Diet Meal Plans - Delivery (2019)

by Valerie Kirk

These prepackaged meal plans are generally amongst the easiest diets to follow as they require little or no cooking. As you will see, the costs vary widely.

Most of these diet meal programs are delivery only -- their food is delivered to your door packed frozen in dry ice. A few, like Jenny Craig, offer you the additional option of picking the food up yourself to save the shipping cost (which can be considerable), but of course, you must be lucky enough to have one of their stores within comfortable driving distance.

The cheapest plan is I Love This Diet, which uses frozen entrees from Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, Smart Ones, Amy's, Kashi, Michelina's and others. Though not technically a meal delivery plan since you buy your meals at the supermarket, it offers amazing variety for a fraction of the cost of the other programs described here.

BistroMD
This is the chef designed diet meal plan that features low calorie, low carb, high protein meals. The meals are created to meet Dr. Caroline J. Cederquist's (the doctor behind the diet) nutritional guidelines to ensure that the menu contains the proper nutritional balance for individuals to lose weight.

Each week a new delivery of food arrives via FedEx. Dieters can choose from a 7-day program (7 breakfasts, 7 lunches, and 6 dinners + My Night), or a 5-day program (5 breakfasts, 5 lunches, and 5 dinners). If you don't mind cooking breakfast for yourself everyday, they also offer a 7-day program of Lunches & Dinners (7 each), or a 5-day program of Lunches & Dinners (5 each).

BistroMD can cost up to $700 per month plus shipping charges. While many customers claim that the food tastes pretty good, others complain that the lack of customer service and high prices makes this company hard to swallow.

Chef's Diet

UPDATE: Chef's Diet has been reported close as of 2019

Available throughout the U.S., Chef’s Diet is a meal delivery program based upon the 40/30/30 balanced nutrition ratio (40% complex carbs, 30% proteins and 30% good fats) to have the metabolism operating an optimal rate for weight loss.

Each day, fresh meals are delivered to dieter’s doorstep. The cost is contingent on the program dieters select.

Program options range from a one-day sampler at $61.99 (plus tax) to a 14 day program at $44.99 per day (plus tax) to a 31 day program at 42.99 (plus tax) per day. The gourmet menu includes items like quiche lorraine, grilled salmon, blueberry pancakes, tostadas and more.

Diet-to-Go
Diet-to-Go is a diet delivery service that offers 3 different options: the Balance plan, Balance-D for those with Diabetes, and Carb30, which is a low-carb diet. A vegetarian plan is also available. All plans are available throughout the United States and are shipped via FedEx each week.

Depending on the plan dieters choose, they can spend anywhere from $120 to $205 per week. They charge anywhere from $9.99 to $19.98 for shipping, depending on your area. Diet-to-Go also offers local pick up for certain locations, but the time frames are very particular.

While many have reported that the plan can be effective, their food and customer service is hit or miss. Many reviewers also claimed that their low-carb option is not as delectable as the original plan.

ediets

UPDATE: eDiets has been reported close as of 2019

eDiets is more of an online diet plan provider that briefly forayed in the food delivery service. In 2013, the company was bought by Chef’s Diet, and today, it only provides online meal plans.

There are two types of plans: NutriHand Plans, which provide menus by type of diet (such as Mediterranean or Vegetarian), and VitaBot Plans, which are guided by a computer algorithm based on what you enter about yourself and your health needs. To access a plan, you have to sign up to be an eDiets member for $9.95 per month.

Eat Like The Pros
The Chicago-based diet meal plan allows individuals to participate in eating a whole food-based diet, one that is free of processed food and focuses on organic produce as well as hormone and nitrate free meats.

The founder, Julie H. Burns, used this method to keep world-class athletes healthy, fit and operating at optimum performance. The Eat Like The Pros philosophy employs portion control, carbohydrate control and eating a gluten/wheat free diet.

Though the company used to deliver food itself, today, it provides its specially designed meal plans through restaurant and catering partners that offer food delivery. Some of these partners also offer food pickup service.

FITzee Foods

UPDATE: FITzee Foods has been reported close as of 2019

Boasting of all-natural ingredients and made-from-scratch fresh meals, Fitzee Foods has menus for various diets including Paleo, Gluten-Free, Muscle, Low-Carb, Vegetarian, and Dairy-Free. All their meals are on MyFitnessPal to help dieters keep track of their nutrition.

The company provides their food through delivery, drop-off, and retail stores. Each food item can be purchased a la carte, but they are made to order and there is no full diet plan.

The company requires no minimum purchase amount, but has a pricing break for shipping of 5 meals and also for orders at roughly $120 (about 10 meals).

5 Squares

5 Squares is a regional diet program that delivers to people living in the New York and Connecticut area. 5 Squares takes the clean eating approach and prepares 5 meals per day which are all dairy-free and wheat-free. Food plans can be anywhere between 1100-1400 daily calories.

Dieters have food delivered to their door each day by 6 am, this includes 5 meals for the entire day, for seven days. They also have the option of adding additional meals for family members. The average cost per day is $43 for the regular subscription.

Fresh ‘n Fit Cuisine

The Fresh ‘n Fit way is all about calorie control. Dieters will find themselves consuming 1200 or 1800 calories each day. Local shipping is available in the Metro Atlanta, but they also ship to GA, AL, and parts of FL, SC, NC, & TN.

Choose from 6 different menus: Healthy Mix, Low Carb, Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Paleo, or Custom Meal. Also, you have the option of adding Ketogenic and hCG Diet Approved meals in addition to your menu of choice. Fresh ‘n Fit food is easy prep (just heat and eat) and meets guidelines put out by the American Heart Association. Meals are low fat, low sodium, low cholesterol, high fiber and high grain. Plans vary, but include options such as just lunch and dinner plans (2 meals per day), 3, 5 or 7 day plans (3 meals per day) and just dinner plans.

Individual meals start at $5.99 each, so plans range from $50-$190, depending on number of meals and calorie maximum. Seniors, Students, Military, Law Enforcement and Public Service Organizations are also offered a discount.

Fit Food

This Canadian gourmet delivery service partners you with a nutrition specialist to help you with your choices. You can choose from their unique diet plans such as the “25-Day Life-Changer”, the "15 Day Challenge", the “10-Day Strip Down”, and the “2-Day Cleanse” or the "2-Day Try Out". Each plan has a pre-set menu providing a specific nutritional combination, but you are allowed to make a few alterations. You can also purchase a fully customized plan instead.

Since the plans differ in number of meals and food types provided, their prices also vary widely. The typical price range is from $39.99 to $43.99 per day.

Freshology
UPDATE: FRESHOLOGY SHUT DOWN IN 2017
Freshology serves Los Angeles and Orange County, CA. The program is built around calorie control to ensure healthy weight loss and to help dieters maintain a healthy lifestyle once they've reached their weight loss goals.

The 3-tiered program is broken up into sub-categories that fall in line with people’s lifestyle. Customers can choose from menus such as Vegetarian, NewMom, or Accelerated Weight Loss. The average calorie range is 1150-1850 per day.

Programs lengths include 14, 20, and 30 day plans. Prepared meals arrive every morning by 6 am. As for cost, programs can be as much as $54.95 per day (plus tax and delivery).

Healthy Chef Creations
This company offers meal plans for weight loss and healthy lifestyle, as well as personalized individual meals. All orders can be delivered nationwide, fully cooked and fresh, not frozen.

The Healthy Chef Weight Loss Diet plan is a Mediterranean diet. The menu is personalized to match your desired calorie range and food preferences, and the meals are delivered to your home every week. This diet costs about $52.99 a day, with discounts for multi-week plans.

Healthy Heart Meals USA
This Canadian based diet offers portion controlled meals based on a specific amount of calories which is ideal for losing and/or maintaining weight. It emphasizes that dieters can eat their favorite foods as long as these foods are prepared within this ratio.

To start on this delivery service, you can use the calorie calculator on their website, then sign up for your customized plan. The company delivers twice weekly to locations across Ontario, via FedEx.

Depending on the type of meal plan, the daily price of food packages may range from $24 to $37, with possible additional delivery charges based on your location.

I Love This Diet
I Love This Diet is a dietitian-designed program that provides dieters with a nutritionally-correct way to lose weight by eating a wide variety of specifically-approved frozen meals from Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, Smart Ones, Amy's, Kashi, Evol, Luvo, Saffron Road, Michelina's and others. Because supermarkets tend to run weekly sales on these items, the meals can often be purchased for as little as a third of the cost of Jenny Craig's meals.

Dieter choose all their foods by clicking on dietitian-approved lists on the program's online Daily Food Journal, which calculates their calories and nutritional requirements as they go.

Like Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem, this diet also requires individuals to purchase their veggies, fruit, and dairy at the supermarket, though with I Love This Diet, members have to go to the supermarket anyway to buy their frozen meals.

Dieters are assigned one of five calorie levels of between 1300 and 1850 calories per day, based on their current weight and their gender. As they lose weight, their calorie level changes accordingly.

Access to the I Love This Diet plan runs $49.97 for 6 months, $59.97 for one year, or a Gold Membership for $119.97 that never expires, it's always there for you when you need it (plus the cost of the food that you buy in your supermarket). The diet, which comes in the form of a membership website, can be used on a PC or Mac, as well as with tablets and smartphones.

In The Zone Delivery
In The Zone Delivery is available throughout Toronto and Ontario, Canada. This diet is based on a balanced approach of 30% lean protein, 70% fruits and vegetables with Heart Healthy monounsaturated fats. Meals are created by chefs to the dieters preferences.

The program claims that once these levels are reached and maintained, your body enters a hormonal balance which produces weight loss.

In The Zone Delivery members will spend $26.99 - $37.99 per day based on their delivery frequency (30, 15 or 10 days; 5, 6 or 7 days a week). There’s also a shipping fee.

Jenny Craig

The Jenny Craig program is one of the most widely recognized meal delivery plans. When one joins Jenny Craig they can anticipate 28 days worth of food being delivered to their home (or they can pick up if they are close to a Jenny Craig diet center).

The diet is calorie based and, in addition to dining exclusively on Jenny Craig frozen meals, the diet requires weight loss seekers to incorporate fruits and vegetables into their diet. Individuals have access to counselors 24 hours a day. Jenny Craig also allows dieters to splurge, making the diet more sustainable.

Jenny Craig can cost anywhere from $560 to $725 per month before shipping costs. The biggest cost of the program by far is the prices of the meals themselves, which average over $7.00 each.

LA Weight Loss

LA Weight Loss is a weight-loss program that used to provide coaching services at centers, but is now a solely online-based diet plan and tools provider.

The company’s main offerings are their diet programs powered by their LA Rapid Results Diet System. The program has a 3 part success system: menu plan, bars and nutritionals. All the programs (Platinum, Gold, and Silver) come in the form of packages that consist mainly of exclusive food products as well as tools for losing weight.

Each program is priced from $214.95 to $417.30 per month.

Medifast

The Medifast diet programs are based on the original weight-loss meal plan by Dr. William Vitale, and their emphasis today is on burning fat while preserving muscle mass. Thus, their meals, especially their meal replacements, are nutrient-dense and contain low-fat protein and fiber.

There are two types of diet programs: Achieve, which is a plan for people who want greater flexibility in a meal plan and promises steady results, and Go, which is a set, easy-to-follow plan for fast results. There are also plans for special dietary needs as well as for weight maintenance.

Medifast plans can cost as low as $443.60 or as high as $455.25 for a 30-day kit. A 14-day trial kit is also available at about $149 when you sign up for auto delivery.

Metabolic Meals
This healthy meal company lets you choose between their “Chef’s Choice” structured weekly menu or their “My Choice” customized rotating menu. Regardless of the plan type, all meals are chef-prepared with organic ingredients, backed by nutritional research for health, performance, and weight loss.

The company delivers weekly to any contiguous state, and you can choose whether to have your order delivered on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday. The Chef’s Choice plan starts at $25.42 per day, while the My Choice plan starts at $10.25 per meal.

Nutrisystem
Unlike most of the other plans, Nutrisystem uses shelf-stable (pouched, non-refrigerated) foods as its core items. Rather than 3 big meals, dieters consume every 2-3 hours for a total of six small meals a day to keep burning calories and losing weight. The cheaper Nutrisystem plans don't allow you to select their better tasting meals, which are their frozen meals. You must sign up for Nutrisystem's high-end "Uniquely Yours" plan to choose frozen meals (it allows you one frozen entree per day, with the rest of the meals being the "shelf-stable" variety.

The many different Nutrisystem plans range from approximately $300 to $600 per month, so long as you sign up for auto-delivery. Cancelling auto-delivery when you want to quit isn't that easy, and you will likely end up paying a big penalty for leaving when you want to quit. However most people sign-up for auto-delivery, as the prices charged per month if you refuse the auto-delivery option is MUCH HIGHER for the exact same food.

You’ll receive 28 days worth of food in one shipment. Most people enjoy the frozen entrees such as Chicken Alfredo or snacks like the crunch bars, but aren’t big fans of the shelf-stable meals that comprise most of the program's food. Many liken the "shelf-stable" meals to survivalist food or military rations.

Nutrition in Motion (NIM)
This Canadian-based diet builds on the Atkins approach with two phases. Phase 1 consists of eliminating bad carbs and processed foods from the diet and Phase 2 reintroduces good carbs. NIM has three different meal plans based on personal needs (traditional, Vegetarian, A La Carte). A day’s worth of food (3 meals and 3 snacks) are delivered before 6am. Price depends on Provence, but does not exceed $44.99 per day. NIM also allows dieters to do a 10 day-trial.

PureFoods Low Carbs

UPDATE: PureFood Low Carbs has been reported close as of 2019

Now known as PureFoods Fresh Start, this program is a weekly meal delivery plan that is designed around restricted calorie intake and the Glycemic Index (GI). PureFoods Fresh Start delivers chef prepared, low Glycemic foods to dieters' doors, each week.

A week’s worth of meals includes breakfast, lunch, dinner 1 snack and 1 treat per day. You can use the standard plan or customize your menu. There are six plans to choose from, some complete with 7 days' worth of food, others with 5, vegetarian options and a la carte options.

The average cost per day is $28.99 per day.

Seattle Sutton
Based on calorie and portion control, Seattle Sutton is a meal delivery plan that delivers to dieters' homes each week. The plan prepares 21 fresh meals, which includes fruit, vegetables and salads, with each menu item serving a nutritional purpose.

Seattle Sutton develops meal plans based on 1200 and 2000 calorie diets. The plan delivers nationally and pricing is based upon the dieter’s location.

South Beach Diet Meal Delivery
This well-known program is developed by Dr. Arthur Agatston, a cardiologist. The program is divided into three phases: ‘resetting’ or ‘rebooting’ the body, hitting the goal weight, and maintaining a healthy weight. In the first and second phases, the South Beach plan includes a combination of DIY breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, as well as dining out options. Protein snacks are available at an additional price.

A South Beach plan without add-ons costs about $553 per month. Discounts and free shipping promos are usually available through their website.