Diet to Go Review
When it comes to losing weight, it is difficult to pass up the option of having pre-made, diet friendly meals delivered directly to your doorstep.
The question is which of the many diet delivery programs available is the right one to help you meet your weight loss goals?
Introduction
One meal replacement diet delivery program that has grown in popularity is the Diet-to-Go home delivery program. Diet-to-Go was founded in 1991 by Hilton Davis and is a meal delivery service that also offers local food pickup.
It was founded in Virginia as a local home delivery diet program and then expanded to selling fresh-frozen meals through mail order in 1997. To begin with, this meal plan was created and sold under the direction of Dr. Gabe Mirkin. Touted as a low fat diet, it has since grown to offer a selection of dieting programs.
Diet-to-Go now offers vegetarian, low carbohydrate, low fat, low sodium meals for both men and women. As an example, a typical meal plan for a women ranges from approx 1,100-1,200 calories per day. By contrast, similar plans for men range from 1,400-1,600 calories per day. These caloric values fall within the recommended guidelines. The program is backed by physicians nationwide. All of the program's meals are inspected daily by the USDA. They meet the guidelines of the American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association and the American Cancer Association.
The meals provided by Diet-to-Go are delivered once a week (7 days) instead of the once a month packages that are common with some other diet delivery programs like Nutrisystem, Medifast and Jenny Craig. Meals arrive in special coolers with dry ice surrounding them. This is to ensure the meals created by award winning chefs always maintain their freshness.
They need to be microwaved before consumption, much like frozen meals that can be purchases at a grocery store, except these are within dietary guidelines.
Diet-to-Go is in partnerships with a variety of businesses, including Gold's and World Gym. Dieters that prefer to collect their meals rather than having them delivered can do so at these locations. Food pick up options are available in only five cities across the United States, including greater Los Angeles area, San Francisco Bay area, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington D.C.
The number of cities with food pick available is expected to grow in the near future as the company grows in popularity.
How the Plan Works
When you decide to embark on the Diet-to-Go Meal Plan delivery system, you will first have to decide which of the three meal plans you want to go with. The plans offered are Traditional, Vegetarian and Low Carb. All three plans will be explained in detail below. After selecting your plan, you will then have to decide how many meals per day you want to order depending on the caloric intake you want met. There are plans for men and women available varying from 1,200 to 1,600 calories per day. You can order from 5 to 21 meals per week.
After selecting your plan and the number of meals you wish to receive, you will order your plan online and wait for it to arrive. The plan will be delivered via Fed Ex or UPS and can be delivered to your home or office. If you live in one of the metropolitan areas that offer local pick up service, you can also opt to pick up meals instead. This option saves customers money and will offer the products in their freshest form.
One of the differences and perks of the Diet-to-Go when compared to other diet delivery systems is that everything you will need is delivered to you. There is no other shopping necessary for additional fruits, vegetables, proteins or grains. All sides and condiments are included as well. All of the food is created with the guidance of chefs and dietitians to ensure great taste and a balanced diet.
Diet To Go Plans
The three main plans offered by Diet-to-Go are as follows:
- The Traditional Plan
- The Vegetarian Plan
- The Low Carbohydrate Plan
Traditional Plan
The Traditional is the most popular meal plan and is also considered a low fat diet meal plan. It offers a variety of healthy low fat diet meals that are nutritionally balanced and portion controlled. This plan is ideal for those that want to lose up to two pounds per week. It is also a plan suited for individuals with diabetes.
Some examples of the meals provided with the traditional plan are as follows:
Breakfast
- Greek Breakfast Burrito
- Apple Pancakes
- French Toast
- Egg & Broccoli Pie
Lunch
- Chicken Philly Sub
- Waldorf Chicken Salad
- Tuscan Boat
- Grilled Turkey and Swiss
Dinner
- Blackened Turkey Loin
- BBQ Chicken
- Portini Mushroom Chicken
- Penne Pasta
After selecting the Traditional Plan, you will also have to choose how many meals you wish to receive per week. This depends on how many calories you plan to consume and if you plan to eat every single meal all week with Diet-to-Go. For women, Diet-to-Go suggests the 1,200 calorie per day plans. There are four options when ordering this plan, all varying in the number of meals provided and cost.
There are two 5 day meal plans available for the 1,200 calorie plan. The option of a five day meal plan is ideal for individuals that plan to eat out on the weekends or on at least two days per week. This option offers the freedom of eating pre-made, easy to prepare meals during the week and the ability to make healthy choices eating out on weekends. There is a 5 day plan offering 10 meals, with five lunches and five dinners, and this plan costs $95.99 per week. There is also a 15 meal plan that offers five breakfasts, five lunches and five dinners, and this plan is offered at $112.99 per week.
In addition to the five day meal plans, Diet-to-Go also offers seven day meal plans within the 1,200 calorie per day range. If you feel more comfortable eating every meal with Diet-to-Go in order to ensure you are getting the exact number of calories to lose weight, you would opt for the seven day plan. There are two seven day meal plans available. There is a 7 day plan offering 14 meals, with seven lunches and seven dinners, and this plan costs $131.59 per week. There is also a 21 meal plan that offers seven breakfasts, seven lunches and seven dinners, and this plan is offered at $142.99 per week.
For men, or if you are a female looking for a plan that offers 1,600 calories per day, you would opt for the 1,600 calorie per day Traditional plan. The 1,600 calorie per day plan offers four options when ordering the plan as well, all varying in the number of meals provided and cost.
There are two 5 day meal plans available for the 1,600 calorie plan. The 5 day plan offering 10 meals, with five lunches and five dinners, costs $102.99 per week and the 15 meal plan offering five breakfasts, five lunches and five dinners, is offered at $123.99 per week.
The 7 day plan offering 14 meals, with seven lunches and seven dinners, costs $140.59 per week. The 21 meal plan, offering seven breakfasts, seven lunches and seven dinners, is offered at $159.59 per week.
Vegetarian Plan
The Vegetarian Plan is also considered a low fat diet meal plan and is based on Ovo-Lacto meals. This means that the plan is not vegan but instead vegetarian. Meals in the plan contain dairy and eggs but do not include beef, poultry, chicken, fish or foul. It offers a variety of healthy low fat diet meals that are nutritionally balanced and portion controlled. This plan is will help you in losing up to two pounds per week and is also diabetic diet friendly.
Some examples of the meals provided with the traditional plan are as follows:
Breakfast
- Fruit Ambrosia
- Egg and Broccoli Pie
- Waffle
- Ratatouille Omelet
Lunch
- Claire's Quinoa Salad
- Grilled Veggie Burrito
- Spanish Stuffed Pepper
- Tuscan Bean Salad
Dinner
- Spaghetti Pie
- Stuffed Shells
- Shaws Shepherd's Pie
- Soy Creole over Veggies
As with the Traditional plan, after selecting the Vegetarian, you will also have to choose how many meals you wish to receive per week. The cost between the Traditional and Vegetarians plan is exactly the same and the same options are available for 1,200 and 1,600 calorie per day meal plans.
The 5 day plan offering 10 meals, with five lunches and five dinners costs $95.99 per week and the 15 meal plan that offers five breakfasts, five lunches and five dinners offered at $112.99 per week. The 7 day plan offering 14 meals, with seven lunches and seven dinners, and this plan costs $131.59 per week and the 21 meal plan that offers seven breakfasts, seven lunches and seven dinners is offered at $142.99 per week.
The men's or 1,600 calorie per day 5 day meal plan offering 10 meals, with five lunches and five dinners, costs $102.99 per week and the 15 meal plan offering five breakfasts, five lunches and five dinners, is offered at $123.99 per week. The 7 day plan offering 14 meals, with seven lunches and seven dinners, costs $140.59 per week. The 21 meal plan, offering seven breakfasts, seven lunches and seven dinners, is offered at $159.59 per week.
Low Carbohydrate Plan
The Low Carb Diet Meal Plan from Diet-to-Go differs from the other two plans in a variety of ways. This plan is modeled after the Atkins diet and provides meals that total only 30 net carbohydrates per day.
This may seem low but it is what is necessary in order to lose weight on a plan like this. If you are someone that has always wanted to try a low carb diet but have not had the time to prepare complex low carb meals, this is the plan for you. Eating low carb can be difficult since your choices are limited. With Diet-to-Go, it can be a lot easier since they have a wide variety of breakfasts, lunches and dinners to help keep you full and losing weight fast.
One of the many perks to a low carbohydrate plan is that there is not as much of a focus on calories. Essentially, you can consume far more calories than on a standard diet plan, however; you have to keep a close watch on your carbohydrate intake and not cheat.
Cheating on a low carb diet means gaining weight almost instantly. The reason low carbohydrate diets work is that the body stops using carbohydrates for energy and begins using fat stores instead. This happens after about the third day, when the body reaches ketosis, on a low carb plan. In simple terms, Ketosis means that the body has now converted to using fat for energy.
The reason being is that the body no longer has the usual source of fuel it needs, carbohydrates, so it reverts to its' second source, fat. In addition, carbohydrates tend to bloat you and cause increased water retention. On a low carb diet, you will immediately feel less bloated and weight seems to drop quickly, especially in the beginning.
Some examples of the meals provided with the traditional plan are as follows:
Breakfast
- Tomato Mushroom Omelet
- Pork Chop Breakfast
- Spinach Quiche
- Scrambled Eggs Breakfast
Lunch
- Lemon Herb Chicken
- Veal Parmesan
- Beef Casserole
- Chicken Fontina
Dinner
- Cioppino Seafood Medley
- Half Roasted Chicken
- Italian Meatballs
- Prime Rib with Sauce
As with the Traditional plan and Vegetarian plan, you will also have to choose how many meals you wish to receive per week while eating low carb. The cost for the Low Carb plan is slightly higher than the Traditional and Vegetarians plans and only features one calorie option.
While the Traditional and Vegetarian offer the 1,200 and 1,600 calorie options, for women and men respectively, the Low Carb plan offers only a 1,300 calorie option for both. The Low Carb plan does, however, offer five and seven day plan options ranging from 10 to 21 complete meals per week.
The 5 day plan offering 10 meals, with five lunches and five dinners costs $109.59 per week and the 15 meal plan that offers five breakfasts, five lunches and five dinners offered at $132.99 per week. The 7 day plan offering 14 meals, with seven lunches and seven dinners, and this plan costs $148.99 per week and the 21 meal plan that offers seven breakfasts, seven lunches and seven dinners is offered at $164.59 per week.
Online Tools and Support
When compared to other diet programs, Diet-to-Go has a limited online tools and support system. It does not offer round the clock availability with a forum or dietitians available to answer your questions. It also does not offer downloadable handouts to help you decide what to eat or what to shop for.
With that said, the reason Diet-to-Go does not have many online tools is because everything you will need during the entire time you are on this diet is provided for you with each plan. There is no grocery shopping required and no need to come up with your own meals. One tool Diet-to-Go does offer is a free diet analysis.
This is a feature that is offered to anyone, even if you are simply considering the plan and want more information. The diet analysis requires minimal information and results are emailed to you. This can help in selecting your Diet-to-Go and getting started with the program.
By going online to the Diet-to-Go, you can also make changes to your diet plan, substitute meals, increase or decrease the numbers of meals you want to receive each week or stop the plan altogether. The site is very user friendly and not overwhelming with information as some other sites are.
Cost Breakdown
When comparing the Diet-to-Go to other meal delivery plans, it can seem much more expensive. Most of the other plans cost an average of $300 to $500 per month. Diet-to-Go averages approximately $575 per month.
Although Diet-to-Go is higher in initial cost, it makes up in the quality of its food and the variety of foods that it offers. Some of the other plans offer meals that are simply glorified snacks. The meals are shakes, bars, cookies or chips. Other plans offer frozen and pre-packaged meals, but they also require that you do some grocery shopping and make one homemade meal per day.
With Diet-to-Go, everything you need is included in the price and is delivered to your door each week. Even condiments and sides are included, so the guesswork is completely eliminated. The cost may be higher, but Diet-to-Go makes up for that in the nutritionally balanced, diverse, chef created meals it offers.
Coupons & Discounts
For a limited time, Diet-to-Go is offering a 4th of July sale on the Traditional, Vegetarian and Low Carb Diet Meal Plans when you order their cheapest option, the 10 meal, five day meal plan. This plan is offered to first time customers only and it is only for the first week's price. The discount is 25% off one week of meals. The Traditional and Vegetarian Plans cost $71.99 instead of $95.99 and the Low Carb Plan is $82.19 instead of the usual $109.59.
Pros vs. Cons
After comparing several meal delivery programs and seeing the many similarities and differences, it is easy to see why Diet-to-Go is increasing in popularity nationwide. Below are some Pros and cons to help you decide if this is the right program for you.
Pros
- The plan includes everything you need, even condiments and sides, so there is no grocery shopping to do on your end.
- Meals are easy to prepare, with no clean up and 1-2 minute preparation times.
- Meals are proportioned at healthy calorie levels ranging. The plans on Diet-to-Go do not drastically reduce calorie intake as some other plans do.
- There are three different plans offered, with options for vegetarian or low carb lifestyles.
- Meals are delivered weekly instead of monthly. This makes it easier to store food for customers that do not have a lot of room in the kitchen.
- All meals have a balanced combination of carbs, proteins and fats.
- The meals are actual meals, not snacks such as shakes, cookies or bars.
- There are options for 5 or 7 day meal plans with options for anywhere from 10 to 21 meals per week. This caters to people with various appetites and daily eating habits. It also offers options in pricing.
Cons
- In general, the cost for the plan up front is higher than most other plans.
- The Diet-to-Go program is not comprehensive, offering various online tools and support groups.
Testimonials
"After waking up one day and realizing I was almost 30 pounds overweight, I decided I had to change. I needed to change not only for myself but for my kids as well. I wanted to set a good example for them and show them that it's important to take pride in your health and your body. I found Diet-to-Go online after comparing meal delivery programs and decided it would be the one for me. I hate grocery shopping and, as a single dad, I have little time for it. I decided to order meals for myself and a few extras for my kids to eat at dinner time with me on days of the week they're at my house. After several months, not only have I lost the weight, I feel all around better. I have more energy, I'm happier and I can finally keep up with my kids' never ending energy. I enjoyed the meals and they did too. Thank you Diet-to-Go!"
Jacob Easton
"With more than 100 pounds to lose, I had little hope that I'd find a diet plan that would help me get my life back. After seeing a photo of me in a friend's wedding, I decided I had to do something and at least try. I could have taken the easy option and had the lap band surgery but I wanted to earn the weight loss and, frankly, I was afraid to take such drastic measures. I decided to give Diet-to-Go and also started going on daily 20 minute walks. Slowly, the walks increased to 30 minutes and, within weeks, I was walking up to an hour a day. I lost more than 10 pounds the first month and that kick started my confidence. The food tasted amazing and I loved that I didn't have to cook or clean up after meals. After almost one year, I lost over 100 pounds and am now about to run in my first marathon. My husband had some weight to lose as well so we went on the plan together. He had much less weight to lose and lost it within weeks. We are still eating Diet-to-Go meals regularly, not only because they're nutritionally balanced, but because they're delicious. They keep us on track and they are much easier than making a home cooked meal. I have a lifelong partnership with Diet-to-Go and I credit them for giving me my youth back at 67 years old!"
Cecilia Kreps