[lorettalru]

OK...so I got back from work and was excited to find the BistroMD package on my front stops. The first layers where frozen. The middle layer was defrosted but still a bit cold and the bottom layers were warm.

Obviously need to throw way the warm meals but do I need to throw away the 6 that were defrosted but still a bit cold? All of them were tray meals that said they should not be defrosted.

What does BistroMD do for you in these situations?

Is there any way to get the items delivered quicker?

Thank you for your help.

[cath]

Wow, I'm surprised that your package came that way. I'm in California and my last package was shipped out Tuesday (Monday was holiday) and got to my house on Saturday, and it was still all frozen solid, similar to Renita's experience. I would call them right away to see what they can do.

[crenita]

Send them and Email and also call and leave a message.. they have people in on Saturdays 1/2 day I believe. .... I am really surprised that occured but I did have one shipment like that and they came in the black containers.. after that I asked they NOT send me the dinners in the containers and never had another issue.. This was when they were first trying the new packaging.. They will credit you for all the meals.. ....... don't worry.......

[lorettalru]

Hi! Can some of the veteran Bistro people out there help me with the cooking of the meals..

1. Can I microwave everything? Right in the containers?

2. Does boiling make a big difference taste/consistency wise?

Thank you so much.

[crenita]

Ok... this is what I do... I take everything out of the bags and place on a plate and re heat that way........... I find it works much better.. I don't like the boil in the bag method as I never could get the timeing right.. and I don't like to heat in plastic... I also thought it wsa a little too wet for my taste.
what I do is place the meat item on the plate first.. and nuke it for about 3 minutes.. then add the veggies and heat for 3-5 min. depending the density of the veggies... there is always a little extra water or juice and I drain that off and then dive in hope you enjoy it

[lorettalru]

Thank you.

I do have a ??? After looking at the sodium and calorie info, how different would it be to purchase Kashi frozen meals and just buy snacks separately? Are there more protein in these maybe? I know that Lean Cusine's SOMETIMES have higher sodium than these but the Kashi's don't and Kashi uses only whole grains etc?

I don't know why but I thought these lunches and dinners from Bistro would be lower in sodium and use more whole grains????

I received two fantastic looking shrimp dinner with a TON of shrimp and those looked so much better and of a higher quality than your typical lean cuisine type but unfortunately those are two of the ones that I had to throw away because they were warm when delivered.

One more???? Is there any way to get the food delivered faster by paying a bit more? Not that I want to spend any more money but I would likely not have the problem with the defrosted food arriving then.....

Thank you so much for answering all of my ??

I have alot to lose---160 more lbs. I have lost a total of 100 lbs already and actually had gone down another 30 lbs but have gained 30 back over the past couple of months and I am hoping getting a meal delivery service where I only eat what is sent will get me back on track to losing again. I also like the idea of never having to "think" about what I can and can't eat or what I should or shouldn't.

Does anybody on this Board have alot to lose like me?

Thank you for all of your help and suggestions!

[crenita]

I watch my sodium as well but never had a sodium problem with bistro food... and believe me my MD watches that .. There should be no problem getting the food to you solidly frozen. just talk with the staff and they will double up the dry ice and you really should not have any problem. in the future...Really they will make it work for you .. Other than that one mess of a delivery all my meals arrive in the heat of the Florida summer solidly frozen.
What I have done is order 5 days lunches and dinners.. I make my own breakfast as I like egg beater breakfasts or steel cut oats and on the 2 days off plan.. I use one of the lunches for dinner and make a salad or use a wrap of low cal wraps that I get at Walmart for my lunch.. There usually isn't enough protein in most of the frozen grocery dinners. so that is a last choice vs a first for me.
They encourage you to have one meal off plan each week to keep you from getting bored or from straying too far away from the meals. I take full advantage of that and plan my meals with family or friends with that day in mind.
I get my own protein snacks from Diet Direct.. I want the ones I like an that is easier for me to do. The bars are great and I usually get the Snack O's and now the yogurt berry smoothies... they also make a pudding that is high protein as well.. During the cooler months I get their hot cocoa . and add it to a cup of coffee Yum ..........I also keep string cheese, and low fat pudding cups in the refrig for snacks when i feel like one. I usually have a few salads a week just to change up the meals.. but otherwise that is usually my system. ...........
I have been on delivered meals for about a year now and really like it and do the best on these premade meals I never would have lost as much as I have without them.. I still have a lot to go but I didn't get into this mess over night and won't get out of it easily either hehehehehe............. but I have to say I FEEL the best on Bistro food... I don't have a blood sugar problem but it must even out my glucose level so I am never hungry and I am full of energy so the higher protein works better for me..........Oh the shrimp dinners are amazing......sorry you miss them this week.......More to come don't worry..

Ask what ever i will try to give you an honest answer. I have been on Bistro meals since last July.

[lorettalru]

Thanks again crenita.

Have you tried the low carb at diet to go? That is the other one I was considering but found the reviews at Bistro better.

Do you get every 5th week at half price or is that a one time thing?

[crenita]

I have tried the low carb plan on DTG and was not impressed.... some thing i.e. breakfasts were good but the rest was not, at least for me When you can only have protein and veggies they really need to load up the veggie side of it and they did not I had tomake extra veggies just to keep semi satisfied all the time.. No snacks are given or suggested no desserts of any kind.... for me it was totally unsatisfying That was why I wasn't sure the Low Fat one would be any better but have been pleasantly surprised
.. Also I was always hungry with that plan .... no matter how high the calories were I was starving all the time and the sodium content of their low carb plan is off the charts....... oh and no weight loss at all.......... that is why I ended up with Bistro in the first place
no running special at this time at DTG that I know of.

[lorettalru]

Well.....I am sure it is water weight but I did lose 10 lbs since Friday! Remember that I weigh over 300 lbs so weight comes off pretty fast at the beginning--water weight. My pattern is to lose a lot of weight very very fast and then I stall and cannot lose even though I eat the same and exercise the same. I will watch this this time and start adding in a salad and a fruit or something to see if that makes the scale numbers move again (in the right direction!!!)

Crenita-how long has it taken you to lose the 82 lbs? That is fantastic. When you lose another 12, will you be at your goal weight?
I also noticed that you use your breakfasts as snacks and do your own breakfasts. On Bistro, are you able to opt out of breakfasts all together? They really are pretty bad considering all research shows you should eat a hearty breakfast that includes protein and whole grains. I wonder why they give us things like a sugar free muffin? Probably expense.......but since it is a doctor who developed this, I am somewhat puzzled.

Anyway....thanks again for all of your help.

[crenita]

yes you can set up any way you like re the meals that you receive . They don't advertise it like that as they want you to take the whole 5 or 7 days.. but I just wasn't satisfied with some of their breakfast items.. so I just get the lunches and dinners... no snacks...........
I recommend for first time Bistro people to get at least one week of snacks.. to see what they are like and then you can decide what you like or want. I tried to see if they would send me just what I wanted re the snacks but that was a big NO..........so I just went out on the Internet and found a company with the help of Kathy...... that would provide them.
One thing I would strongly encourage you to do is to get in touch with Bistro's dietitian.......She is very very helpful and will help you modify the plan to meet your personal needs.. She also is very helpful when you hit the inevitable STALL.......... great gal.... and promptly gets back to you.
when I lose that 12 it will be at my FIRST goal..not my last.......... more to go after that sorry to say.......It has taken me about 1 yr to lose this much. Right now I am stalled and have to figure out what I am doing or not doing that is creating this pattern. That is the reason I am trying some other options to see if it is ME or the food.

[lorettalru]

Do I speak to dietitian or customer service about no breakfasts ? I prefer to have an eggwhite veggie scramble for breakfast or oatmeal on days I can't take time to cook. I can also see that I am going to miss fresh veggies on this so am likely going to move to 5 days and have more salads with tuna and roasted veggies for lunches and move the lunches from Bistro to dinners to cover the week. I am also going to do my own snacks after this next week. I have found them on the web.

How much do they charge you for the 5 days without breakfasts or snacks?

Did you lose the 82 on Bistro? Do you do any exercise?

Thank you for all of your help! Feel free to tell me to chill when you are sick of all of my questions!!

[crenita]

Tell customer support that you want to change plans.. they will take care of it from their end..
I just email the Dietitian.. she usually answers me the same day or the next.

I am an egg beater breakfast gal as well.. I use those and the meatless sausage patties or turkey sausage along with 2 sl of pepperidge farm 7 gr bread..... have been doing that for Month's... when I get tired of that I use steel cut oats or kashi go lean w almond breeze ( ton's of protein in that as well )) I have not had a problem adding fresh salads but I use a No cal salad dressing so it really isn't much of anything calorie wise to add to the mix. The 5 day works best for me as well as I do like to have a day or two to do something else even if it is just a simple PB&J sandwich.. sometimes that and a piece of fruit really works for me.. I use that PB2 and have NO GUILT having a PB&J sandwich w sugar free jam.
The last 45-50 lbs were on Bistro... prior to that I was on PFFS...... it was good but just not enough food to keep me from being hungry all the time.
No to the exercise.. have made half hearted attempts and the first time had a major muscle injury that laid me up for a month.... I have been really careful ever since and try to get in my pool regularly for water exercises.

[lorettalru]

Bistro was great. They are crediting me for all of the meals that I had to throw away; are going to put in extra dry ice. They also switch my plan for next week to be lunches and dinners for 5 days. I think that will work best for me. Thank you for all of your help with that!

1 more lb down this am. I am going to try to walk everyday or do a Leslie Sansone walk dvd. I feel much better after I exercise but I DREAD it before and HATE it during!!!

I buy the liquid eggwhites (so much easier and really cheap) and throw that into the pan with spinach, cherry tomatos, onions and herbs....yum...I want some now! I love Kashi everything. I am going to buy a couple of their frozen meals that have comparable nutritional values to Bistro meals and have them as backups. I stupidly gave away all of my food before starting....even the healthy food! When the delivery got messed up and I had to throw away so many meals....I kicked myself big time!

Another meal I love is 0%Greek yogurt with frozen blueberries (half thawed) stirred in. I LOVE the greek yogurt.

Well Thank you again!

[sledge]

Hi. I am doing Bistro MD. I will paste my intro here. I am very interested in hearing about what meals you like and how successfull you are in getting Bistro to customize for you!

Hi!

I go by Sledge. I am 47 years old. Over the past year and a half, I have lost over 100 lbs. I do not know my actual starting weight. I starved myself for three weeks before going to the doctor where I weighed in at, gulp, 406. I figure I was around 425 or so before that. I lost the weight by following a modified South Beach plan and doing Leslie Sansone walk tapes.

I got down to about 270 and then stalled and then gained back 40 lbs. A week ago, I started again and I have lost 12 lbs and am now at 294. I would like to someday weigh 150 but my first goal is to fit into all restaurant booths. It is mortifying to not fit. I don't want the anxiety anymore.

I just started a blog so I will be accountable to the world.

It is on blogger and it is entitled Booth or Bust! (I cannot link it here yet)

I am currently getting 5 days of lunches and dinners from BistroMD, a meal delivery service. I started getting 7 days of breakfasts, lunches, suppers, and snacks. After less than 1 week, I found myself craving a salad or apple so that is shy I switched to lower plan. The food is actually OK but the plan is expensive. I am going to try to stick with it for discipline purposes.

I have not started to exercise yet but my plan is to walk everyday until the snow comes and then switch to Leslie Sansone.

I am totally inspired by Zeusmeatball at One Man's Trip to the Half blog. Maybe once I can actually walk three miles, I will do the C25K program. What a thrill that would be.

I appreciate any and all encouragement and wish all of you the best of luck and goodness as we become healthy and fit!!! It will be a long haul for me but I am determined.

I wanna fit in a booth!!!!

Peace.

Sledge