Google displayed the usual suspects when it comes to prepared diet foods. As I scrolled a bit further down the list I noticed several comments being made about Nutri System...after all, it was the plan I was going to choose so it caught my eye. I began reading some of the really negative posts on this site that seemed dedicated to reaming NS. As I read post after post of people droning on about the food and the horrible customer service I started to rethink this option. Remember, both times I was on NS I was treated like royalty because I was the face or "voice" as it were that was telling others how great it was. If I signed up online and gave them my credit card for "auto ship" and got mailed a box of food I didn't like, would I then be just like these others trying to straighten things out via their 800 number? I started to get a really bad feeling and figured there must be something else out there with a better reputation and certainly better food.
I wish I could remember what site I stumbled upon (maybe I'll list it if I find it again) but it was a very honest ranking of the diet plans currently available. I read through most of them until the reviews started to reach below what I felt my standard was after ruling out NS. It was funny, because Diet To Go kept showing up in the multitude of criteria they had disseminated. I mean everything from customer service to meal plans to food taste and overall value. It was difficult to escape Diet To Go...so I went.
I figured it would be like most sites where they want to get all the demographic information they can from you for free before divulging anything about their plan. Most sites wanted you to "sign up or log in" and then they would have someone contact you...buh-bye! I was very surprised that I was able to find out the cost of a basic meal plan within a couple of clicks. I liked the fact that they had several meal plans and several options for quantity, too. You weren't forced to order all three meals for all seven days. Hmmmm, I'm liking this. I also liked the fact that the food was REAL! The way I saw it, for what I would be shelling out for Nutri System's "add water or microwave dog food" I could be eating REAL FOOD for a few dollars more. I dug deeper.
I looked at the nutritional information and the calorie plan options. This all began making sense to me but I wanted to know how the whole thing really worked. There must be a catch, right? They'll pull the old switcheroo because I'm mail order. Oh, did I mention that if you live in DC, Philly or San Fransisco you can pick up the fresh made food? But I bet when they mail it to you they sneak the nuke-n-puke stuff in there and I'm trapped again. I'll bet I'll spend hours on line with a customer service rep that will deny I even placed an order. This will be like trying to ship back the unused nasty tasting powered mix...I'll end up just throwing it away. I know, I'll test their customer service by emailing them. If I don't hear from them in a couple of days I'll have my answer.
Right away I got a response from them. Sure, it was your standard "we received your request and will get back to you within 24 hours" or if I couldn't wait that long there was an 800 number I could call. No way, I'm sticking to my guns. I want to see if someone really is going to get back with me. Before noon the next day I had another lady in my life; a sweet gal named Kai, the sales manager at DTG. In her email she states she tried to call but was unable to reach me at the number I provided...cuz I'm stupid and screwed it up as I would later find out. Anyway, Kai and I (hah, rhymes) had a pleasant talk and explained that there was no "switcheroo" with mail order. The REAL food is frozen (just like you would if you cooked something and put it immediately into the freezer) and shipped within a day in a insulated carton directly to my door. She suggested taking a few meals out to thaw in the fridge and putting the rest in your freezer. I'm in!
Through Kai, I was able to speak with a couple of other really nice ladies at DTG to make sure I was getting the right meal plan for my specific condition(s). Yes, being a fatty-in-your-forty's can cause some very predictable health problems. Come on, say them with me; hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol and triglyceride issues. Granted, it's not all my fault but I've always said "you can't pick your parents" right? I spoke with my doctor about DTG and she was thrilled. She even logged onto the website during my visit to check it out nutritionally. Of course I still left with a new prescription but she was happy that I was ready to deal with my weight and convinced (as am I) that most of these problems can be defeated by diet and yes, the dreaded E-word: EXERCISE. More on that later. I'm happy to announce I've placed my order and expect to see a big box of healing show up at my door next week. I'll keep ya posted every step of the way.
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