Hi panfan,
No, I had never tried it before. I think I went to one of the centers once, just to see how much it would cost and I think I ran from shock, lol! I have a lot of weight to lose!
I don't order the cereals, because it just seems silly. But I love their breakfast bars and muffins. DH, on the other hand loves the cereals

.
You can just order two weeks worth, to start, just to see how you like it. My dh has lost 42 lbs since January, too. He is on the weekends off, and quite often I take a day off on the weekends, also. We just follow the plan, but use our own food. Dh is very proud of the fact that he has eaten fried chicken every week on this diet and stll lost all that weight. LOL!! He loves KFC.
One of the reasons we have been successful on this diet, I think, is because it has taught us portion sizes. It is amazing how much food we used to eat! I think everything we ate before was equal to 3 portions, at least!
I'm here for you, anytime you need a question answered. Good luck in your decision!