Two of the biggest names in the weight loss business offer their clients a wide range of specially prepared foods. Chris Olsen puts Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem to a taste test

In a famous TV spot for Jenny Craig, Jason Alexander was so happy with his 30-pound weight loss, he took his clothes off – and danced in nothing but a bikini.

And singer Marie Osmond has her own TV commercials promoting diet meals for Nutrisystem.

But how good do the meals from these two diet plans actually taste?

Consumer Reports asked its experienced taste-testers to sample 65 products, from breakfasts and dinners to snacks.

"Our testers didn't know which products they were testing. They didn't even know they were eating diet-plan foods," the magazine's Amy Keating said

The result was that most of the foods weren't all that tasty. Testers found the Nutrisystem meatloaf and tomato sauce had an "old flavour."

A Jenny Craig Salisbury steak was better and had flavourful potatoes and vegetables,

But the mushrooms were slightly rubbery. And the snacks and desserts from both companies weren't considered much of a treat.

"Jenny Craig's soft chocolate cookie was dry and crumbly, without much flavour," Keating said.

And Nutrisystem's nacho crisps didn't have much flavour, either, and were hard and dry.

In the end, only five of the products Consumer Reports tested scored "Very Good".

They were all from Jenny Craig.

"Overall, Jenny Craig edged out Nutrisystem with respect to taste, but not by much," she said.

Still, for some people like Amy Knox, these plans can work. She lost 51 pounds in just over seven months using Jenny Craig meals.

"Coming to a place that everything is measured out for you really made the difference for me." Knox said.

Consumer Reports says on the downside, you spend weeks eating food that doesn't always taste so terrific.

One of the big advantages of diet-plan food is that it's portion-controlled, and portion control is key to losing weight. But frozen diet meals offer that, too. And previous Consumer Reports tests have found many are quite tasty and you can often buy them on sale.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Chris Olsen