REVIEW – Dietbon – Weight Loss Ready Made Meals | AD

As a dietitian I see a lot of people wanting to lose weight and really struggling with it. I personally have never had issues with my weight but being a busy Mum of 3, I can really see how easy it is to not put yourself first, not eat properly and if losing weight is a goal, it just becomes so difficult. Time is the key and organisation and as a busy parent or if you are working long hours or travelling, it is all too easy to not eat well. Snacking, convenience foods, poor choices, skipping meals and filling up on sweets and chocolate is all too easy when you have no time. This is where Dietbon, who produce weight loss ready-made meals, maybe what you are looking for as a solution.

More About Dietbon

Dietbon is a French company that provide 100% natural balanced ready-made meals to help you lose weight. You receive meals for 6 days that you can choose to suit your tastes and they are delivered monthly. This encompasses breakfast, main meals and snacks.  On the 7^th day you get a “free day” that helps you choose healthy meals and helps you for when coming off the Dietbon plan full time.

You have a phone consultation with a Dietitian at the start and then monthly to help you on your weight loss journey.

There is online support and advice provided about activity and alcohol, so takes the whole lifestyle in account.

Cost – Dietbon is cheaper the longer you do it for. 1 month is £76 a week, 2 months is £67 a week, 3 months is £59 a week and 4 months is £44 a week. Quite a big difference!

Me and Dietbon

I have to make it clear that I was not trying Dietbon for weight loss. I have written in the past how I actually struggle to maintain and gain weight. The Dietitian I spoke to was lovely and it was great to chat with another professional. She was concerned and told me to eat a little more with the meals, as I am quite active. I liked the tailored approach and it was very professional. As a Dietitian I was keen to see what Dietbon was like, try the meals and see if manageable. One of my biggest pet-hates working in the world of nutrition is plans that are sold as quick fixes. It it very easy to live on juices for a week and lose some weight but how sustainable is this? Do you learn to eat healthily when you stop these juices?

No.

This is what I liked about Dietbon when speaking to the Dietitian. You have one day a week to eat freely and you get help on what sort of foods and snacks to pick. When you finish Dietbon, you have some idea of where to start when eating freely completely. Being healthy needs to be a lifestyle and not just a plan for a few months. I’m glad Dietbon give clients the help they need to succeed after the plan is over.

For you, if you are keen to try for the very first order of a diet plan, you can benefit from a 15% discount with this link as well as a free 28-day Morning & Night detox tea too!

Trying the Food and Plan

I was keen to try my meals from Dietbon and see if they would be manageable for me. Would it be possible to stick to the plan?

Breakfast

I usually have a boiled egg and toast for breakfast. I was provided with pancakes for breakfast as part of the plan. Then you are advised to add fresh fruit and either a low fat or natural yoghurt or 150ml of skimmed or semi-skimmed milk.

This would be manageable for me to have as a breakfast, as I eat yoghurt and fruit regularly. The pancakes were nice and not too sweet. It is quite a small portion but of course I’m active and on-the go. If trying to lose weight, would be enough.

Lunch and Dinner

I would have one of the meals for lunch or dinner and I have to say I thought they were really delicious. I tried pasta and meatballs, chicken and lentils and a delicious beef and tomato soups as examples. I was a little nervous at first, as you don’t have to put the meals in the fridge! They are fine at room temperature and you just heat them through thoroughly.

My husband also tried a meal and we both said they were tasty filling and he liked how there were lots of chopped vegetables and plenty of meals. Not greasy and mainly sauce, as we have had in ready meals before.

We did say we could have possibly added some extra vegetables to the meals or had a side salad, just to increase our vegetable in take a little and boost the fibre intake. You are encouraged to do this, as part of the plan for dinner.

Desserts

We were provided with some small fruit compotes, an apple compote, which was not to my taste. I would prefer just to eat a piece of fruit. I’m also not a fan of puree fruit either, so this will depend on your preferences.

There are different dessert available, different fruit and sweeter puddings and you can see on the Dietbon website.

Snacks

The snack aspect of the Dietbon diet, I found quite hard, as I’m a picker and eat little and often. I usually eat fruits and nuts and as I train a lot anyway and am usually very active. The snacks provided for me were little lemon cakes and then you were meant to add a small 150g pot of low fat or natural yoghurt. I can understand Dietbon providing a cake, as it is nice to have a small thing that is sweet when you are on a healthy eating plan but I found them a little too sweet. I do tend to have plainer things during the day.

Again there are other options on the Dietbon site, such as as healthy seed and dried fruit mix or no-added sugar cookies. These would have probably been closer to what I snack on but I guess picking at food a lot isn’t a good thing when aiming to lose weight!

Detox Tea

I’m definitely not a fan of any tea other than English Breakfast so I didn’t fancy the detox teas that were provided as part of the plan. I’m quite fussy on that aspect but two are provided – a relaxing blend and an energy boosting option.

Overall Thoughts on Dietbon

As I mentioned earlier, I like the idea of Dietbon as it provides pre-pared snacks and meals for 6 days of the week but on the 7th day, you have to prepare you own meals, with ideas provided. This helps you return back to normal eating when you come off the plan.

The support was good. The Dietitian I spoke to gave a good overview and we discussed alcohol and activity and advice was given. I liked the idea of looking at the lifestyle as a whole, as it is so easy to think of a diet plan as a quick fix. It needs to be educational and teach you to live a healthier lifestyle afterwards.

The main meals provided were very tasty and seemed balanced, with plenty of meat and vegetables added. I was surprised by this, as you store them at room temperature and I wasn’t sure they would taste good.

I wasn’t too keen on the desserts and snacks provided, as very sweet. I’m aware we are looking at a calorie controlled diet but they were not to my taste. I would prefer a piece of fruit in comparison to a puree version and I wouldn’t have a little cake in the middle of the day. There are other options you can choose however.

Would it work?

I think yes! It’s a calorie-controlled, balanced diet.

I think if I was set on losing weight, Dietbon would help in the short-term. The meals are tasty and the plan is manageable. I don’t think I would want to stay on it for months though, so would end up paying more. I would want to get into a routine and then be able to try and cook for myself and continue afterwards. This is a personal choice though.The Dietbon guide provided gives lots of tips and provides various recipes too. To be honest I don’t think you should stay on it for long! It should be a kick-start and a learning curve.

So if you are a busy parent or worker, desperate to lose some weight and be healthier, I would have a look at Dietbon and see what you think. I believe it would work but just check all the options available and make sure you tailor your plan, to your likes!

Disclosure – we were provided with these meals and compensated for our time. All thoughts and opinions are our own.