Cristina Packman was involved in a car accident a few years ago that left her with several injuries. She had a 10-day-old daughter and 16-month-old son but was in a wheelchair for three months.

"It was an emotionally down time for me to not be able to take care of them the way I wanted to," Packman says.

Packman is like many Americans whose weight has gotten out of control because of illness, career changes, divorce or childbirth.

For Packman, winning a spot on "The Biggest Loser" helped her get her weight under control. She now weighs about 180 pounds and has lost about 30 pounds so far. She says her ideal weight is about 120 pounds.

She lost 12 pounds in two weeks during her course on the show.

But going on the "Biggest Loser," the most popular weight loss TV show, is not the only way to get control if something has caused an individual’s weight to spiral out of control. Prevention Magazine’s Two-Week Total Body Turnaround is another way.

The Total Body Turnaround is designed to jumpstart healthy eating, exercise and implement psychological changes. The plan also says 12 pounds can be lost in two weeks.

Chris Freytag, the creator of the Total Body Turnaround, says the plan requires 14 days for change to "jumpstart a healthier lifestyle."

No Meal Plan

The turnaround plan involves a 1,600-calorie diet, while most plans to maintain weight call for 2,000 to 2,500 calories a day.

Instead of a strict meal plan, Freytag suggests food groups and servings to shot for.

The diet should consists of 45 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent protein and 25 percent fats.

To reach those calories, the plan requires four servings of vegetables, two servings of fruit, four servings of grains, three servings of dairy, three servings of protein and three servings of fat.

Meals should be 400 calories each, along with two snacks of about 200 calories each.

"I’m not into, 'You must eat a grapefruit or this and that for breakfast,'" she says. "I’m trying to set you up for success."

She adds that she has found that meal plans are difficult for busy people or those who travel a lot.

She says a person has to cut 3,500 calories a week to lose 1 pound.

"Eat a little less or burn calories through exercise," she says. "It doesn’t have to be deprivation."

Freytag adds it is as simple as "calories in, calories out."

Meals may not be mapped out on the plan, but she says desserts are not allowed.

"You need 14 days of intensity," she says. "This will help you jumpstart and maybe say, ‘Why can’t I do this?’ "

Exercise, Too

With this in mind, Freytag says the second component of the Turnaround Plan is strength training and cardiovascular exercises.

She suggests simple, at-home workouts with a set of two dumbbells and a chair.

"It's a fitness diet designed to help people gain confidence and help them make changes to decide to treat themselves better," she says.

She says that this will help people incorporate different choices.

Staying Motivated

To help with the psychological change, Freytag offers a daily motivational. For example, she says that a tip for a Monday would be, "I'm cleaning my slate and starting healthy."

"Motivation is 80 percent of getting people to exercise," she says, adding that there are 52 chances to implement healthy changes, one every week of the year.

Packman admits that working out was one of her problems.

"My problem was consistently working out," Packman says. "There was always some sort of drama in my life. I would get sick or the kids would get sick. We had a fire in our house and then it's a week before you have been to the gym."

Now Packman says she has adopted a no-excuses rule in her life.

"It is easy to look in the mirror and say, 'I can't do this,'" she says. "'I'm too old. I'm too big.' As soon as you do that you are not believing in yourself. Tell yourself that you are beautiful and you are doing the best you can, and your body will start working with you."

Additionally, she says it is important for a person to accept that they have made bad choices related to food or exercise.

"Forgive yourself, and love yourself and start anew," she says.