Meal Delivery Service for Weight Loss is what you need to consider first before signing up for deliveries.
Meal Delivery Service for Weight Loss is a popular option these days and that is because we are so time-poor but also intelligent enough to understand that diet is important not only when it comes to weight loss, but when it comes to overall health and quality of life.
Many of us, especially busy working parents try so hard to get on top of our healthy eating habits that it gets overwhelming sometimes, no wonder meal delivery services in Australia are popping up like mushrooms everywhere. There are quite a few around, but there are a few top choices when it comes to convenience, speed or delivery, customer service, nutritional aspect, and of course most importantly taste.
Meal Delivery Services such as Youfoodz, My Muscle Chef, and Macros are just a few to name that are at the top of the many review lists for Australians, and for a good reason. They have nailed it when it comes to making things easy for people and has a large variety of meals to choose from that have meals influenced by different cultures.
However, as a fitness coach, I wanted to debunk some myths about the expectations of what meal delivery services can do for you and what they can’t.
1. YOUR MINDSET & CURRENT HABITS
Firstly, let’s look at your current diet and weight loss mindset.
If you believe that prepared meals will solve all your problems and you will instantly lose weight by eating them, then you might need to consider the bigger picture.
What you need to understand is that prepared meals can be very helpful when you are busy, but if you eat a bunch of other random snacks in between your meals that add up to way more calories than you can burn then the meals alone won’t help you lose weight.
You need to look at the meals as a part of the whole equation of fat loss. I always recommend to my clients to track their food for the first few months or until they shift some weight so they can understand how much food they should be consuming to put themselves into a calorie deficit.
Tracking with an app like My Fitness Pal or similar is a way to educate yourself a little about how much is in what and how much is too much if you want to lose weight. When you track you will be able to learn about your portions better and understand if the reason why you have gained weight in the first place is due to unawareness of all the sneaky calories as well as portions being larger than what you actually thought they were. The more you understand the more intelligently you will be able to lose weight and most importantly keep it off.
Meal delivery services for weight loss are merely a tool to help you along the way especially if you are a busy working mum like myself, but self-control and education is key.
Who is meal delivery service ideal for?
- If you are someone who struggles to control portions or understand and track all of the macros in your meals then a meal delivery service for weight loss can really help. With their easy barcodes to scan or to simply know that meals are well portions for weight loss it definitely takes out the guesswork and meal prep work.
- If you are someone who tends to go for 2nds after dinner then a meal delivery service is a great way to stop you from doing that.
- If you are someone who grabs carby sandwiches that are low in protein and possibly too high in calories because you simply don’t have the time to prepare anything more balanced and suitable for your weight loss goals then a meal delivery service is definitely one of the best solutions.
- If you are someone who hates meal prep or just doesn’t have the energy or motivation to do this for the week ahead again you are a perfect candidate for a meal delivery service for weight loss.
Who might not benefit from meal delivery service for weight loss?
- Someone who is not concerned with nutrition or protein and is happy to eat diet food as long as it’s low in calories.
- Someone who overfills their pantry and fridge with too much tempting junk food and snacks that will be very difficult to say no to.
- Someone who loves to cook and is very fussy with how the meals are prepared.
- Someone who wants to eat food freshly prepared only and hates reheated meals.
- Someone who has time and is disciplined enough to consistently meal prep every week. Home-cooked food of course is always best.
2. QUALITY OF FOOD
Nutrition and additives.
Choosing a meal delivery service that is right for you is important. They are not all the same.
Although most meal delivery companies, now offer weight loss plans as well as muscle-building plans and anything in between, there are some differences in what they prioritize in their meals.
What I mean by that is some companies focus on delivering high-protein meals that are very flavorsome, but may sometimes contain preservatives and even flavor enhancers like MSG.
Keep in mind that just because it is a supposedly healthy meal delivery service it doesn’t mean all meals are nutritionally balanced or made of only natural ingredients. So choose carefully based on your criteria. I created a full blog article reviewing 3 major meal delivery service companies in Australia, you can read the reviews and all the pros and cons about each right here.
Protein for weight loss – is it really important or is it all about the calories?
I once had someone ask me which is more important for weight loss, calories or macros? The short answer is calories.
The success of all fat loss diets fundamentally relies on whether you are in a caloric deficit or not, all other nuances like times of the day you eat or macro proportions or various food combinations are secondary to that.
However, I want to point out that if you are looking for long-term results and your goal is not only to quickly drop some kilos but also to keep it off and look toned, then macros matter a lot.
Many women turn to weight training these days as they are intelligent enough to understand that without weight training or at least some kind of strength training element in your workouts they would be missing out on looking toned and lean rather than just slim, but flabby. Many also understand that strength training goes well beyond aesthetics and can help improve the quality of life as we age dramatically.
Proper nutrition must support their muscle-building goals especially if they are trying to get leaner (lose fat) at the same time. Protein becomes a very important macro that needs to be consumed in the right amount to support proper muscle recovery and consequently result in body recomposition.
Dietitians recommend consuming between 1.5-2g of protein per kilogram of body weight. So a 70kg woman who has a healthy BMI and does weight training at least 3 times per week can go up to 2g of protein per day.
Someone who is considered overweight, wants to lose body fat, and is in high BMI bracket, but still trying to tone up with weight training at the same time, then should go for the lower end of that around 1.5g of protein coming from lean sources and of course watch their calorie intake consistently until they get to their healthy goal weight.
3. COST
Having ready-made meals can be super convenient and time-saving for those time-poor working parents or anyone who lives a very busy life and always on the go, but it can end up being quite costly if you rely on ready-made meals a lot. Which isn’t a problem of course if you can afford it.
On the flip side if you are the person who orders Uber Eats or take-away frequently or goes out to eat a lot as you struggle to cook at home then this could actually save you money.
On average a meal from one of the popular meal delivery services can cost you between $9-14 per meal depending on the portion size and company you chose.
The best way to figure out if your budget allows for it is to calculate how much money you normally spend on food in total, including meals out on an average week and then calculate if you swap some of the meals you eat out or in with healthy ready meals delivered. You might surprise yourself with how much money you actually spend on all those little bits and pieces in cafes and food courts or restaurants.
4. EATING WITH FAMILY
If you decide to get on a weight loss or health kick with your partner it might be worthwhile checking out some family bundles, some companies do that.
I often order from Macros and opt for family meals which contain 2 servings per meal, bear in mind they are not large servings as they are aimed at weight loss and to help you with portion control. But they do pack a good amount of protein per serving which is great.
My hack to make my meals more filling and nutritionally balanced is to have a side salad or just some veggies on the side with the meals.
If you are alone in this weight loss battle then just order meals that will help you stay on track when your family does decide to opt for that unplanned pizza. Because those are the times that add up.
5. TRY BEFORE YOU COMMIT
The good thing about all of those meal delivery services is that you are not stuck with the same meals every week. You can swap and change things if you didn’t like something in your first order.
My biggest hack is, trying meals from different companies to find the one you love. It’s quite easy and here is the perk of doing so. Most companies offer quite generous discounts to first-time customers, you can save anywhere between 20-45% off on your first order or even a few first orders.
The companies I reviewed don’t lock you into anything, you can place one order with them for one week and pause your plan for as long as you like or deactivate it right after the first order while still reaping the benefits of the new customer discount.
So for the first few weeks while you are trialing different meal delivery services you can save a bunch of $$$ and eat for as little as $5 per meal.
Of course, later you will need to decide whom you wish to continue with if you decide to continue, which you don’t have to, as there are no lock-in contracts, you would then proceed with their normal weekly delivery prices.
And yes, most of them have delivery fees of around $10-$15 Australia-wide.
Here’s how you do this exactly;
1. Subscribe to a meal delivery service 1, order your first week of food, and pause or deactivate straight after the order is made. Your account will still be there if you decide to come back to that company later, but you won’t receive anything until you reactivate it. (this applies to companies I reviewed in my last blog). My Muscle Chef vs. Youfoodz vs. Macros comparison.
2. repeat the process with another company and then the next.
3. After making the most of their first-time offer discounts, decide which one you like the most to continue with and deactivate the others.
You can pause weeks whenever you like as well for as long as you like, this is handy if you go away on holiday or just need to give it a break.
I hope you will find this tip useful and it will help you find the best meals for you.
If you want some snack and simple food ideas that are high in protein and low in calories to help you on your weight loss journey, you might need my
