Summer is fast approaching and you want a body you’ll be proud to show off at the beach. It’s time to start now so you’ll be ready in 3 months. But what if you’re not a cook or just too busy to cook? Lots of people are looking at Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem or Medifast meal replacement plans to do the cooking for them. The problems: These plans are VERY expensive (about $300-$700 per month), some of the food is not very good, and you also pay shipping costs. How would you like to achieve the same thing but do it better? You’ll eat tastier food with much more variety, spend up to 50% less, and completely wipe out all shipping costs.
Let’s see what you’re getting right now when you order Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, or Medifast. Nutrisystem and Jenny Craig give her 3 regular meals and 2 snacks. With Medifast, eat 5 smaller meals of shakes, energy bars, soups or puddings, then prepare 1 regular 600-900 calorie meal for dinner. Most of them want you to supplement with fresh vegetables and salads from your local grocery store.
You might ask yourself, what helps you lose more pounds, a plan with a regular breakfast, lunch, and dinner, or a plan with a shake for breakfast and lunch (and some snacks) and regular food for dinner? In multi-year studies, both here and in the UK, shakes plus a regular meal far outperformed all regular meals. With the first 2 regular eating plans, you lose 1-2 pounds a week, with Medifast, up to 20 pounds the first month. But with Medifast, as the name implies, you are fasting (only 1300 calories per day).
So let’s talk about a new plan. While you’re supplementing with fresh vegetables and salads at your local grocery store, don’t stop there. The secret is that you can find a better and cheaper version of ALL the elements of those brand name diets right there at your local grocery store. You’ll have to shop around a bit more to find the right match for you. Here are 4 ways to double every item in the top 3 meal replacement plans right there at your local grocery store. You will get better quality and pay much less.
1. Shakes or energy bars for the first two meals and snacks
Many people have complained that brand name diet plans have shakes that don’t taste very good. The same goes for energy bars. Which is the best? a survey in Good Housekeeping Magazine ranked Walmart’s EQUAL $18/week CHOCOLATE SHAKES (pre-mixed, not the mix) as having by far the BEST TASTING! I tried them and they are DELICIOUS, like a cold melted Wendy’s Chocolate Frosty. These shakes are loaded with added nutrients and 5 grams of fiber! For energy bars, Fiber One has a variety of bars that are also inexpensive and delicious. Check the calorie count before you buy.
2. The real food dinner meal
Have you looked at the frozen dinner section of TV at your grocery store lately? There are new foods coming out almost every month. Lean Cuisine and several other brands offer tasty diet meals that are better than what you get from a delivery service. Also, there are so many diet food options that you can choose your favorites. Some are bigger with more food. Some have desserts, some don’t. Obviously, men need more calories than women. Adjust your total calorie count for the day based on how quickly or slowly you want to lose weight.
3. Appetizers
Many of the brand name diet plans actually give you 6 meals including snacks. You have to be careful here. Some snacks are much healthier than others. Store-fresh apples and oranges are much healthier and more satisfying than energy bars.
4. Drinks
Don’t drink diet soda. The artificial sweetener in diet sodas, which is many times sweeter than sugar, will make you crave more sugar. Try to drink 6-8 glasses of water a day, which will help you get rid of fat. I use Crystal Light (or Equate) lemonade packets for flavor. With the slightly sour taste, I don’t notice the small amount of aspartame in it.
So the main benefits of name-brand meal replacement plans, namely portion control and calorie counting, can just as easily be realized at your local grocery store. Sure, you’ll need to spend more time up front, researching and comparing which TV dinners sound good to you and making sure they meet the low-calorie, low-sodium prerequisites. When I started this I only bought 2 weeks worth of TV dinners so I could buy more of the ones I liked later. Another tip, don’t forget to exercise… you lose weight faster. Once you’ve successfully reached your weight goals, establish a healthy eating plan that you can live with for the rest of your life. In conclusion, I highly recommend you try this and become your own meal replacement service…you will love the control and the savings!