You’ll probably already know the importance of restricting your calorie intake when you’re trying to lose weight. This is one of the reasons there are more and more companies now offering pre-packaged meals delivered to your door. But do they work in helping you to lose weight?
Research
At the moment there’s very little evidence that these weight loss plans actually work however there have been two trials to test whether they work or not.
Study 1: this was performed on a group of 130 overweight women for a total of 12 months. Each woman was given two pre-made meals and drinks everyday for the first 12 weeks. This was then reduced to just 1 meal per day until the end of the study. In addition to calorie-controlled meals, participants of the study has to exercise an hour a day. The average weight loss over the year was 12 kg.
Study 2: 442 women with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of over 25 took part in this study. The aim of the study was to see whether ready made meals or help from a dietician was more beneficial for slimming.
After a total of 2 years they discovered that those taking the ready made meals lost 3 times more weight than those receiving help from a dietician. Those on the low calorie meals lost roughly 6-7 kg whereas those in the other category only lost 2 kg.
Are these trials reliable?
Although the trials have been very promising it’s really only the beginning. Of the two studies, the second one is the most reliable because they’re actually comparing ready made meals with dietary advice.
That being said, we should look at some of the details a little closer…
When you consider that the people taking these ready made meals were getting them for free. Would there be a difference if they had to pay money for the meals? When you consider the fact that they aren’t cheap, you might stop taking them after a short period of time.
What are my other options?
You can’t really get away from the fact that if you want to diet you need to eat healthily and exercise. However this can be very time consuming and slow. So it might be the case that you should think about a diet pill.
There are so many types of diet pill you’d hardly believe it. If you decide to go down the option of pre-prepared meals you might find the portions quite a lot smaller than what you’re used to. If this is the case then you should consider an appetite suppressant such as Unique Hoodia. This will mean that you won’t end up feeling hungry all the time and it will be easier to stick to your diet plan.
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