Rating some top-selling diet books

The G.I. Diet
The G.I. Diet by Rick Gallop

"This is a well-balanced diet," Beck reports. "it doesn't exclude any food group and it really emphasizes low-fat meat, fish for the heart, as well as low glycemic index carbs."

This scored very high because it's practical, she added. The only drawback is it didn't provide a lot of good information about serving sizes and menu planning.

"It's very healthy. The author categorizes foods into red-light foods which are processed and high in fat and/or calories; green-light foods, which you can eat as much as you want to in the first phase, and they're all low glycemic index, very healthy foods."

Your dinner plate is divided into quadrants, a quarter for the protein, a quarter for the low glycemic starch and half for vegetables.

Beck's rating: 4 stars

The Ultimate Weight Solution
The Ultimate Weight Solution by Dr. Phil McGraw

"There's really nothing new here," Beck said. "It is based on mostly healthy foods that are associated with a lower risk of heart disease. The author promotes chicken, fish and low-fat foods."

Like the G.I. Diet, the plate is divided into quadrants, quarter protein, quarter starch and half vegetables.

"This diet really skims over nutrition in a simplistic way," Beck explained. "He takes the good, healthy foods and calls them 'high response' or 'high yield' foods -- foods that take longer to prepare, longer to chew and digest, and they're healthy so they're better for you. And the foods to avoid are the 'low yield' or 'low response' foods."

Beck's rating: 3 stars