Packaged Meals and Clinics - Nutrisystem, Medifast, Jenny Craig, EtcFor support and questions about diet meal delivery programs, or weight loss clinics that offer prepackaged meals and products.
Wow, that's GREAT!!! I'm glad you were able to come to this decision as I've had a GREAT experience with them as well. Well, I never went through them directly but emailed them a couple times and loved the responses. One of my sisters has been with BistroMD for awhile, and my other sister is with another, I think it's Diet to Go or something.
They love the food, each different in taste, so I think you made the perfect choice, as they've lost tons of weight already... well it's taken awhile, but they were in excess of 300+ pounds I think, but are now around 220 or so. They exercise along with it, and try to sweat a lot. LOL. Supposingly they are competing and betting to see who can get to 150 first, which is funny. I think they will stop around 190 though.
I apologize for intruding on your thread and putting all this, but I got carried away. Just talk a lot I guess. :-D
No worries! That's what a message board is for, right?
Maybe that's what I need: some competition. That might help a great deal... I need to get my butt into gear, for sure. Make it count!
Full of Grace, thank you for your blog, your emails and your detailed description of this diet plan and your experience with it. Thanks in large part to the information that you have so generously shared, my mom and I have decided to give this plan a try! I appreciated seeing the photos of the food too..
BTW, my starting weight is the same as yours so I am inspired by your success.
I have a question about BistroMD that the usual FAQ's don't really cover.
The information all says you can either use boiling water or a microwave to heat the frozen meals. All of the comments I've seen from users of the product have been from people who boil, NOT nuke. How microwavable are they? Can you use a microwave consistently without resulting in "hotspots" (the usual frozen dinner phenomenon of half the meal staying frozen while the other half becomes too hot to even touch to rotate the package)?
I ask because I work 12 hour shifts, and I'm very interested in trying BistroMD, but only if I will be able to heat these meals properly in the microwaves at work. I won't have access to a way to boil water.
Full of Grace, thank you for your blog, your emails and your detailed description of this diet plan and your experience with it. Thanks in large part to the information that you have so generously shared, my mom and I have decided to give this plan a try! I appreciated seeing the photos of the food too..
BTW, my starting weight is the same as yours so I am inspired by your success.
Keep up the good work!!!
jf
Wow, thanks! I wish I had more inspiration to share.
I'd love to have so many good results by now that you could really be excited by it, but I am still on the right track and pleased that I'm headed in the right direction, every day. That's what matters most, ultimately.
So glad the blog and the photos and posts have helped you and your mom make a choice to try BistroMD. I'm still loving it, even though it's slow-goin' here. Eager to hear about your journey and I wish you well in reaching your goals!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Xentropy
I have a question about BistroMD that the usual FAQ's don't really cover.
The information all says you can either use boiling water or a microwave to heat the frozen meals. All of the comments I've seen from users of the product have been from people who boil, NOT nuke. How microwavable are they? Can you use a microwave consistently without resulting in "hotspots" (the usual frozen dinner phenomenon of half the meal staying frozen while the other half becomes too hot to even touch to rotate the package)?
I ask because I work 12 hour shifts, and I'm very interested in trying BistroMD, but only if I will be able to heat these meals properly in the microwaves at work. I won't have access to a way to boil water.
I've done both. I boil water the most often, just because that really does seem to result in the best-tasting meals with the most consistent heating.
That said, I've several times been in situations where the microwave is the only option and it works just fine.
I cut a notch in the packages--in a place that's easy to find later, and high up on the pack so things don't ooze out too much during heating--and use a plate that angles the food packets up at the edges a bit, which helps with keeping everything evenly-heated and also with spillage.
Five minutes tends to do the trick.
I have had to zap the plate again for 30 seconds after opening the packages and putting the food out on the plate for eating, when there's been a little spot that has stayed a little cool (usually when the pork is all clustered together in a thick area or something).
But it's easy enough and tastes just fine. Honestly, I'm not sure whether the taste is THAT different between boiling and microwaving; but I prefer the results when I boil the bags, as it's just not as messy and the flavors really do come together better, the longer the bags are heating up. (And boil-in-bag takes like 12 minutes per meal, vs. 5 minutes for microwaving them.)
Hope this helps!
Good luck and let me know if you have other questions I might be able to help with.
Yeah!
Last edited by full of grace; 07-05-2008 at 10:48 PM.
Reason: typo
One other question I forgot to bring up... About delivery. Do they set it up so FedEx always delivers on the same day? What happens if you're not home to accept a delivery? I'm a single guy so I don't have someone at home to sign for me if I'm at work; I do work nights so hopefully I'll be home for most deliveries but if I'm deep asleep I may not even hear the doorbell! Do they just leave the boxes on your front porch (which on hot days could be bad) or deliver again later (which could be just as bad if the dry ice has time to evaporate)??
One other question I forgot to bring up... About delivery. Do they set it up so FedEx always delivers on the same day?
Generally, yes. I've received 21 weeks and I'd say about 17 or 18 of them have been on Friday. The other three or four, on Saturday.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Xentropy
What happens if you're not home to accept a delivery?
My FedEx people leave the package at the door. It has a stamp right on the box that says, "No signature required," so that's something they print on the packaging, from BistroMD.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Xentropy
I'm a single guy so I don't have someone at home to sign for me if I'm at work; I do work nights so hopefully I'll be home for most deliveries but if I'm deep asleep I may not even hear the doorbell! Do they just leave the boxes on your front porch (which on hot days could be bad) or deliver again later (which could be just as bad if the dry ice has time to evaporate)??
Yeah, mine are always at the front door, in the shadiest area of the porch the delivery person can find.
I live in southern California, so the heat can be an issue here too, but I have to say that not ONCE have I received a package in which the dry ice was all gone or the frozen foods were even *beginning* to melt.
They pack that stuff up GOOD and obviously keep it on a refrigerated truck while in transit. NO issues whatsoever here and it's been sometimes hours before I get home to retrieve a package that's been left outside during the daylight hours.
Sounds great! Well, I went ahead and put in my order. I'm a little apprehensive, but excited as well. I hope this is the first step toward a happier, healthier me!
I've successfully dieted before (lost 80 pounds in just four months on Medifast) but was unable to maintain the loss and regained it all rather quickly after returning to my old ways. I'm hoping that this plan being closer to what someone should really be eating than Medifast was will teach me transition and maintenance better so after the weight's gone I can change my habits permanently. Wish me luck!
Sounds great! Well, I went ahead and put in my order. I'm a little apprehensive, but excited as well. I hope this is the first step toward a happier, healthier me!
Good luck! I was apprehensive when I started out too. Not sure I'd chosen the right plan, not sure I could stick with it, not sure I'd lose weight on it, not sure I could afford it, not sure I'd enjoy it, blah blah blah.
I think that's human nature to some extent. But I couldn't keep letting all of that uncertainty keep me from moving forward and making a choice of some kind!
I've been very pleased, on all counts, obviously.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Xentropy
I've successfully dieted before (lost 80 pounds in just four months on Medifast) but was unable to maintain the loss and regained it all rather quickly after returning to my old ways. I'm hoping that this plan being closer to what someone should really be eating than Medifast was will teach me transition and maintenance better so after the weight's gone I can change my habits permanently. Wish me luck!
That's an awesome loss and proof that you can do the good work and lose the weight! Great!
But yeah, the "returning to my old ways" was a big part of my decision to choose a plan that would look as much as possible like "my old ways" on its own.
By choosing a plan that I could do every day and work into my existing lifestyle, I was hoping that I would set myself up for a true lifestyle change, even if it meant the weightloss would be generally slow. And, so far, that's been the case. Slow weightloss, yes. But loss. And without feeling deprived or rebellious about having such restrictive options, etc.
Honestly, I could stay on BistroMD for life, at this point. It works for me and doesn't feel like a diet, and that's key for success, in my life.
Wishing you loads of success as you try it out! I remember getting impatient waiting for my first delivery! I hope you can endure it. Get your freezer ready. You'll need the room! And have a good pair of scissors for getting into those bags after heating 'em. Making the storage and prep easy is part of the "setting yourself up for success" process too!
Should I expect a confirmation email of some kind for my order, and/or a shipping notice mail? I was actually kind of surprised not to get email as soon as I ordered, given almost every time I've ordered anything online I've gotten immediate feedback.
Should I expect a confirmation email of some kind for my order, and/or a shipping notice mail? I was actually kind of surprised not to get email as soon as I ordered, given almost every time I've ordered anything online I've gotten immediate feedback.
Let's see... it's been five months since I placed my first order, so I'm trying to remember.
I *think* I received a system-generated "thank you" for placing my first order via the website and it included a note that I would receive a tracking email directly from FedEx once the shipment was in transit.
That email from FedEx came like a week later--because I placed my first order JUST after the deadline for an order to ship that week. *sigh* So, I had to wait 'til the next order cycle for mine to go out.
But I do get emails from FedEx every single week (usually on Monday) with a tracking number, clickable progress link for updates, and the expected delivery date.
I also get emails from BistroMD every single week when they've charged my credit card with that next week's order.
But to answer your question, in that *very first order*, I believe I received a very form-letter-like "thank you" email and then about a week later I received the FedEx tracking email and the BistroMD receipt for my credit card charge.
Hope that helps!
I'd say, if you don't have an email from them by close of business Monday, you should plan to call them on Tuesday to find out what's up. I'm guessing the holiday could be why you didn't get an auto-responder, but that is also weird, since, if it's truly an "auto responder," a holiday shouldn't matter, right?
Maybe call or email them on Monday just to be sure you're in their system.
So they deliver Mondays; by what time today should I get a delivery notice email, after which I should ask them what's going on if I don't hear from them?
I'm going to be sad if I have to wait an extra whole week to start. Was looking forward to getting my first delivery this Friday. Ordered (barely) before midnight Sunday morning specifically for that purpose (according to their menu page that's the cutoff).
So they deliver Mondays; by what time today should I get a delivery notice email, after which I should ask them what's going on if I don't hear from them?
I'm going to be sad if I have to wait an extra whole week to start. Was looking forward to getting my first delivery this Friday. Ordered (barely) before midnight Sunday morning specifically for that purpose (according to their menu page that's the cutoff).
Got me!
I ordered on a Monday night and therefore had to wait 'til the following Monday for my first order to ship, meaning it didn't arrive until 11 full days after I had placed the order.
But it sounds to me like you ordered "on time" for their cut-off and should have something this week.
But I'd contact THEM to be sure, as I'm just guessing.
Make it count!
