So I wanted to report back on my 1st full week of DTG to assist those who are in the same position I was in a couple of a weeks ago. But first I want to give a little perspective on what I used the program for as I think your individual expectations will shape your opinion of the program.
About Me: From March to the first week of July I managed to lose 27 pounds on my own. I did this by adding in almost daily exercise and reducing the amount of times I ate out. I noticed I was losing weight but VERRRY slowly in relation to what I wanted to lose, so I started adding more protein to each meal and started eating only "whole" foods. Still I was losing but not fast enough. I finally decided I had to start counting my calories, I did this for about a week and got the scale moving again. Only problem was I was SICK and TIRED of having my life dominated by my "lifestyle change". What do I mean by this? I was coming home from work, walking my dogs, changing into workout clothes, working out, showering, making dinner, and preparing breakfast/snacks/lunch for the following day at work, then eating dinner. When all was said and done I was MAYBE getting an hour to myself in the evenings. SO to fix this I started cooking in bulk (although it's just me), the problem with this is I ended up eating the SAME foods for lunch AND dinner 2-3 days at a time! So I decided I wanted to find a place that would prepare my dinners for me but have them be portion controlled, healthy and with a caloric intake I could easily plug into my food journal. Hence I started doing a lot of researched and learned of places like Pure Foods Fresh Start, Freshology, and Diet to Go. Did some further research and found that DTG received a lot of positive reviews and offered a price/flexible plans that I desired.
My Order: I ordered 7-days of the lunch/dinners for the Low Carb plan. I started with week 2's menu and only found one thing that was 'bland' and that was the squash that came with the hamburger pizza. But I don't like squash anyway so I was probably biased. The other veggies I have found surprisingly tasty, seems like they may steam it in a veggie broth or something, but I tend to add black pepper to all of them b/c I am a black pepper freak! The proteins (i.e. fish/pork/chicken etc) have been OUT OF THIS WORLD! I was genuinely surprised at just how good they all are! Trust me, I don't blow smoke and if something tastes like crap, I will be the first to say. We work too hard for our money to throw it away but the food has been great. What I did at the end of each day was 'rate' my food, so if I decide to order long enough to repeat a week I will know what I LOVED, and what was Good.
Results: From last Monday to this Monday I have lost 4 pounds. This is A LOT for me, especially since I worked out 4 days last week and took it "easy" for two of those workouts. Further I have actually DECREASED the amount of cardio I was doing and am allowing my change in "diet" to account for my weight loss, which is more sustainble for me in the long run. I consumed anywhere from 1200-1700 calories a day, and I generally eat 5-6 times a day. I prepared my own breakfasts and snacks and supplement with the DTF lunches/dinners.
Advice: Figure out what YOU are really looking for and what you need and find a plan that fits those needs. But realize you have to start out with the basics yourself and understand WHY a plan works so you can figure out how to maintain your weight loss over time. For me, the most important thing is calorie control. Me 'overeating' was more a result of the fact that I ate out too much than it was that I didn't like or cooked healthily on my own. DTG does help you learn portion control and it has been great in giving me ideas for meals I can make on my own. I believe the reason I lost the weight was not because of "magic" DTG food but b/c it allowed me to stay within my calorie range for proper weight loss. I still had M&M's, waffles and sugar free fudgcicles last week! But I made it all fit within my calorie range. I am not sure if I will try the low fat plan b/c I tend to be "carb sensitive", I stay satiated longer with proteins than I do with bread for instance. But it's nice to have that option, as well as the veg option. I intend to use DTG indefinitely. I think I will try to go a full 5 weeks so I can sample everything in the low-carb plan. If I can lose steadily 2 pounds a week, I will be a happy woman. I think an individual can easily lose 3-5 pounds a week if they ONLY followed the DTG low carb plan for b/l/d; however b/c of my exercise habits and b/c I don't eat low-carb for weight loss purposes I choose not to follow this path.
I know this is long but hopefully I have provided some insight to those that were interested!