So how is Bistro Md? my new diet delivery system. I'm guessing Bistro Md is kind of like Jenny Craig but not quite as commercialized. So far so good. Are all the meals fantastic? No. Are many of them good? Sure. Have you lost weight ? Yes Will you keep doing it ? A little while longer.
Since I'm not officially affiliated with this company and am just a newly paying user, I get to give my full opinion. This diet is designed to improve my metabolism and speed weightloss by the sheer combination of the right foods in the right amounts. Tomorrow starts week 2 which sits in my freezer already. I just saw a tv infomercial called A Food Lover's Fat Loss diet. It's probably the same type thing. I think any of these things might work. It's just easier for me to get the food delivered and say to myself this is it all you get.
I wont go through it all here because it would be a very long post but here are bits and pieces. The plan in general: This plan allows you to customize your preferences like no seafood,no pork, no dairy. I ordered the low sodium and no shell- fish option since I like fish but not creepy, crawly sea bugs. My body is a sponge as far as retaining fluids after a higher sodium meal, but I wasn't sure how the low sodium would be.
Each day comes with 3 meals and 2 snacks at near 1200 calories. One day a week you get "MY Night" when you can go out and have your own dinner. The plan recommends to "watch your portions"...riggghhht. That's how I needed your friggin plan.
This food is not as processed as I thought. It's like they cooked this fresh meal and froze it immediately. It's actually as good or better than the other local fresh food system that I'd used.
The Good, The Bad,and The Ugly.
The Good - portion control, volume of food. Also, The combination of low glycemic index,and higher protein versus carbs. There are a lot of diet plans out there and schools of thought for dieting. I'd recently read about some new research in a Diabetes magazine that compared 2 meal plans for Diabetics. They compare a plan similar to this plan with a plan similar to my old which follows the ADA -American Diabetes Association of higher carbs, lower fat and even lower protein. The research looks better for the higher protein, lower glycemic plan of Bistro MD or The Zone diet.
Some of the food is really good and I really like it. I would buy some of the snacks even if I were not on the plan if they were for sale retail. The snacks are all basically forms of 'disguised protein '. Some are fruit flavored or chocolate or mocha shakes-little bottles with protein mix that you add cold water to and shake up. These have been really good. Then there are the protein bars-chocolate or cinnamon or peanut butter (kind of like Luna bars.)
But some snacks are a bit horrid. Bbq protein o's..chocolate protein pudding ('chocolate' as interpreted by a robot).
I just tell myself food is fuel, eat it , stick to the plan , focus, make it work.
The Bad: see above. and $$$ money money money. Some of the food-meh. Since I don't get the shellfish, I had turkey for 3 entrees in a row. When you are eating something that really is just OK the concept that food is just fuel makes sense. Boring sense.
The Ugly...the carbon foot print. The packing materials / a new styrofoam cooler to deal with each week/ the plastic food trays.
Best foods so far: Sugar free Fudge Swiss roll-high fiber, high protein , sugar free. It tasted like an almond joy cake. Chicken pesto with green beans, carrots, cannelloni beans. Buckwheat pancakes with strawberry / blueberry compote. The pineapple/orange protein shakes.
Worst foods: Pork tenderloin with mustard apricot sauce. California wrap with artichoke salad.
Here is a today's menu:
Breakfast: Spinach and ricotta cheese crepes with sweet potatoe cubes
am snack: chocolate mini crisp (like choc covered rice krispie balls-in other words , good)
Lunch: Picadillo-turkey, english peas, plantains (this was actually quite good)
pm snack: Berry protein bar (because I already ate the chocolate swiss roll a few days early)
Dinner: Beef tips with veggies
Tomorrow is:
Breakfast: high protein bagel with turkey sausage and egg white
am snack: Protein chocolateccino shake
Lunch: Southwestern wrap of chicken ,black bean , corn salsa with cole slaw
pm snack: bbq soy snack
Dinner: Roasted turkey with promegranate sauce, broccoli, winter vegetables
Ok,it sounds kind of frou frou . But it's a lot of food , when my portions are done -it's over. And there is a security and structure that I need. And spending the money on this makes it seem entirely necessary that I follow it. A week at a time.
However
My first "My Night " was last night. If I'd prepared what I had planned it would have been better, but we were running late and grilling out never happened. Instead, I had veggie thin crust pizza with salad and sugar free icecream with fudge sauce.
Pizza + Fudge sauce even on sugar free ice cream = tummy ache, regret because there was more pizza and fudge sauce eaten than planned, and the sure knowledge that I'm getting right back on my little expensive plan . (except I finished the sugar free ice cream off after today's lunch). Ok , back on it now.
FOCUS FOCUS , girl
You're workin' it!!! Yay!
ReplyDeleteLike you, I'm not at all fond of cooking... so the idea of delivered meals has an attractive ring. Helps me to read about your experiences with it. You are the scout going before me ;>}
Just curious... do you live alone? I don't know how I could do delivered meals unless my husband did it with me.
One of my worst habits is eating while I'm cooking... taste this, nibble that, chew the tid bits off the bones, etc. Delivered meals would eliminate that problem.
Hallo, I forgot something . The plan recommends for men and for very active exercising woman to eat up to 1500 cal a day using either their snacks or an additional protein and fruit. Since I exercise about 7-8 hrs a week, I've been very hungry on just 1200 calories and so have sometimes added fruit and / or protein.
ReplyDeleteTo answer the questions, I do not live alone. I'm married, but I'm not much of a cook and my husband prefers a completely different kind of diet than I do. In other words, he prefers to eat fast food or on the run food. He did try my fresh food delivery system , but it was "too frou frou " for him, though he followed it for a while and lost weight. He's a meat and potatoes and burgers and pizza and stir fry kinda guy . He doesn't listen to a word I say about health concerns. He is also 6 ft 280lbs.
Sounds good to me! I would like to do something like that, but it wouldn't work with either our budget or the need to cook meals for Husb and Son.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who did something like this program with her husband and they both lost weight.
Wow, that food sounds really good! I think if I could swing the budget I'd totally try something like that.
ReplyDeleteI was curious how the food tasted on that plan. I saw it on Dr. Phil....
ReplyDeleteThanks for the opinion...it's always nice to read about stuff like that through someone who isn't representing the company :)
This was very interesting to me. I'd love to do something like that, when I win a lottery, ha ha!
ReplyDeleteSeriously, it's interesting what you said about it being already proper portioned, and it's easier to stop at that, a safety net.
These plans have been criticized because they say you don't learn what you need, to be able to keep going afterwards with "real" food planning and eating.
But.. I think it can be a VERY helpful tool to help one get going and make significant progress... then, later, when smaller and stronger and ready, to transition with a successful track record of wt loss that gives one confidence and motivation to keep going.
Oh well, just my 2 cents. ;-)
Loretta
=^..^=