PLACERVILLE, Calif., Jan. 11, 2006 -- Just in time to help shed extra holiday pounds or to keep that New Year's weight-loss resolution, Personal Dietitian, a leading online diet company, has launched its Plan-a-Meal(TM) program to guide individuals in choosing healthy foods for their restaurant, packaged-food and cook-at-home dining. The new program, available at http://www.a-personaldietitian.com, combines the convenience of purchased-food programs like Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers, the flexibility of online and menu plans and the easy access of diets like South Beach.

Unlike other plans, however, Plan-a-Meal provides individualization through professional oversight. Clients seeking to lose weight or improve their health through better diet receive what they need most: their own personal plan designed by a nutrition expert along with the flexibility to make changes that meet real-life situations.

"Plan-a-Meal's primary purpose is to help our clients make it easy to follow the expert advice that we provide and put their plans into action quickly and easily," says Carolyn Classick-Kohn, M.S., R.D., co-founder of Personal Dietitian. "We keep it simple by using a specialized database and online administration tool that guides clients in choosing the right foods for their calorie levels and health needs," she adds.

The personalization process begins when a new subscriber completes a diet-habit survey that identifies objectives, personal statistics, health-related requirements, lifestyle data and food-consumption information. The metrics are entered into a database and reviewed by a registered dietitian who creates a customized meal plan -- the Dietitian's Recommended Diet -- reflecting the individual's preferences in terms of cooking, eating convenience foods or dining out.

Plan-a-Meal starts with an exchange system but goes several steps further to give people greater flexibility in making substitutions and in having control over what they eat. The program incorporates calories and portion sizing, the two most critical diet elements. This combination makes the Plan-a-Meal approach truly user friendly so customers can switch from exchanges to calorie or portion-size information when appropriate, like eating in restaurants.

"Despite all the excitement over low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets, the glycemic index and volumetric eating," notes Classick-Kohn, "only calorie and portion control consistently lead to weight loss."

Plan-a-Meal gives people the flexibility to choose their own foods for a week, a day or even a single meal. Its EZ Personalized Grocery Lists are based on the individual's choices, making it easier to plan meals. A tracking function helps maintain running consumption totals so users will know exactly how many calories are left for the day as each food is entered.

A base subscription for Plan-a-Meal is offered at $35 for a three-month period. Options to give greater personalization are available.

About Personal Dietitian

Personal Dietitian is a professional online diet company specializing in weight-loss and healthy diets. Unlike many online diets, the service is not automated. Dieters begin with a comprehensive online assessment which is reviewed by a registered dietitian, leading to a customized meal plan. The company's three major programs, Plan-a-Meal, Diet With the Dietitian and Create Your Own Personal Diet, offer varying degrees of feedback and personalization, based on clients' specific needs. Since 1999, Personal Dietitian has provided thousands of customized plans to clients, integrating personal, professional support to create comprehensive diet programs. Additional information is available at http://www.personaldiets.com.