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Diet Meal Delivery:
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If you're trying to lose weight or get healthy, no doubt you know (or have been told) you should be following a low calorie diet, or a lowfat diet or a ____ (fill in the blank) diet (i.e., low carb, heart healthy, vegetarian, etc.).
If you have no idea yet what that translates to in real life, then in my opinion, as a registered dietitian, you should consider a diet meal delivery service...short term.
Why? Because diet food delivery removes the guesswork from what and how much to eat.
Diet food delivery translates the recommended ounces and cups and servings of food you always hear you should eat and shows you precisely what it looks like on your plate.
And then it's there for you to eat...instead of overeat.
When my clients want to jump start their weight loss, I recommend meal delivery for a week.
A week's worth of balanced, perfectly portioned meals delivered to your door is something anyone can benefit from. Whether you're trying to:
- lose weight
- eat healthier
- save time
- save money (if you're going out to eat instead)
Not only do you get relief from planning and preparing all your food, you get a lesson on nutritional balance and portion control at every meal. With prepared foods in your fridge or freezer, you're also less likely to eat out, thereby sparing yourself the excess portions, fat, sodium, and calories in restaurant food.
And if you're eating at home, you're less likely to eat everyone's leftovers. You know that this is YOUR food, on YOUR plate, and that's it! THAT was the RIGHT amount.
Now don't get me wrong...
I don't think using a diet meal delivery service is something you should or could do for the rest of your life. That's not realistic! However, for the reasons I've described, I haven't found a better, time-efficient tool to recommend for jumpstarting weight loss and healthy eating.
Yes, you could diet journal. (And I would love it if you did!) But you have to ask yourself,
Am I prepared to measure and record every bite of food I have during the day? Every day? Even when I'm out of the house?
Here are all the ways I suggest using diet delivery:
- Have diet meals delivered for 1 week to 1 month in order to jumpstart your weight loss.
- OR, have meals delivered until you've lost half the weight you hope to lose, then reduce the frequency to once every other week or once a month.
- In the long run, consider using meal delivery at a regular planned interval (ex: the first week of every month) to reign in portion sizes that may be spiraling out of control.
- Have meals delivered that meet your particular needs, while you still cook for the rest of your family.
- Use diet food delivery simply to eat healthier! Even if you don't want to lose weight, you can benefit from meal delivery simply by getting a week of healthy meals every now and then.
The negatives? Well, simply eating a set menu and not really understanding why it helps you lose weight (or get healthier) won't help you keep weight off (or stay healthier) in the long run. If you can view delivered meals as an education about what and how much to eat and learn from them, you'll be getting the biggest bang for your buck.
And speaking of bucks...
...It's really not as expensive as you'd expect. The diet meal delivery services differ in cost, but you'll find sevices for as little as $10/day.
| Diet Meal Delivery Service | Types of Menus | Fresh Frozen Other | Cost (may change!) | Other |
| Nutrisystem Diet Delivery (aka Nutrisystem Advanced) | Women's Men's Women over 60 Men over 60 Diabetic Vegetarian | Shelf-stable (heat and eat) | Starts at $10/day | Online help Free telephone counseling |
| Diet to Go | Low Fat Low Carb Vegetarian | Fresh | Starts at $10/day | Meals adhere to ADA, AHA, American Cancer Society guidelines |
| eDiets Delivery | Calorie Controlled Low Fat (specifically designed for use with Alli) Healthy Gourmet | Fresh | $15.95/day | Designed to promote good health, but may not conform to your specific dietary needs based on medical concerns |
| Chefs Diet meal delivery | Zone (40/30/30) | Fresh or Frozen | Starts at $14.95/day | 24/7 live chat |
| Medifast Delivery | Women Men Diabetic | Processed (powdered) | About $10/day |
Of course if you want ME to write personalized menus for you, feel free to contact me. The only thing I won't do, is prepare the food and deliver it to your door. :) I may be your personal dietitian, but using meal delivery is like having your own personal dietitian and chef.
More weight loss.
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