Photo from Washington Post

Andrea Hernandez

In the last few years, meal kit services that provide mail order food and recipes have become increasingly popular. This concept was intended to help busy people prepare dinner without having to shop for individual ingredients. Some consumers were under the impression that purchasing meal kits would help with weight loss because cooking at home offers more control over what you eat and how it is prepared, which might result in a healthier diet that might contribute to weight loss.  

Meal kit services give you the precise ingredients you need to make the recipe you select, but does not ensure that the portion of each ingredient is healthy and balanced. It is up to the consumer to make a conscious effort to choose a healthy meal plan and manage calorie intake.

Some programs have already been established for consumers who are interested in controlling calorie intake or focusing on a diet that can help improve a certain aspect of health. Weight Watchers is a commercial service that attends to calorie counts in meal plans.  Programs like DASH focus on improving blood pressure by choosing foods that are low in saturated fats, trans fats, and sodium, and rich in potassium.

If you want to lose weight, you need to limit calorie intake and increase calorie expenditure through more physical activity.  

https://dashdiet.org/what-is-the-dash-diet.html

https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/dash-eating-plan

https://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20150106/best-diets-ranking#1

https://www.cnet.com/news/best-meal-kit-delivery-services/

https://www.health.com/weight-loss/meal-kit-help-you-lose-weight