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eDiets Fresh Prepared Review: Online Diet Program |
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| Shady ordering terms, rated F by BBB and low taste test score; fitness and online components are positives. | |
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Fresh Prepared, a food delivery plan from eDiets, is designed for those well-intentioned individuals who want to eat healthy and nutritious meals, but who simply don't have the time to plan and prepare an elaborate breakfast, lunch and dinner each day. While the service is great in theory, the taste and the program terms were very disappointing.
How Does It Taste? Ever wonder how diet food actually tastes? We did. To answer our question, we ordered a week's worth of food from each of the diet plans we review and conducted an independent taste test. Ten people took part in the blind taste test, pitting the meal delivery plans against each other. The meals were rated for taste and appearance, and the final results were tallied. We had high expectations, as Epicurious.com named Fresh Prepared as its top pick among diet delivery services, highlighting the many tasty meal options. But in the end, eDiets was the least favorite among the tasters. You can see the complete results at our meal delivery taste test. Terms and Conditions As we mentioned earlier, eDiets Fresh Prepared has some terms that left us disappointed. We received our order on a Thursday and when we went to go cancel our next shipment, the customer service representative informed us that the cutoff time for canceling is Wednesday. This left us wondering, how can a customer know whether they want to continue the program if they haven't tried it out? We tried asking for a supervisor on three separate occasions, and each time we were informed that there was no one we can speak to and no way of getting a refund for the second shipment. Upon checking the Better Business Bureau, we weren't alone with our problem. The company has an F rating from similar complaints. Meals Fresh Prepared offers customers a choice of two different plans. The seven-day complete program includes breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack or dessert every day, and is recommended for those who are serious about weight loss and prefer as much structure and convenience as possible. The five day 'weekends free' program, which only provides meals on weekdays, is more flexible and is intended for weight maintenance. Fresh Prepared only offers a standardized meal plan, so if you have specific dietary needs due to allergies or diabetes, this plan may not be right for you. However, each week you can sign in to your online account and select which foods you want to receive. This is convenient if, for example, you dislike peas and want to make sure you don't get any meals with peas. Rather than emphasizing a particular diet with restrictions and rules, Fresh Prepared focuses on supplying nutritious meals in sensible portion sizes. Just sign in to your account and custom design your menu for the week. The meals you select will be prepared to order, packed in Stay Fresh refrigerated coolers and delivered to you via FedEx. All you have to do is heat and eat your chef-prepared, personalized meals. Support When you sign up for Fresh Prepared, you also get access to the many other resources at eDiets.com, including support and motivation at community message boards, live support from registered dietitians and certified fitness trainers, a personalized fitness plan and health and fitness news, tips and motivating challenges. The eDiets online experience is like a complete virtual diet universe. You can blog, find new friends, meet up with existing friends, share photos, and participate in online chat rooms. If you're the type of person who enjoys interacting with others going through the same experience, this will be a mecca for you. The entire experience was definitely the most full-featured of any meal plan diet we reviewed. Fitness eDiets features the strongest online fitness program we've seen amongst all the diet plans we reviewed. Their fitness tools include a virtual trainer, a nifty feature that literally shows you how each exercise should be done. Along with an animated example, there are easy-to-follow written instructions for every muscle group you'd like to train. Every week you are given personalized recommendations for your fitness plan, with the daily cardio and weight training components spelled out. Your plan is completely editable, so if you'd like to play tennis on Tuesday instead of walking, you can make the change. We actually loved this tool, and it was definitely the most robust of any diet program we looked at. Pricing There are two different pricing structures, one for the 5-day plan, and one for the 7-day plan. The 5-day plan is $139.95, while the 7-day plan is $169.95. Both these prices include the $21.95 per week shipping charge. Minus the shipping cost, the 5-day plan comes out to $23.60/day and the 7-day plan, $21.14/day. Bottom Line Fresh Prepared is good for people who prefer healthy, sensible, well-proportioned meals rather than a strict diet. It is good for people who want to stick to the program for a month, since their canceling requirements are so strict. One thing we like is they have strong support and fitness components. |
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Service Details:
| Lowest Cost: | $21.14/day free shipping |
| Diet Types: | Freshly prepared meal delivery diet |
| Support Types: | Online meetings; phone and online support; access to nutrition and fitness experts |
| Fitness Tools: |  |
| Taste Test Rating: |  |
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Here is NextAdvisor's review of eDiets Fresh Prepared: http://www.nextadvisor.com/diet_service ... review.php
