Diet Chef feedback thread NOW CLOSED

[AngelieMumsnet]

This is the feedback thread for the Mumsnetters who are testing out Diet Chef.

Diet Chef say: "We give you breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack for each day of the week. Everything is calorie counted and portion controlled so you just tuck in and enjoy. We believe you should eat the food you love, so our menu, with around 100 delicious dishes, even includes things like curry and pasta. With Diet Chef you can expect to lose 1-2 pounds a week, in line with UK Government recommendations for healthy, sustainable weight loss, while eating real, yummy food."

Testers: we'll be asking you to add feedback once a week - we'd like your first impressions now and every week after that, we'll be posting some new questions for you to answer.

So, in terms of your first impressions...

• What is your first impression of Diet Chef?
  
• What do you think of the Diet Chef website?
  
• What are your thoughts on the menus and food choices?
  
• How did you find the online order process?
  
• What did you think of the delivery options, and what about the delivery service itself?
  
• What are your thoughts on the presentation of the Diet Chef hamper and food items?
  
• What do you think of the Diet Guide and website information about how the meal plan works?
  
• Is there anything else you would like to add about your initial experience of Diet Chef?
  

Everyone who adds their feedback will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will receive a £200 John Lewis voucher, good luck!

Please note: your anonymous comments may be used by Diet Chef on their website and other marketing materials.

Thanks,
MNHQ

[AngelieMumsnet]

Diet Chef says: "Hi all, thank you so much for all your feedback to date. We are now nearing the end of our trial and we hope you have enjoyed your Diet Chef experience! We’ve put together a final set of questions below, which we would love to get your thoughts on.

We look forward to seeing your final, overall feedback!

All the best,
Diet Chef"

Here are the questions for you to answer, but feel free to continue adding any other comments you have:

• What did you think of the food in general? Which was your favourite meal?
  
• Did the plan work for you?
  
• How much weight did you lose in the 4 weeks – was this more / less than you had hoped?
  
• Has anyone noticed / commented on your weight loss?
  
• What was the best thing about Diet Chef?
  
• What was your least favourite thing about Diet Chef?
  
• Overall, how have you found the Diet Chef experience?
  
• Would you recommend Diet Chef to friends & family – why / why not?
  
• Anything else would like to add?

[Dietcheftestet]

Food in general was tasty and filling. My favorite meal was all of the Italian type ones meatballs, bolognese etc I wasn't so keen on the creamy type ones like carbonara.

Yes the plan worked for me, I lost a total of 8lbs. I really tried to stick to it but veered off at weekends. I'm sure I would have lost a lot more if my will power was stronger.

Yes friends and family have noticed my weight loss and most importantly my clothes fit better.

Best thing about diet chef is how easy it is to use. All the meals are very fast to prepare.

Least favorite thing was having diet chef all over all the packaging reminding me I'm on a diet and its a diet product all the time. It also made it hard to take a snack out with me as I didn't want to advertise I was on a diet.

Overall the experience was good. I was surprised it was normal food just smaller portions....I'm not sure why I was surprised, maybe thought there was a magic weight loss ingredient in it or something!!

Yes I would recommend it.

Looking at your website the only off putting part is the subscription process....more you subscribe more you save. I would love the option of just buying a week or 2 to kickstart me into portion control.

Thank you very much for the opportunity and I will be recommending you.

[SunshineDaisiesButterMellow]

I actually enjoyed the food and tried a lot of food that was new to me. My favourite was beef in ale. I also enjoyed the curries immensely. I was not very keen on a lot of the soups but enjoyed the couscous.

The plan definitely worked. I lost a stone! It was more than I expected.

I saw my in-laws three weeks into the diet and they all commented on how I'd lost some weight in my face and I looked slightly slimmer. They didn't know I was on diet chef or any diet.

The best thing about this was that I didn't have to think about cooking for myself and it was all done for me. I have never calorie counted before but started using my fitness pal and it was very easy to input the meals and know how I was doing.

The least favourite was the massive box on my dining table, it's a good thing we don't use the room much. I'd have preferred weekly or at least fortnightly deliveries.

Overall I am very impressed with diet chef. I was intrigued by the ads on tv and am very pleased to have tried it out.

Yes I'd definitely recommend, a couple of my friends have been asking about it and I've told them how easy it was for me. They are put off a bit by the price as was I.

I'd like to say again how good the customer service is. I phoned up to replace some meals I didn't like and the replacements were sent the next day, and the lady I spoke to was extremely helpful.

Thank you so much for this opportunity. It has given me the chance to kick start my weight loss and I'm so grateful. Hopefully will keep it up and look fabulous on holiday next year!

[roisin897]

So pleased I've finished!

• What did you think of the food in general? Which was your favourite meal?
  

Breakfasts were good, lunches generally tasty, but I got bored of soup: should have ordered more couscous and so on. Some of the meals were very tasty, but i struggled with the fact that they were so sloppy/liquidy, but I couldn't really put much with them except veg. I didn't like having different food to my family.

• Did the plan work for you?
  

I didn't enjoy the main meals and would not choose this sort of food/programme in future.

• How much weight did you lose in the 4 weeks – was this more / less than you had hoped?
  

I lost 12lb, probably more than I expected to.

• Has anyone noticed / commented on your weight loss?
  

no.

• What was the best thing about Diet Chef?
  

the convenience, especially lunches and dinners.

• What was your least favourite thing about Diet Chef?
  

the dinners

• Overall, how have you found the Diet Chef experience?
  

Not particularly enjoyable.

• Would you recommend Diet Chef to friends & family – why / why not?
  

I would only recommend it to people who i know already eat a lot of ready meals, and would't find this sort of food to be such a shock.

• Anything else would like to add?
  

it has been a good way to springboard into a healthy eating routine, with suitable portion control. I intend to continue with this, but with regular food.

[babylily]

Here are the questions for you to answer, but feel free to continue adding any other comments you have:

• What did you think of the food in general? Which was your favourite meal?
  

lunch soups great, cereals great, main meals a bit too sauce heavy but as I am used to preparing meals from scratch it was never going to stand up to comparison taste wise.... really enjoyed the daal, curry, loved tuna rigatoni. Mushrom stroganoff is hideous.

• Did the plan work for you?
  

yes. I havent finished it. I have had a chest infection for the last couple of weeks and couldn't diet. I had also reevaluated how much weight I should lose as it dropped off very quickly.

• How much weight did you lose in the 4 weeks – was this more / less than you had hoped?
  

5lbs. In 2 and a bit weeks. Plenty for me.

• Has anyone noticed / commented on your weight loss?
  

no. Its winter and I am covered up! I was told my face looked too thin, but clearly that person couldn't tell I had lost an inch from my waist to mge up for it!

• What was the best thing about Diet Chef?
  

not having to add up calories and think about nutrition myself for a change. Less capacity for cheating as despite trying for free I very much appreciate the investment financially for most users.

• What was your least favourite thing about Diet Chef?
  

the branding....diet anything sounds horrible. The mushrom stroganoff!

• Overall, how have you found the Diet Chef experience?
  

fab, great opportunity to lose a few extra pounds without feeling like I was crash dieting. I feel great, my clothes are looser, I can wear my running gear to school with confidence again! I am not a big person so those few pounds do make a significant difference.

• Would you recommend Diet Chef to friends & family – why / why not?
  

I have recommended to people already. As a short term effective way to lose weight and re educate yourself on hlw much food we really need I think it gives such quick results it is great for anryone who thinks they can't be successful at losing weight.

• Anything else would like to add?
  

I am looking forward to doing my remaining 10 days after xmas! I agre that a 2 week purchase option would be good....a month is too long if ypu don't have much to lose and it represents a bigger commitment and investment.
Thank you for the chance to test it out.

[lorka]

• What did you think of the food in general? Which was your favourite meal?
  

I enjoyed most of the food. However, I didnt like the pasta based main meals very much. I thought the soup and cous cous options for lunch were quite tasty and the breakfasts were good too.

• Did the plan work for you?
  

The plan was good but probably not something I would want to do long term as I like to prepare fresh meals and eat the same as my children.

• How much weight did you lose in the 4 weeks – was this more / less than you had hoped?
  

I lost half a stone. I thought that was good considering a had a couple of nights out as well.

• Has anyone noticed / commented on your weight loss?
  

No

• What was the best thing about Diet Chef?
  

All calorie counted and could still include fruit and veg with your meals.

• What was your least favourite thing about Diet Chef?
  

The dinners.

• Overall, how have you found the Diet Chef experience?
  

Overall the experience was good and I lost weight which is great but I don't think I would enjoy it for longer than the month.

• Would you recommend Diet Chef to friends & family – why / why not?
  

Yes I would recommend it to friends and family who wanted to lose some weight. I think the price might put some off though.

• Anything else would like to add?
  

Thank you for sending me the Diet Chef meals to try.

Merry Christmas!!

[Micah]

Bit of an update from me :)

Like I said, weekdays are working well for me, but weekends have been impossible as the diet isn't portable. My dc compete in sport and we've had a run of weekends where we haven't been home.

However. I appear to have lost 7 lbs :). I've got a weeks worth of food left to hope to shake another couple of lbs before Christmas. This is the lightest I've been since getting pregnant with dc 7 years ago.

So it does work :)

It has made be realise I must be eating more calories than I think. Being strict with certain things has meant I don't pay attention to my "permitted" foods, they might be healthy, just too much! I'll definately go back to portion size and overall calorie monitoring, and having veg instead or rice or pasta, and having distinct meals rather than grazing.

[DammitJerry]

• What did you think of the food in general? Which was your favourite meal?
  

I'm afraid the food just wasn't for me, sorry. It was so far removed from the sort of food I usually eat (too many sauce-based evening meals) that I really struggled with it. I did like the breakfasts (granola and porridge) though.

• Did the plan work for you?
  

Not really - I found it much harder to fit in with my usual routine than I was expecting, and it still required careful thought and planning as the meals needed to have fresh veg etc added to them.

• How much weight did you lose in the 4 weeks – was this more / less than you had hoped? 4lbs, I was really hoping to lose a stone though and sadly found 4lbs all to easy to put on over Christmas
  

• Has anyone noticed / commented on your weight loss? No
  

• What was the best thing about Diet Chef? It made me think more about the amount I eat and portion sizes.
  

• What was your least favourite thing about Diet Chef? Too much brown, sauce-based food that wasn't fresh. I couldn't get past the fact that it tasted like aeroplane food!
  

• Overall, how have you found the Diet Chef experience? A bit disappointing but I am very glad I didn't have to pay for it.
  

• Would you recommend Diet Chef to friends & family – why / why not? Probably not, see reasons listed above.
  

• Anything else would like to add? No - just that I am sorry to be so negative about it. I'm really glad it has worked for other people. It has made me more determined to lose weight this year though so I suppose that is one positive!

[Arion]

• How are you finding the food?
  

I love it! I really like lots of sauce with meals so the food is brilliant for my tastes.

• How easy, or not, is the plan to follow?
  

V easy

• To what extent does the plan fit easily around your normal, everyday routine?
  

I like the range of foods available, it has been easy for me to have similar when having a family meal. Eg DH and DC have lasagne, I have a diet chef lasagne, same with pasta.

• What about family and / or children’s meal times? Does being on the diet help or hinder?
  

As above. My DH works away a lot of the time, DC eat at around 5pm, so too early for me, I usually can't be bothered to cook for me so end up ordering a kebab, or pizza, or grazing on crisps, flapjack etc rather than a meal. I've been eating a lot more healthily with this plan.

• Have you explored the Diet Chef blog yet, which contains many helpful articles about the meal plan, the food, and “added extras”?
  

I do like the blog and the different articles, like having an online magazine.

• Have you lost any weight / inches yet? If so, how much / many?
  

Didn't measure my inches but I've lost a few pounds.

• What is your overall impression, so far?
  

I like the ease and convenience of the meals being ready and portion controlled. I would like to see more 'solid' options for lunch, rather than soup. More pasta pots or noodles maybe?

[Arion]

• What did you think of the food in general? Which was your favourite meal?
  

I liked the majority of the food. I found the lentil soup a bit strange, too sweet, and the vanilla protein bar was horrible, I couldn't finish it. I love the pasta pots for lunch, just wish there was more variety, as I'm not so keen on the couscous. I love the cream of tomato soup, v nice flavour.

• Did the plan work for you?
  

Yes, definitely.

• How much weight did you lose in the 4 weeks – was this more / less than you had hoped?
  

I lost 4 pounds, but I didn't feel like I was really on a diet, and I did have a couple of meals out in that time so happy with that.

• Has anyone noticed / commented on your weight loss?
  

Yes, more than one person has commented now (I've now lost 1/2 a stone, and kept it off over Christmas.)

• What was the best thing about Diet Chef?
  

The convenience, and the variety of meals.

• What was your least favourite thing about Diet Chef?
  

Sooooo much soup for lunch.

• Overall, how have you found the Diet Chef experience?
  

Easy, tasty, straightforward.

• Would you recommend Diet Chef to friends & family – why / why not?
  

Yes, if someone wants an easy, convenient, ready portioned plan, this ticks the boxes.

• Anything else would like to add?
  

I've since signed up to carry on the plan as I found it so easy. I think the Chicken Tikka Masala is nicer than a curryhouse one (less oily and no artificial colours).

I did find it difficult to find my basket though, when I came to re-order for my second month. With the trial, and the 1st month, the plan is in your 'basket'. When you come to re-order, there's a small link at the bottom of the BMI page, it took me ages to find! I was expecting it to be available in 'my basket'.

[Micah]

Here are the questions for you to answer, but feel free to continue adding any other comments you have:

• What did you think of the food in general? Which was your favourite meal?
  

It was OK. Pasta Carbonara and the soy curry weren't great, but otherwise OK. The chicken curries were good. I liked breakfast and lunches.

• Did the plan work for you?
  

Yes, in that I lost weight.

• How much weight did you lose in the 4 weeks – was this more / less than you had hoped?
  

About 7 lbs :).

• Has anyone noticed / commented on your weight loss?
  

No

• What was the best thing about Diet Chef?
  

The set food per day. I knew what I could eat and that was easy to stick to. I'll miss being able to just grab a pre-measured pack of granola or soup etc.

• What was your least favourite thing about Diet Chef?
  

It's not portable- no allowances if you're away from home or special occasions etc. Also it didn't fit in with family meals, my DC definitely realised I was eating different food and wanted to know why.

• Overall, how have you found the Diet Chef experience?
  

Good. It has actually given me a bit of a kick and made me realise what I need to eat, and I've developed the habit of eating veg more.

• Would you recommend Diet Chef to friends & family – why / why not?
  

A single person, yes. A parent or couple? Yes if they could all afford/wanted to do it. But otherwise no, it's very expensive and is too difficult to work around family. I've started buying similar products like food doctor where I can have a similar type of diet- porridge, snack, lunch pot, and then main meal.

• Anything else would like to add?
  

Like I said for me it would be easier (and cheaper!) if I could buy the products individually. Especially breakfast/lunch/snack, then I can have home made bolognese or curry sauce on veg or with stir fry like I did with the diet chef stuff.

[SaltySeaBird]

Not a tester but just wanted to say I've enjoyed reading the feedback on this thread and really nice to see a company responding to feedback on a product testing thread (via MNHQ).

I wasn't going to be about for some of the test or I'd have loved to apply for this one. I'm doing SW at present but you need to be organised which is a real downfall for me (just too busy with work / toddler to plan). I think that must be one of the real advantages of Diet Chef!

[Adarajames]

Damn! Wish I could've tested this, often get their emails and would love to try it but no way can ever afford it ?? you lucky lot!

[nevergooglebrandybutter]

not a tester. can I ask a question though.

do the meals arrive with days of the week on them, and are they frozen or go in the fridge? how much preparation is required? is it a quick zap in the microwave?

[SunshineDaisiesButterMellow]

Never,
The meals arrived in a big box, they were seperate sections with breakfasts, snacks, lunches and dinners. They are like ready meals I just left them in the box in the spare room and stuck in the microwave as needed.
All you have to do is prepare your veg, pasta or rice.
It was very convenient.

[nevergooglebrandybutter]

so they don't need to be in a fridge?

ok thanks.