Is A Meal Delivery Service A Legitimate Weight Loss Option?

The nutrition industry is vastly complicated. There are all sorts of products, supplements, and foods that you can purchase to help you lose weight.

One of the most popular nutritional products right now are meal delivery services like Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig, and Blue Apron. And the idea behind these food systems is very clever.

Most people struggle with their nutrition when attempting to lose weight. They may not know what to eat, experience horrible cravings, or even binge eat from being too strict.

With these types of services though, all the foods are delivered right to your door. There is no second guessing what to eat. You simply select your plan, and you’re good to go.

This simplifies nutrition; there’s no denying that. But one question that remains is “Is a meal delivery service a legitimate weight loss option?” In my book, this means that the product not only helps you lose weight, but maintain that weight loss as well.

The short answer to this question is yes some of these services can help you lose weight. But I don’t believe all of them are beneficial for weight loss. Let me explain why.

Several of these companies like Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig, and Diet-To-Go offer select plans with pre-made meals. These meals are prepared by the company and then sent to your home. There’s absolutely no cooking involved for the consumer.

Now, meal delivery services offering pre-made meals have been around for some time now. But recently, these services have evolved.

Companies like Blue Apron and Hello Fresh are two of the main ones that come to mind. Instead of offering pre-made meals, they create specific meals and send you the recipe and every ingredient you’ll need. The difference is, you have to cook the meal.

I believe meal delivery services such as these offer legitimate value for someone struggling to improve their nutrition and lose weight. The simple reason is because it forces you to cook the meal. And as I’ve mentioned before, cooking is one thing that can add years to your life.

If you follow services like Nutrisystem and Jenny Craig, you’ll probably lose weight. But to be honest almost everyone will if they follow the directions. These companies create low calorie meals so you consume less daily calories. And as I talked about time and time again, a caloric deficit is the most important component of weight loss.

The trouble behind these pre-made meal services is that they teach you nothing about food. You would need to keep using them for the rest of your life if you want to maintain your results. And that’s where the problem lies.

To create sustainable results you need to learn more about food. There’s no getting around that. I don’t mean you need to be a dietician, but you should be able to do things like eyeball food portions and know how to create a balanced meal. Pre-made meal services will not help you in these areas.

The point I want to get across is that cooking is an essential skill you need to master if you want to improve your nutrition and lose weight. Meal delivery services that provide you with ingredients and a recipe offer more bang for your buck than pre-made meal providers.

But, in no way am I suggesting that you have to use one of these companies. I believe they offer advantages if you are extremely busy, need more organization in the cooking department, or want to learn how to cook. Knowing what you’re going to eat and how to cook it can be a lifesaver for some.

If this describes you, then you’d probably benefit from a meal delivery service. But there is a cost to benefit ratio when using these companies. Your price per meal will be a little bit higher than if you cooked food from your local grocery store. Most of these meal services cost upwards of $8-10 per meal.

Pre-made meal services like Nutrisystem should be avoided. They offer only short-term benefits. If you’re serious about your health and well-being, you should be invested for the long haul.

If you simply want to eat better, lose weight, and have no interest in meal service company, here’s a template that you can use at each meal.

1. Protein: 1 palm sized serving for females, 2 palm sized servings for males

2. Carbohydrate: 1 fruit or 1 starch (i.e. quinoa, potatoes, etc.) for females, 1-2 fruits or starches for males

3. Vegetable: 1-2 fist sized portion

4. Fat: 1 thumb size portion for females  (i.e. 1 tbs of olive oil, 1 serving of nuts, etc.), 1-2 thumb sized portions for males

If you choose to follow this template, do so for 1-2 weeks and then re-assess your results. If you’re losing weight, then keep doing exactly what you’re doing. If you’re not losing weight, take out one of the carbohydrates at one of your meals. This is a simple and sustainable plan.

Wrapping Up 

Today, it seems like meal delivery services are a dime a dozen. Each one belongs to one of two categories: no cooking like Jenny Craig or cooking like Blue Apron.

If you choose to use one of the services, always opt for one where you have to cook the food yourself. This will go a long way in teaching you more about food and how to prepare a healthy meal.

That said, don’t feel like you need to use one of the companies to lose weight. Use the template I’ve provided and you will be well on your way to improve the way your body looks and feel.

Photo Credit:

1. www.socialpowerhour.com