How much does it cost to lose 30 pounds? That's a very good question. Cut calories and start walking everywhere and you might find that you actually save money. But if you're looking to invest in a weight loss program, it might do you some good to shop around. Here's a snapshot of what 30 pounds will cost you, should you decide to pay someone else to help you.

The article reviews the cost of 5 programs: Jenny Craig, L.A. Weight Loss, NutriSystem, Weight Watchers, and the Zone Diet (gourmet delivery only, you can also buy the Zone Diet book and lose weight on your own for "free".) The numbers are considerable -- sign up fees in the hundreds of dollars, weekly maintenance fees, and daily food costs. Diet-Blog does a great job of breaking down the numbers into a very readable format.

Being the kind of person who is incapable of following a food plan conceived by someone else, I've never tried any of these programs. If you have, drop us a line and let us know what you thought. Did you lose weight? Did they teach you life-long skills for maintaining the weight? Was it money well spent? Leave your thoughts in comments!