The quest for the quickest and easiest way to lose weight seems to be never-ending. Turn on the television and flip through the channels for a few minutes. You will most likely come across a few different kinds of diet programs where the food is mailed to your door. Search on the internet and you will come across hundreds of other companies that offer the same services. For those of you who have never heard of the service, you sign up for one of the companies meal plans and you receive a shipment of food a few times a week that you then heat up and eat.

Unfortunately there are a lot of things wrong with this approach. The concept is great but the implementation is lacking. The idea that extremely busy individuals can have their food delivered to them instead of trying to find the time to cook or in some cases not eating at all is fine. However, the companies aren’t marketing to busy individuals. They are marketing to the people who are trying desperately to lose weight. In my opinion these diet catering companies are no different than taking weight loss supplements like fat burners.

Our society keeps getting bigger as the years go by. People are willing to rely on any means to get the weight off and people usually seek the quickest means that take the least amount of work. This is where greedy people come into the picture. Companies will sell any product they can to American’s who genuinely hope to get the results they desire. The companies are willing to pay celebrities lots of many to act as success stories. They will do whatever it takes to create the image and the belief that their product can truly help you. This goes for diet supplements, infomercial exercise equipment, and now mail order diets. If people don’t seek one of the above products they resort to other means like anorexia, bulimia, or gastric bypass surgery.

I know this isn’t the case for everybody and I am getting a little off-track but it is hard to watch millions of people commit their hopes and hard earned money to something that is either worthless or a potential health risk. In the case of mail order diets there are many things that are wrong and very few things that are right.

The first issue, which is usually on every persons mind almost every second of the day is money. These services cost money and in most cases a lot of money. Go to any of the sites or watch any of the commercials and you get smacked in the face by how great of a deal it is, the special offers, and the limited time additions you will get if you act now. In my experience, if it’s really that great of a deal, you don’t need to be told. The companies are quickly trying to get you hooked before you can think twice. The same mentality is used in the corporate gym world everyday. One of the companies offers 28 days of food for roughly 350 dollars. That breaks down to only $12.50 for the 28 days, what a great deal.

Once the companies have you hooked on what a great deal it is you rarely question the quality of the food. Any food that is pre-prepared, shipped, and then reheated has to be filled with preservatives to make it last. Even if this isn’t the case, the food is hardly fresh when it arrives. This leads me back to my solution to anybody’s weight problem, eat fresh unprocessed foods in moderation and you will be fine. Looking at the food menus and watching the pictures of the food on the television leads me to believe that neither of these criteria are met. Last time I checked a plate of cheese ravioli and tomato sauce with chocolate cake for dessert wasn’t fresh and unprocessed, and that is one of the meal options.

This leads to my next point. These companies lead you to believe that you can lose weight eating crap. I’m sorry to say but the previously mentioned meal is awful for you. I don’t care what a dietary expert will tell you, it isn’t good for you. Your body doesn’t need processed pasta and processed chocolate cake. This leads to the question, if you can eat these foods and lose weight, what is really in the foods? Either you get such miniscule portions that you don’t consume many calories or there are all sorts of chemicals in the food that your body can’t properly digest. The only other alternative is that you don’t lose weight.

Let’s assume that you managed to lose weight on the diet somehow. Is it really realistic to stay on the diet plans by receiving food for the rest of your life? My assumption is that it isn’t. So when the food stops coming and it’s time to make dinner, what do you make? That ravioli and chocolate cake sure did taste good, and soon the weight starts coming back. In the real world you can’t eat that kind of food consistently to lose and maintain a healthy weight. The companies are not teaching proper eating habits at all. They are leading you into this belief that pastas, pastries, cookies, and cakes are good for you, when they aren’t.

So you invest all of the money, get your hopes up, get some encouragement when the weight starts coming off, and next thing you know the plan is over and the weight is back. What are your options? Either feel awful and give up or go back on the diet. I’m sure the companies are hoping, and probably planning, on the latter.

Instead of trying to find the quick-fix, “I don’t have to do anything” diet stop being lazy and cook your own food. Go to the grocery store, buy fresh produce and various kinds of meat and make your own meals. This way you will know what is exactly in the food you are eating, but it is also manageable for the rest of your life. Unless you are fortunate enough to pay a professional chef to sit in your kitchen waiting to cook you food you need to learn how to cook. It really isn’t that hard to do, it just comes down to effort.

I promise that even though at the time it may seem like a great idea, somewhere down the line in some way or another you will most likely regret using a mail order diet. For the extremely busy, and I mean people who honestly don’t have two hours of free time at all during the week, a catering service may be an option. If you are going to resort to that to get your food my recommendation is to find someone locally who you can meet in person and talk about your specific needs. Make sure the food is fresh and unprocessed and that the chef will meet any demands you have. If not don’t do it.

At the end of the day take accountability for your own actions. Don’t expect someone or something to do all of the work for you. Learn how to cook, workout regularly, and wait for the results to start coming. If you honestly do the best you can your body won’t purposefully avoid losing weight. If the results aren’t coming either you aren’t trying as hard as you can, eating as well as you should, or there is something medically wrong with you. Don’t give up if the results don’t happen right away, evaluate your situation and react accordingly. You can accomplish anything you set your mind to. Good luck.

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