Delivery Diets

My friend has just started one of these - apparently it limits your intake to 1,200 calories a day. I do wonder though with the price whether you couldn't just make a week's worth of evening meals on a Sunday afternoon, have a bowl of porage for breakfast and have sandwich/fruit for lunch. I suppose they take advantage of the control aspect but I can't image that they're good value for money. I reckon all of us here could give you a few weeks worth of calorie controlled recipes that are equally nutritious and would save you the money.

Yeah I do agree.

I think I just like the idea that it takes the temptation away to buy naughty things at the shops. Everything is weighed and measured for you - so it's quick and easy. I have my own business - so I'm always really busy at the moment and it sounded easy.

Plus I'm supposed to only be eating low GI foods - got books on it but still can't understand it. A lot of the delivery places do low GI options.

Do you know what one your friend is on?

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How does it do that, though? You would still have to shop for and cook your partner's meals, and as far as I can tell they don't actually follow you around and beat you with a stick if you suggest going into the corner shop for a Mars bar! Also, if you're going to be cooking for your partner anyway, that kind of negates the convenience aspect of it. It strikes me as a very extravagant way to go about dieting, but that's not to say it would be ineffective.

If you like the idea but not the cost, why not have a look at something like the tesco diets. I think they do a low GI one, and it works out all your shopping too. Then you could shop online and get delivered to avoid temptation

Personally tho I agree with BBG, why not meal plan. Make a shopping list then order online to be delivered when it suits you. You could also batch cook a lot of stuff and freeze so you only need to reheat during the week

Yeah I too like the idea but not the cost. Tried Tesco Diets, but found it a bit hard work as lots of the meals were ones you had to prepare from scratch.

The thing is we're more of a ready meal couple. I work long hours and to be honest the last thing I want to do is plan meals and cook a load for the week (it's a good idea though). I kinda want to involve myself less in food, by cooking meals I'm immersing myself in food rather than taking a step back from it. I find if I detach myself more I obsess less. Not sure if that makes sense.

I've only just started making time for some excesize in the morning - got a Wii Fit. But it means I have to work later though - If I start doing cooking and freezing then that'll mean I have to work later still. (I know I'm on a forum now and writing a message instead of working, but I gotta take tiny breaks here n there!)

SophieM, why would you think that I would be cooking my partners meals? He's can do it himself! ?

Sometimes I really dislike food - I find it so much hassle!

Sounds like it could be a good, if expensive idea for you then.

My worry would be what would happen once you'd lost the weight. What then? Back to the ready meals and put it back on?

Cooking from scratch doesn't have to take long. But you need to learn what to cook, you wouldn't get this having it delivered to your door.

The biggest lesson I've learned about my eating habits since loosing weight is I have to take responsibilty for myself. I got myself this way (with the help of having 3 children in less than 3 years) and I have to change my ways to get myself out of it

Good luck with your weightloss whatever you decide

Yeah it's a difficult one isn't it. That's why I'd loved to have spoken to someone on the diet or who has finished it - just to see how they coped.

I agree with the bit about when you finish the diet - what do you do then. I can cook, I guess I am hoping that my business will eventually be less work, once it reaches a stable point and I'll have more time for cooking.

It's really difficult with dieting as different things work for different people and working out what works for you is tough - maybe one day I'll work it out!!

?

I agree with Mrs M. If there's a surefire way to make sure you lose the weight and keep it off for life, it's understanding what's actually going into your food. The food deliveries are only ever going to be a short term fix - if you go back to the ready meal ways after losing weight then you'll put it all back on. Similarly, if you have understanding and flexibility over what you're eating, you can enjoy meals out, drinks etc.

I think people are far too quick to make excuses about what they eat and these companies know that. Just how busy are you that you ahven't got time to spend 20 minutes cooking something nutritious? My husband and I often joke that I clearly don't work hard enough or long enough hours because I do cook most things from scratch. In half an hour I can make soup and cheese scones (one of our favourite evening meals), steak and salad, chicken and pasta with a tomato sauce, a curry with rice (or low fat naan breads), a stir fry, even a chicken dinner with potatoes and gravy. Sometimes I don't feel like it and we go out for something, but you have to be honest with yourself - it's not really that you haven't got time.

The best way to reeductae yourself about food is to get to know the stuff that actually passes your lips!

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The thing is, there are so many reasons, and it's so complex. I have come to the conclusion that my feelings about food are so complex and weird that I need a psychologist to fix me. I hate cooking, I hate eating, I hate watching people eat, I hate being watched. When I'm not eating I'm thinking about eating even though it distresses me. When I am eating I'm thinking about anything BUT what I'm actually doing. Whilst I'd in now way want to compare disordered eating with drug addiction or alcoholism in terms of degree - can you imagine telling an alcoholic that they have to prepare and drink a specific kind of alcohol three times a day, but only that, and don't have any more, or drink between meals, and drink slowly remember, don't gulp, and if you drink too much you must exercise to burn it off etc etc etc. That's why people in desperate straits feel the need to dissociate themselves from the social norms of eating - hence the success intitally of things like LL, delivery diets. You don't have to think about it; the importance of food is reduced in your life, you could almost just fuel up without realising it. That is incredibly appealing when you're stuck in a compulsive overeating spiral.

I totally agee with you Rache, it's kinda what I was saying in one of my posts above. By leaving it to someone else you are dissassociating yourself more from food - which is why I like the idea of delivery diets. You get your box, you eat whats in it - job done. There's no thinking about what you want to eat all the time.

I used to never bother about food - especially when I lived at home an my Mum would cook - she loves cooking. She'd just give me my meal, I'd eat it - and not really think about food. I was lovely and slim then! Ah the memories..

If I have to plan meals and buy ingredients I think I'll end up obsessing about it even more - as I'll have to think about it more. I was thinking that if I could dissassociate myself more I may eventually get back to the point of not bothering about food before.

I guess if it were simple this forum wouldn't exist! Rache I hope you manage to get your feelings about food sorted out one day, good luck xx

But Annabelle, and not wishing to be negative, you can't keep ordering diet doctor meals for the rest of your life. They provide the structure initially but they don't address the underlying issues. I've made the mistake of losing weight and putting it straight back on because I thought that I could resume my old eating habits whilst maintaining the weight loss - totally silly when you think about it. You have to start thinking about the long term and even if you do go down this route, you'll need to work out what to do about your relationship with food in the meantime. It sounds to me as if your money would be well spent on some form of counseling or nutritional advice instead.

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I agree Rache - it may well be very complex - but not liking cooking or having issues about food is not the same as not having time to cook, is it? You HAVE been honest with yourself, and accepted that you need help. Bet you don't think having your meals delivered will sort it though do you?

I hope you DO get sorted though - and everyone else here. I sometimes think that we all have some degree of eating disorder - none of us are 'normal eaters' are we? If we were, we wouldn't be on WL.

But barongreenback you've completly missed most of my points. As mentioned above (several times) I wouldn't stay of it for ever, I was only discussing the idea that it might help disassociate a person from food. Sometimes the problem is that people need to take a step back from the thing that they are having issues with. By taking a step back you can analyse your relationship with food - or perhaps you wont need to - perhaps by disassociating yourself so much you wont have any relationship with food anymore, apart from just eating to survive.

To be honest I don't think that meal planning and studying food is always the best thing - yes it works for some, but if you do have even the slightest obsession with food - I could imagine that it could make it even worse - as you would be immersing yourself in something that you should perhaps be taking a step back from.

Perhaps having meals delivered will help, you can't dismiss things so readily untill you've researched in to it, like I was trying to do. I was trying to work out if the psychology of it and whether it would work. Plus I thought it sounded great for busy people!

To be honest, I thought that people on here were going to be open to new ideas and discussions, but I'm quite suprised with the negativity. A lot of the posts on this thread feel quite agressive. Please think about what your posting - I only asked for a little info and a discussion, imagine how it feels when other posters try and make you feel like you're stupid - which is kinda how I read the tone of some of your posts.

How do you know Delivery diets etc are wrong without any research? How can you tell people on here that they need counseling from only a couple of posts?

Where's the support?

Anna belle, you're committing the classic rookie error of getting the hump when people don't say what you want to hear ? You asked for feedback; what you got was pretty balanced imo - remeber that a number of people on this forum and on this thread have either tried every diet in the book and still not lost weight successfully; or have successfully lots weight; or are in the process of losing. We really have been there, done that and got the stretchmarks when it comes to weight loss.

? Rache - that's so hard. But imagine if you gave your hypothetical alcoholic a bloody mary for breakfast, a g&t for lunch and two bottles of rioja for dinner every day for three months and then say: "Right, your drinking's under control, you're on your own" - that wouldn't be good either, surely?

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You asked if we'd tried them. As far as I can see you've had honest answers not only about whether people have, but why people haven't. Open forum and all that. I think it's been a fairly balanced debate tbh.

No-one knows that people need counselling from a couple of posts, but I think you'll find that for a lot of people diet support (whether it's VLCD, WW, SW or whatever, includes some element of counselling and/or mentoring. The ELMM-ers here are perhaps the only group who are managing it without - hats off to them It could however be argue that the kind of discussions and support that happens on this forum is a kinfd of buddying/informal mentoring, couldn't it.

Have you decided to give these delivery diets a go? If you have, fair enough, your decision - just don't ask other people to justify it for you.

All over this thread. I think you should CAREFULLY re-read the responses given to you.

I'd be very interested in your further comments Anna Belle as you've been posting today.

The thing is that I've also dieted a lot before - everything under the sun, including meal planning which was suggested on here. The reason I am not so keen on meal planning is for the reasons I mentioned - that with planning some people can tend to start obsessing about things more. When I did meal planning before, I spent all my time reading recipies, reading websites, making shopping lists etc etc. Perhaps that's why I don't think I have enough time for it as it took up a lot of my time!

I probably should mention that I have OCD (think it's caused by stress!), not severely but I think that when planning meals the OCD contributed to it being a lot more work. I guess I should have mentioned this before so that you could see why I was not so much for the meal planning - it doesn't help that when I cook food I have to wash my hands over and over and it gets tiring. Believe me when you have OCD - a lot of things take longer, even leaving the house!
I guess it's not you guys fault as you dont know the reasons behind my liking the idea of Delivery diets and not liking meal planning. But I think it was just the assumption that I was just being lazy and a bit naive.

I'm not particularly for or against delivery diets - I was just interested in them. I like the concept of taking a step back, I know you still need to eat but I like the idea of you not having to decide. It doesn't have to be delivery diets in particular (as I agree they are expencive), but are there any other ways of doing it that would allow you to be less involved? Please no one mention bloomin milkshake diets, yuk! ?

Anna - it's a very good idea to include relevant information in your early posts ?. I can absolutely see why delivery diets would be appealing to you now! Have you seen anyone about your OCD?

The thing is I find it hard to post personal stuff - my last post was quite hard. I kept trying to hint about the obsessive thing with meal planning, but I was too subtle! I don't like having OCD and don't like talking about it too much, hence the reluctance in earlier posts.

I went to see a councellor about it about 8 years ago - but she was awful, she actually made it worse!! So I have been a bit wary of it. But my lovely other half has helped me arrange a private councellor for early next month - so we'll see how it goes. But at the prices they charge I don't think delivery diets are gonna be an option yet!! hence wondering about cheaper alternatives ?

Anna, I too can see why you find the idea of "decision-free" eating appealing. In one of your early posts, though, you mentioned that you and your H are ready-meal eaters normally. IMO this is almost certainly the cause of your weight problem, and I suspect thgat you'll find it incredibly hard to maintain any weight loss of you revert to eating this way. The thing with ready meals is that in order to compensate for real, fresh flavour they have to add all sorts of ingredients (salt, sugar and fat, mostly) that add calories without adding nutrition. Could your H perhaps take on the role of cook and meal planneer for the household if you find it too difficult?

Yeah I dont really like ready meals to be honest - but unfortunately other half is not the best cook in the world - manages to burn a lot of things and has no idea what goes together, once made me a dinner of toad in the hole with burnt chips and a burger - mmm lovely (not!).

I've tried to teach him but unfortunately he just finds it difficult, just not his thing. He can just about manage a ready meal. Wouldn't it be nice if one of the shops sold portion controlled packs of meals like the delivery diets, with nice fresh ingredients and lots of veg!

I've just been through with him about fat, calories and sugar content of food this week - to see if he can help out a bit - think it worked as yesterday we went shopping and although we picked out ready meals he chose ones with low cals, low fat and with veg. He has started to learn how to read the lables of things too, which is good. I know even the healthier ones aren't wonderful, but its better. Any suggestions on anything else I could be doing?

? anna belle

we're pretty much convenience eaters too and I have of course, put on weight because of it. I can cook and have enjoyed doing so, but I travel a lot for work and work extremely long hours...the last thing I want to do is cook when I'm home. I just don't want to do it. I could probably make time to cook more, but I rather spend that time with my OH, or my friends, or catching up on everything I've missed without being distracted with something else.

I would be very interested in having healthy meals delivered. I'd like to think I wouldn't continue to buy them long term. But at the moment, I could afford to and it would be convenient for me to do so!

But to answer your original questions...sorry...I've never heard of any of them but I have now and I'm off to do some research!!

xxx

I'm going try 2 days per week meal box or equivalent . 2 days protein based meal. 1 day salad and the weekend off but smaller portions plus the book tiny habits. Hope that works. Couldn't eat prep food 7/7