I mentioned in a post a while ago that due to my lazy nature, I had decided to try a diet by post. I wasn’t that keen on the first one I tried (naming no names!) So I decided to try another one with my proper blogger hat on – step forward Diet Chef! I hope this post is useful for those of you looking for honest Diet Chef reviews!
It’s a pretty simple concept – the chefs create healthy versions of various tasty meals. They use a special slow cooking method to keep everything delicious and then vacuum-seal the meals so they keep their flavour. Sealing the meals like this means you don’t need to chill or freeze them; they can be stored in the cupboard and whacked in the microwave for 3 minutes. You get nearly everything you need for three meals a day plus a snack.
I liked the fact that you can choose exactly what you want to receive from an extensive menu (helps you not get bored!) and I can honestly say all the meals taste nice. Some of my favourites included the breakfast pancakes and granolas, the creamy pesto lunch pot and the lasagne. I do like a lasagne!
I’ll admit now that I haven’t been brilliant with sticking to the diet religiously (meals out, holidays etc – summer holidays might not have been the best time to try it!) but I have lost weight – about 8lbs, which has made a difference to my figure. I’m still a stone over weight, but I can see my waist again and my clothes are a lot looser.
Rather than waffle on, I thought it might be useful to bullet point some pro’s and cons as I’ve found them.
Pro’s:
- Easy and convenient – all dinners are microwavable as are most of the lunches and breakfast porridge.
- Taste nice – I honestly have liked all the meals without fail. It’s not haute cuisine but it certainly isn’t grim like some diet food/microwave meals.
- Filling – it does fill you up if you supplement with veg properly.
- 8lb weight loss, even with a fair bit of cheating.
- Portion control lessons – I will keep up with breakfasts etc knowing I don’t need massive portions of things like I was scoffing before.
- Good choice of meals/wide range of meals available.
- Great snacks – little biccies, popcorn, crisps!
Con’s
- Price – if you just want to do one month, it’s expensive at £245, but they do have offers and it’s more reasonable if you are going to do long term – £190 a month for 12 weeks which is only £3.97 per day.
- You still have to buy the fresh fruit, veg, milk etc to add to the meals.
- I missed cooking and eating with my family.
So, would I recommend Diet Chef? Yes. If you can afford it and you have a specific goal, it’s great. It would be perfect to do a diet like this in the run up to an event you wanted to look good for – a good one to factor in to a wedding budget! It’s brilliant if you are a busy person because there is no excuse to be grabbing sandwiches and takeaways etc!
I’m not going to continue with it for now, because I feel like it’s taught me some valuable lessons about portion control and eating regularly, and I’d like to see how I get on without it – and mainly because I miss cooking! But if I end up regaining what I’ve lost, especially over Christmas then I might get back on it. But I don’t think I’ll need to!
Disclaimer: I was sent a months worth of Diet Chefs meals, under no obligation to review or promote. Because I was pleased with the product and the result, I have written this review honestly and in my own words, as always.
