Box #1 Arrives!

I placed my order with BistroMD for a week of Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, with no snacks.  No snacks to keep a little flexibility and to keep cost down.  The week is about $160 for 20 meals.  One dinner is skipped to leave some freedom of choice.  I placed the order on July 21.  Only concern at this point is not being able to figure out when the box will come.  I never actually called the company (Remember, lazy. And I've been a night owl recently.  Not many companies are open at 3am).  Fortunately, it worked out okay because... drum roll please, the box came today! 

The box was delivered by FedEx at 1030am (I know because I called FedEx).  I didn't get home until 530pm.  It was sitting in the sun on a 90degree day.  I was a little worried, but everything was still super frozen and there was still some solid dry ice in the container.

Opening the box was a little like Christmas morning...  All the food was frozen and I put it straight into the freezer.  My Day 1 will be Monday.  I organized a little by day using the menu, so things are easy to get to in the freezer.  Be aware: In an average refrigerator, a delivery will take up almost half the freezer.

My only concern so far is the amount of packaging this process will create.  A big cardboard box every week.  A big styrofoam cooler every week.  Each meal has a plastic tray AND and cardstock wraparound.  I'll have to find a good way to reuse all the coolers.

What the heck?

Confession:  I spend too much money on food that gets thrown away.  I'm just one person, it's hard to finish an entire loaf of bread or package of chicken before it goes bad OR I get tired of it.  I know I could freeze it, but I don't -- I'm lazy.

I spend too much money on fast food.  Remember, I'm lazy.  I like to cook, but that requires pre-shopping and post-cleaning.  I get tired of cooking the same things over and over.  It seems like too much effort to bust out all the cooking supplies to make one serving of something, and that's after I figured out how to turn the recipe into just one serving.

I'd like to eat healthier, waste less, and lose some weight.  It'd be nice if someone just told me what to eat, when to eat it, and how much to eat.  I'd wouldn't have to plan meals or think about what I felt like eating or clean up the kitchen.  So, I did a little research into food delivery services.  I found that the prices seemed expensive.  Then I actually looked at what I was spending on groceries, fast food, and restaurants... and the delivery service was cheaper!  Even if I remove the restaurant trips with other people (cause let's be real, I'm still gonna go out with friends and I am NOT going to be one of those people who "already ate" or brings my own little meal), the delivery service was only a bit more expensive.  That extra $100 a month is worth it IF it feeds me well, with healthy meals that help me lose weight.  So, I decided to try it.  I narrowed down to Bistro MD and Diet-to-Go.  Bistro MD edged out because they seemed to use less processed ingredients and use more veggies and whole grains.  And they won the coin toss too.  Oh, and they are Dr. Phil endorsed.  I don't even like Dr. Phil and that swayed my decision -- that's the power of celebrity endorsement!

Goals: Lose 40 pounds in the next four months.  Eat fast food less than 8 times in the next 4 months.  Spend less than $20 a month at the grocery store.  Spend less than $80 a month at restaurants.  In bed by 1030pm 90% of nights.  Drink 64 oz of water a day. Walk 20 minutes 5 days a week (to start).


Update (9/26/10): I have become one of these people who "already ate," but only occasionally!