to drink 6 to 8 glasses of water a day, which will help you get rid of fat. I use Crystal Light (or Equate) light lemonade packets for flavor. With the slightly acid taste, I don’t notice the small amount of aspartame in it.

So the main benefits of brand name meal replacement plans, namely portion control and calorie counting, can be just as easily done at your local grocery store. Sure, you’ll have to spend more time at first, researching and comparing which TV dinners sound good to you and making sure they meet the low-calorie and low-sodium prerequisites. When I started this I only bought 2 weeks worth of TV dinners so I could buy more of the ones I liked later on. Another tip, don’t forget to exercise… you lose weight faster. Once you’ve successfully reached your weight goals, establish a healthy eating plan that you can live with for the rest of your life. In conclusion, I highly recommend you give this a try and become your own meal replacement service…you’ll love the control and savings!