Diet Meal Delivery - Nutrisystem, Medifast, Jenny Craig, Etc - Bistro Buddies?

Any Bistro Meal buddies out there? I just want to share my good news--my meals arrive today and I'm so excited!

http://www.3fatchicks.net/img/bar066/slider-but8/lb/253/150/247/.png (http://www.3fatchicks.com/)

Hi there,

Just curious how your experience has been so far? Are you still with Bistro and lost any weight? I just started this week and would appreciate any advice you may have .

Thanks,

Tierra

I have lost a total of 17 pounds, 11 pounds of it while on Bistro MD. Some weeks I've lost as much as 4#, some weeks I've lost as little as 1#. I'm pretty sure that has more to do with me than the plan. Some weeks I do better than others... ;) I think I've been on the plan for about a month, so I'm pretty happy with the results.

sounds great.
Congras to you

I have lost a total of 17 pounds, 11 pounds of it while on Bistro MD. Some weeks I've lost as much as 4#, some weeks I've lost as little as 1#.http://top5choices.com/-pics-/wl_bistromd.jpg I'm pretty sure that has more to do with me than the plan. Some weeks I do better than others... ;) I think I've been on the plan for about a month, so I'm pretty happy with the results.

How far into the diet delivery system are you to have lost 11 pounds? Just wondering for reference purposes.

I started Bistro MD in July and as of last week I have lost a total of 30#'s. I simply can't remember how far into the plan I was when I had lost the 11#. But I will take a guess......

Since starting Bistro MD I have lost an average of 2.something #s per week. So I would guess that I'd probably been on the plan for about 4-5 weeks to get a 11# loss.

Nice reviews guys am waiting for my shipment to arrive any minute from now. Can't wait any longer

I think you'll like it, Mexia. I've been on it a month or so now and I really enjoy most of the meals. I did drop the breakfasts, though. I really didn't like the egg dishes. But lunches and dinners have been good. My favorites so far are the chicken cordon bleu and pork tenderloin with apples.

Please let us know what you think. Reviews in this forum helped me select the best meal delivery plan for me. Your review would be very helpful to others.

Good Morning Bistro Buddies! Anyone interested in starting a regular thread ?

It's a chilly morning (for Louisiana, anyway). Gearing up to watch the LSU Auburn game tomorrow and, of course, looking forward to watching the New Orleans Saints play on Sunday.

Buddies, what are your week-end plans?

I just finished week 3 of Bistro MD and have lost 15 lbs. I should point out that I'm recovering from foot/ankle surgery so I'm not able to excercise (at least not very much!) as I'm non-weightbearing.
I find this plan reallllly easy to follow and a majority of the food very good. I don't eat beef very often, so I had that removed from my foods for the future. I had a steak that first week that had the oddest texture ever, even though the flavor was good. The protein drinks for snack aren't for me either, at least the fruity flavored one. They remind me of chewable vitamins! Another food that I didn't like at all was the broccoli quiche/frittata thing for breakfast. I love broccoli and have been fine with the rest of the egg stuff (best if you take a bite of egg with the sausage or use a little bit of salsa) but that broccoli one was not for me. I've also requested less of the soy snack items and they've been great about substituting the snacks I request. I felt like I was being super picky, but they have had no problem accomodating me and have been beyond pleasant to deal with. If you find something you don't like, speak up!! We're paying good money for this food and we should want to eat it. We would never go grocery shopping and buy things we know we don't like, so why here? Bistro MD seems to totally support this.
I am doing the 5 days plus snacks Monday through Friday and then just trying to be as good as possible, but not beating myself up on the weekends. This is really working well! I wish you all the best of luck and hope we all progress together in reaching our goals. -Amy

Have done Jenny, Pure Foods Fresh Start and Diet To Go Low Carb, and Bistro is BY FAR the best. Not even close. Have had to tweak a few preferences (I hate BBQ snacks and never like reheated fish, unfortunately), but I'm now on week four and still can't get over the food.

Have lost almost 20 lbs, the last 7 or so on Bistro. And I never feel deprived whatsoever. Sticking with this one!

Hello everyone, i'd like to join you. My name is Amy, I just started BMD today. I have used two other meal delivery programs. Healthy Chef creations, which is amazing BUT super expensive, and fresh foods, which was pretty good.
I like the price of BMD much better.
I have about 30 pounds to lose.
I am a bit concerned with the artificial ingredients in this food. I eat a pretty clean diet, just too much!
Look forward to getting to know you all.
Amy

Hi Amy, Welcome. I looked at Healthy Chef Creations too. It looked a little too "gourmet" for me, and it was a bit pricey. Please let us know how Bistro, MD compares. I've been on it for 5 - 6 weeks now (lost count) and I am starting to crave hearty soups, chili, and stews. Guess it's just that time of year.

Which artificial ingredients are you referring to, Hisbeloved? I know there are some sugar subs, etc., in the snacks. But the meals seem pretty real. What am I missing?

I think you'll like it, Mexia. I've been on it a month or so now and I really enjoy most of the meals. I did drop the breakfasts, though. I really didn't like the egg dishes. But lunches and dinners have been good. My favorites so far are the chicken cordon bleu and pork tenderloin with apples.

Please let us know what you think. Reviews in this forum helped me select the best meal delivery plan for me. Your review would be very helpful to others.

Yeah my shippment came in a few days ago. I have to say the chicken cordon bleu and pork tenderloin with apples is amazing.
You gotta luv this shuffle. http://www.picturehoster.org/storage/722.jpghttp://www.picturehoster.org/storage/721.jpg

Thanks for following up.
Are you still on the diet plans?

Plan to stick with Bistro MD for a while because it works. I'm losing 2 pounds a week. Sometimes I substitute Amy's organics (usually chili or an indian dish) for lunch. I had opted out of fish on the Bistro menu but added it back last week. It was pretty good and gave more variety to the week's meals.

Hi,
I just joined BistroMD yesterday. Your posts encouraged me. I've done a lot of googling - and just discovered how many other diet delivery services are out there! I hope I can stick with this...I can't eat another Lean Cuisine - and I've tried Jenny Craig, too. I'll let you know when the food arrives and what I think. I appreciate your e-mails - they do encourage me!:)

I just found this thread and thought I would see if I could join the post. I've signed up for BistroMD - 7 days w/o snacks plan - and just saw that my week 1 delivery has FINALLY arrived. It was shipped to me on the 26th of Oct, but apparently weather delays have held the FedEx up. I am really hoping that when I get home it's all still frozen and useable. I've been reading some past entries on this site about the plan to get an idea about what to expect... have to say, I'm pretty excited to get started.

A little about me... this is my first time trying a meal delivery plan. Did WW a few years ago with some initial success, but I have gained back the bit I lost over the past year. So... starting back at square #1, I have 120lbs to loose. After much Google'ing I decided that BistroMD would be the best fit for the nutrition part of the journey. I am hopeful that with my food plan (shopping, prepping, cooking - oh so much time initially!) taken care of that I can focus more on working in exercise to my daily routine while learning about proper nutrition (portion sizes, food combinations, etc.).

Best of luck to all of us! ;)

How was Day 1? I'm supposed to get my food tomorrow, Friday, Nov. 6th - and I can't wait! I've been letting myself eat everything in site until then... So far for you, is the food very good?

Sad news for me SSIGA.... due to shipping delays (not caused by BistroMD) with my week 1 package, the food arrived on Tuesday totally defrosted. I was so discouraged as I am anxious to get started on this journey! :(

However, I called Bistro's customer service department on Wednesday morning and told them what had happened and they were so apologetic and helpful. They said that my "week 2" package was already on it's way (it is.... due Friday the 6th and I'm watching the shipping tracker closely this time), so when it arrives, just to start with that. I had already been billed for week 2, so they offered to either put a credit on my account for week 3 or to refund my week 1 purchase if I chose to discontinue. I chose the credit!! So, barring any issues, I will be starting off with breakfast Saturday morning on the 7th. :carrot:

Even though the food wasn't frozen, you could tell that it was good quality. The box was pretty substantial and inside was a sealed insulated styrofoam cooler (bummer on the carbon footprint there) with some paperwork on top. It included a full week's menu to follow so that you don't have to figure out mix & match breakfast, lunch & dinner options.... just follow the instructions. Inside the cooler were the (empty) dry ice bags on top, followed by 3 or 4 layers of the meals. Most of them are in the small, black plastic microwaveable trays... a few were "boil-in-bag" style. The nutritional content information is on each individual meal package (I'm planning on starting to get in the habbit of food journaling, even though it's all calculated for me).

I'm so anxious to actually TRY their food! I have absolutely NOTHING in my fridge, freezer or cupboards because I donated everything to the local food bank in expectation of starting this program and didn't want to be tempted. I do have some honeycrisp apples, light string cheese, celery, laughing cow light swiss cheese wedges, roast turkey deli meat slices and plain roasted almonds as I am doing my own snacks.

We'll have to check back on Monday the 9th to compare notes..... hope you like it!

Tonight, I start my exercise program.... it's cardio on the bike for me. :ebike:

Dear Want2bfitchick,

Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed reply! I am sorry to hear about the condition of the food, but very happy to hear how BistroMD responded. Since I work long hours, I am anxious, also, not only about delivery delays, but wondering how long the food will sit on my door step until I get home from work! I suppose I'll be able to contact FedEx to find out what time the food was delivered...

I live in the very warm South - so this may become more of a concern to me in the summer.

You mentioned that the nutritional content of the food is listed on each item. I think that is super. I have used a website in the past called Food Diary. It isn't expensive - only $9 a month. But it allowed me to complete the nutritional information for each of my meals - and gave me a report at the end of the day that broke down how much fiber I consumed, as well as vitamins and minerals. There is also a good section for including exercise. Although I believe BistroMD has already ensured we will be getting enough fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals, low sodium, etc., this is another way of tracking what I eat and keeping me motivated for the long haul. And that's the main thing...the long haul! But from what I've read, BistroMD food is so good that the "long haul" will require much less effort.

So hopefully I'll receive my food when I get back home tonight - and I'll be able to start Day 1 with you on Saturday! In the meantime, I admire you for cleaning out your pantry...

I will also try to start my exercise program!

I'm looking forward to checking back with you on Monday! Have a great weekend!

Hope everyone is having a good Monday!

SSIGA: The food arrived on Friday and was still frozen!:dancer:

I got home and the box was waiting for me. Unpacked everything and sorted it out by day according to the menu they provided with the food. From the looks of the menu this week, chicken is the main source of protein (last week, even though I couldn't eat it, the protein was mainly fish). Most of the meals sounded pretty good just by their description, so I was anxious to to get started on Saturday with breakfast.

Note: One thing that was disappointing was my day 1 - breakfast was a chocolate chip muffin w/ high protein hot chocolate. A dream for some people, but I specified I have a pretty serious chocolate allergy. I will be calling Bistro's customer service department to get this resolved for future shipments.

So, Saturday morning's breakfast was snagged, but I cooked a 3 egg while omlet with a slice of roast deli turkey & 3 tbsp of pico de gallo instead. No worries!

Saturday lunch was cheese ravioli w/ green beans & almond slices - pretty good & was filling.

Saturday dinner was steak with peppercorn sauce, cooked corn w/ red peppers & cooked green peas w/ onions - not bad, but I don't love pepercorn sauce.

Sunday breakfast was a high protein bagel w/ light cream cheese - was tasty, but I felt like I needed a yogurt or fruit or something with it.

Sunday lunch was "arroz con pollo" w/ chicken, ham, rice, and corn with a red sauce (I think was supposed to be salsa... hmmm) - this tasted pretty good, but wasn't spicy enough for my taste. I might add some Mrs. Dash spice next time to add some flavor.

Sunday dinner was grilled chicken breast stuffed with broccoli & cheese w/ cooked corn & red peppers and cooked green beans with almond slices - pretty good & filling. Noticing a veggie side dish trend this week too.

Monday breakfast was a light english muffin w/ a sausage patty & an omlet patty to make a breakfast sandwich - liked this one!

Pretty good so far. I am keeping a food journal separately where I am tracking the calories, fat grams, carb grams, protein grams & fiber grams so that I can get in the habbit of food tracking. I get the information straight off the individual meal labels (it's pretty tiny - I have to really squint!). I am going to try another week of breakfasts to see if they take out the chocolate items, otherwise I will just switch my plan over to lunches & dinners only.

On the exercise front, I am not being as consistent as I need to be. I think I will set my alarm 30 min earlier this week to get it done in the mornings... too many things come up later in the day.

Looking forward to hearing how this weekend was for you!

Hi, want2bfitchick and others...

I started this Saturday, also, and I received the same menus that want2bfitchick received. I think I liked them more - probably because I'm such a lousy cook and do not live near great restaurants...

I am finding the portions very large and very filling. I think the food is much better than anything I could cook. I notice the emphasis on vegetables, which is always a good thing. I believe they are well spiced. I loved the steak with peppercorn sauce, the stuffed chicken breast - and today's lunch entree, skinny turkey meatloaf (which had sounded horrible to me)! So far, the snacks are either high protein drinks, soy snacks, or protein chips. I have found them very satisfying.

I am also tracking my food. Upon my request, the dietitian at BistroMD sent me the nutritional labeling information for all of the items they provide that do not have the labels on them.

So for the first three days, I can report that I am very pleased with BistroMD's customer service and food quality. I am certainly eating better and healthier than I usually do... But I would love some chocolate right now, even though I am full... So I guess it will take a while before I get over my sugar cravings!

Good luck to everybody this week!

Last week I had to spend 3 days on the road for a business trip. I had booked a room with a mini-fridge and microwave and took my Bistro meals with me. I am pleased to report that I stayed on plan the entire trip -- not easy to do in South Louisiana, where the food, well, c'est si bon!

Sounds like we all got the same meals this week (though I don't get fish). I am really looking forward to the meatloaf. Glad to hear it was good.

I too have been using Bistro a month and a half and I must say It's working really well. I lost about 27 lbs and I'm going to continue it for another month or so. Bistro is much better than other diets I have tried in the past. chicken cordon bleu and Pasta Puntanessaca are too good. Also has anyone read the newsletter? I got one last month and it looks like there was a contest posted there. I wasn't able to post my blog there but I am looking forward to the next news letter!!!

I have been pleasantly surprised by BistroMD. I think the quality of the lunches and dinners is very good. So far, I'm not too impressed by the taste of the breakfasts or the snacks - but I'm impressed with their fiber content, low fat, and high protein. They do keep me from wanting to snack on junk foods.

I lost three pounds this week - and I didn't stay on the diet entirely. I did find my "emotional" eating still a problem; however, much less so. I continued to crave sweets, but to a lesser extent. I found the lunch and dinner portions very large - so it was difficult to eat all my vegetables, which were still very good and I tried to get them in.

Today was my son's 6 year old birthday party - so I was not on plan; however, I intend to start again tomorrow...

Anyway, the food is much better than anything I've ever cooked, as well as much better than a lot of restaurants I've frequented in the area.

I have not started an exercise program yet, which I intend to do as soon as I can find some time and get more organized.

Good luck to everybody!

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to check in to say that I am half way through week 2 on the BistroMD plan (3 meals/day w/o snacks) and I am really liking it. I am still getting used to eating 3 square meals a day and found myself forgetting to bring lunch with me to work a couple of times... making it even more obvious to me that a significant part of this journey will be behavior change. I'm never hungry & have to almost set an alarm to remind me to eat my snacks. The food has been delicious and I am surprised at how fresh the veggie side dishes taste after reheating. Usually, frozen, microwaved veggies are so limp & tasteless. Last night, I had the sirloin w/ marsalla sauce, steamed carrots & quinoa dinner and thought it was fantastic! :carrot:

A couple of things along the lines of behavior change....

- I am really limiting myself at the grocery store when I shop. Now that I don't need to do major grocery shopping anymore, I plan out my daily snacks in advance and WILL NOT allow myself to deviate from that list on impulse (it has been surprising how many impulses I notice now). I pre-portion the snacks out into little ziplock bags when I get home so that they are just as easy to grab-&-go like the meals are.

- When my food delivery arrives (on Friday's) I spend a little bit of time unpacking everything, sorting the food out by day according to the included weekly menu, writing in the calories next to the item on the weekly menu (subbing as my food-journal) and organizing it in my freezer so it's easy to just grab the day's meals from the freezer the night before and move to the fridge.

- I MISS SUGAR!!! It's pretty funny how aware of sugar cravings I have been the past week. I never really thought of myself as a sweets person... I liked more savory snacks like fresh breads & cheeses.... but I find myself staring longingly at the ice cream isle in the store. To try and mitigate this, I picked up some sugar-free jello cups & light cool whip an am allowing myself to have one of the jello cups w/ 2 tbsp of the cool whip on top as a dessert after dinner. It's helped, but not sure if I should be doing this? Is anyone else finding they want sugar? If so, what are you doing to beat the cravings? :corn:

- Exercise.... sigh..... why oh why is it so hard for me to carve out a meassly 30min/day for this? Somehow I find time to check my email, somehow I find time to chat on the phone with a friend. So my brain knows that I just need to make an appointment with myself & STICK TO IT, but the bod hasn't followed yet. It's dark, it's cold, it's rainy... but these are not REAL excuses. :running:

I only lost 2lbs after the first week but, as I mentioned, I wasn't perfectly on plan. I am hoping to have better results this week.

Has anyone just starting on BistroMD taken the time to chart out goals for yourself? I really appreciate the supplemental materials that are sent to us via email from the dietician. I did this over the weekend by putting together a calendar on my computer in Excel (using the BistroMD format) & divided it into 12 week increments. During each of the 12 week time periods, I want to try to loose 10% of my total weight. So I charted it out and I have 6 mini-goals to meet in order to meet my overall goal of losing 120lbs. If I am on track, it means losing an average of 1.66lbs/week (seems reasonable) and I should make goal by end of March 2011.

So here I am midway through week 2 of my first 12 week mini-goal.... feeling good & trying not to be overwhelmed by what I need to lose overall.

And here's to all of us being successful in our journeys! :woohoo:

Did BistroMD drop their prices? For some reason, I seem to remember the full plan costing $187 or something around there, and I looked on their website today and it was $179--does anyone know anything about this? Not that it's a huge difference, but I think this may just prompt me to ordering!

Not sure about the price drop, but after 1 month on the program I was given a $50 credit. Then my sister signed up on a referral card I had given her and I got another $50 off a few weeks later. Even without the occasional discount, Bistro is well worth it to me. I do not cook and I know I would spend as much (or more) eating out.