DietBon diet ready-made meals, can they really help you lose weight?
Since the new year, I have been consciously trying to choose healthier foods and get more exercise. I started a strengthening class using weights and I’ve started an exercise class using dance.
Last week I tried diet ready-made meals from DietBon. I was sent* an introductory programme of one weeks worth of food. The Dietbon weight loss programme offers you a complete range of ready-made calorie-controlled meals which are delivered to your home: a breakfast, a lunch, a snack and a dinner. You do need to add 2 portions of dairy product a day eg. one yoghurt or 150ml milk. You can also add fresh veg or salad to each meal and should add 2 pieces of fruit per day.
Here is what my days meals looked like;
- Breakfast- cereal (you can choose between various cereals, bread or pancakes)
- Mid morning- piece of fruit and yoghurt
- Lunch- meal sent with added salad or veg
- Afternoon snack- sunflower seeds, raisins, whole nuts and dried pineapple portion (there are 8 choices for your snack including cakes, cookies and cereal bars)
- Dinner- meal sent with added salad or veg
- Supper – chocolate dessert (there are 7 desserts to choose from)
There are 55 main meals to choose from that are high in protein, low in fat, low in saturated fat, and/or sugar, these varied meals allow you to achieve nutritional balance over a week. You follow the programme for 6 days then have a rest day. This is for you to cook what you would like, have a takeaway or eat out. With the programme, I was also sent Keep Calm tea (to destress and relax) and Vitalize Me (energy and focus) detox tea. I had a Vitalize tea each morning and Keep Calm tea each evening.
I was shocked when the meals arrived, as they didn’t need to be kept in a fridge or freezer. The meals are kept at room temperature, which when I have been on so many food hygiene courses, I struggled with, as surely food needed to be kept in the fridge, especially chicken and fish. It wasn’t screaming fresh food or healthy food to me at all. All the meals had a use by date of October or November 2019.
I was assured by DietBon that, although this is the case, they are still healthy. In fact, DietBon state that the meals are 100% natural and have no added preservatives, no artificial colours, no artificial flavourings, no flavour enhancers, no artificial sweeteners, no OGM and no palm oil in them. They can last so long at room temperature due to appertization. Appertization is a French term for the process of destroying all the micro‐organisms of significance in food, i.e. ‘commercial sterility’
I was worried about having to change one of the breakfasts one day as I know my body won’t handle my strengthening class after a bowl of cereal. I need a three egg, cheesy omelette before that class and thankfully this programme allows for these changes.
The meals are incredibly easy to prepare, all of the main meals only need 2 minutes in the microwave. This was really useful when I was at work.
I also liked that I could have chocolate muesli in the mornings and a chocolate dessert in the evening, keeping my sweet tooth happy and not making me feel like I missed out on anything.
Having snacks mid morning and afternoon, also meant I never felt hungry, the grazing throughout the day really appealed to me, rather than 3 bigger meals.
However, I didn’t like the main meals, I didn’t think they tasted particularly nice and had the feel of what D described as aeroplane food. I really didn’t look forward to meal time and I don’t think that is a healthy way to look at food. Everyone does have different tastes so that is just our opinion.
The packaging is also in French and Spanish which I don’t think is great if they want to sell more in the UK, if you want to check ingredients especially if you have an allergy, I wouldn’t want to be relying on Google translate if I am at work with my meals. They do send a book with them that includes English descriptions.
Once you have ordered the plan, you can also have a dietary consultation over the phone. This is done at a time to suit you and gives you chance to ask any questions and get advice, discuss any changes you are wanting to make to your lifestyle. Although this is a French company, the dietician I spoke to was English so there weren’t any language barriers at all.
I am also trying to cut down on single use plastic and all of the meals where in plastic containers as well as the cereals and snacks being in individual plastic bags. It’s great for portion control but not for the environment so I hope at some point they look at alternative packaging.
So, basically I liked the tea bags, the snack and dessert but wasn’t keen on the rest. Did it work? Well, yes it did! I made sure I stuck to it completely for the week (minus adding an omelette in) and I lost 6lbs!
It was great to kick start a healthier eating lifestyle for me, it has definitely made me look at my portion sizes and shown that if I graze through the day on healthier options, I won’t need to grab that chocolate bar in the evening.
If you fancy trying it yourself, use the code CHILLINGDB for 20% discount from a 1,2 or 3 month plan x
Rebecca Smith says
What a shame you didn’t like the main meals. I find that is often the case with these diet food companies – some things are really great and you really love them and others aren’t.
Sarah Bailey says
I have had these contact me for a review but I think I might pass on it now after reading this, I’m with you keeping meat and fish at room temperature they have to have done something to it and I’m not keen on that.
Bella and Dawn at Dear Mummy Blog says
We need a kick start but not so sure about keeping food at room temperature. The plastic waste would put us off too but it sounds good for portion control.
Linda Hobbis says
The main meals don’t look particularly appetizing but if you lost 6lbs that’s an excellent result for one week.
Rhian westbury says
Well done on the great weight loss, definitely a good kick start but it’s a shame that you didn’t like the main meals. The fact that they don’t sound all that fresh isn’t a great start x
Deborah Nicholas says
Congrats on losing the weight, that is good but not if you dont like the food 🙁
Rachel In Real Life says
Well done on losing the weight but the plan, however good it sounds, can’t be sustainable if the meals aren’t tasty. Like you I would struggle with the idea of not keeping the meals in the fridge or freezer having been on food hygiene courses!
Melanie williams says
Oh no so sorry the meals are not very good. Deffo not worth trying for sure xx
Chelle Dizon says
Thank you so much for sharing your honest and straightforward feedback about that meal plan company. Good to hear that you still lost some weight.
Hollie Burgess says
Oh no, Airplane food doesn’t sound great! But it’s great you were honest and hopefully, they can work on improving! x