The days of only counting calories and working out at the gym are over — dieting has gone high-tech.

Dieters now have an option for help when attempting to reach their diet and exercise goals — more and more health and fitness Web sites are offering online programs that promise to get users in shape fast.

With a member count of over 1.3 million, eDiets.com is “the number one source for diet, fitness and motivation,” according to the program’s Web site.

Users can choose a diet to follow, including the Atkins Plan, the Zone Diet and the Slim Fast Plan, among others. Potential users fill out a Diet Needs Analysis (DNA) and are given different diet options that would work best for them based on their answers to food preference, weight goal and fitness level questions.

Users are provided with personal food shopping lists based on their needs, as well as detailed meal plans and online seminars to support them while losing weight.

The eDiets program is $2.99 per week, but users must sign up for a 13-week block when registering. If the user wishes to cancel at any time, however, the weeks unused will be refunded.

For an extra $1 per week, eDiet users can also sign up for an online “personal trainer” to show the user how to perform simple exercises that can be done at home in order to enhance the diet and help the weight loss process.

Some students said they would not be willing to try an online diet or fitness program, though.

“I just think they probably don’t work,” said Taylor Capolupo, a freshman nursing major. “You don’t want to put a lot of money into something that isn’t going to give you a lot of results.”

Others said they would give an online fitness program a try.

“Sure, why not, it couldn’t hurt, right?” said Laura Cenker, a freshman undecided major.

Staff at the Marino Recreation Center, however, said using programs with uncertified “experts” could hurt.

“Unless you are seeking someone that is a registered dietician and they sit down with you to go over your meal plan, then they shouldn’t be posting an online diet,” said Kristin Miller, assistant director of campus recreation and director of fitness at the Marino Center. “In this age of technology, it’s a convenient tool, but you definitely want to make sure that the credentials of the person that is giving you the information is appropriate.”

Although many online diet Web sites have an “expert” panel with a list of degrees in fitness and nutrition, Miller said it is important to make sure that the person giving the advice on the Web site is qualified to do so.

“You definitely have to know who you’re talking to and who you’re getting the information from,” she said.

Another Web site offering users the chance to get fit is IShape.com. IShape offers a more fitness-oriented diet plan, focusing heavily on developing a personalized workout schedule to get the user in shape.

Like Ediets, Ishape uses a quiz before registration to analyze each user’s needs. Users can sign up for different programs to either maintain the appearance they have now, firm and tone their body or lose fat.

Before the user signs up, IShape details the plan that will be issued, including how much weight the user will lose over a 12-week and yearlong period, along with the fitness level the user can hope to achieve by the program’s end.

IShape plans cardio and weight training programs around the user’s level of fitness and time availability. A strength training log is also available to users so progress can be tracked as users continue with the program.

Like Ediets, IShape offers a meal plan, along with a personal shopping list. IShape differs, however, in that it requires users to eat five meals per day so they will “find that you’re eating better and more often and that you never feel deprived,” according to Ishape’s Web site.

IShape also provides users with a daily e-mail outlining the day’s meal and workout plan, so the users know exactly what to expect for the next day.

IShape is $45 for the 12-week program, and $99 for a full year.

Money that could be spent on online fitness programs may also be put to a different fitness use.

“I think you could spend that money on tapes instead of on something online,” said Jessica Caldeira, a freshman nursing major. “If it were free, I think I might try it though.”

One option for the dieter with a little less cash on hand is FitDay.com, a Web site that allows users to count their calories, keep a meal journal and record their daily workouts online for free.

Users can see exactly where their calories are coming from after recording their food intake for the day, as well as monitor their goals, weight and activities. The Web site lacks some of the personalized fitness and meal plans of the other programs, but still allows users to track their eating, workout and weight loss habits.

Some students said they are wary of what they find on the Internet, and aren’t sure if an online weight loss program is for them.

“I wouldn’t use one because I don’t always trust everything I find online,” Caldeira said. “I think diet and fitness programs would work just as good as if you exercise regularly. It’d be just as good as a fitness program.”