Inclusion Criteria:

• * 18-70 years of age
• * BMI between 25- 49.9 kg/m2
• * self-identify as African American
• * live within 150 miles of the Columbia, SC area
• * be able to attend all monitoring visits
• * be willing to be randomized to one of the three conditions
• * be free of major health or psychiatric diseases, drug or alcohol dependency, thyroid conditions, diabetes, or pregnancy

Exclusion Criteria:

• * should not be pregnant (or have been pregnant in the last 6 months), anticipating on becoming pregnant in the next 12 months, or currently breastfeeding
• o Women who are pregnant should not be pursuing weight loss and should be under the direct care of a physician. Therefore women who are pregnant or who are anticipating they might be pregnant should not participate in this study. If a woman becomes pregnant during the study, she will be advised to consult with her healthcare provider and will be dropped from the weight loss study.
• * should be free of an eating disorder as screened by the Eating disorder Screen for Primary care \[ESP\]. (If a participant has an eating disorder, they will be given contact information for the eating disorder clinic at the University of South Carolina)
• * no current participation in a weight loss program or taking weight loss medications (although participants may be trying to lose weight on their own)
• * no recent or planned bariatric surgery
• * no recent weight loss (\>10 lbs in the last 6 months)