For some, losing weight is one of the biggest challenges in life. Most adults know the simple equation: eat less, move more and yet, the pounds remain resolutely on.
While exercise is key to slimming down, it’s not just about weight loss. Increased stamina means you’re not wheezing while running for the bus, and climbing up a few flights of stairs won’t leave you a flustered mess. It’s essential for stronger muscle mass, better sleep and is well-reported to help ease mental health issues. In short, good things happen when you move.
For pure weight loss goals though? Nutrition is the dominant factor.
Nutrition is king: the 80/20 rule
"The 80/20 rule isn’t a rule but rather a notion that weight loss can be achieved by focusing on your diet 80 per cent of the time and 20 per cent of the time on exercise," explains Trifecta Nutrition.
"What this actually looks like is up to you, but it emphasises that your nutrition is more important than your exercise routine when it comes to losing weight."
Of course, everybody is different, so an exact ratio of 80:20 may not be the golden bullet you’re looking for. It needs tweaking. And not just for how much weight you want to lose, but in what time frame, and taking your lifestyle into account. Most experts are in agreement that a slow and steady approach is key to staying on track and means you’re less likely to give in to ‘temptation’.
The UK’s official health plan
If you’ve tried to lose weight before (every New Year’s resolution, amirite?), you’ve no doubt heard of diets like Keto (low to no carb intake), the Cambridge diet (a low-calorie meal replacement diet), intermittent fasting (abstaining from foods for certain time frames) and Fast 800 (restricting intake to 800cals a day) or the Mediterranean diet, which promotes eating plant-based foods and healthy fats like olive oil. Many of these diets see rapid weight loss in a short time, but some are notoriously hard to stick to. All but the most die-hard of devotees report weight creeping back on.
The NHS’s Better Health initiative has developed a 12-week plan to help Britons not only lose weight but encourage them to be more active, shedding a pound or two a week. The guide promotes making small, simple changes to trim down your daily calorie intake in ways that they say you’ll hardly notice. You can find the guide here but the app (search: NHS Weight Loss Plan) is far more handy and breaks things down one week at a time so you don’t feel overwhelmed with too much on your plate, so to speak.
One of the things it helps with is meal planning but that can be a tricky business itself, especially if you don’t have the time to shop regularly for the right ingredients, measure portions and count calories.
That’s where weight loss food subscription boxes come in. These deliveries are designed to do the heavy lifting for you, calibrating meals in line with realistic weight loss goals to give you the best possible chance of success.
Taking the headache out of nutrition, deliveries are made directly to your preferred address so you don’t have to wander around supermarket aisles or farmer’s markets feeling wary about the ‘bad’ stuff. Some will even include snacks and treats to help motivate and give encouragement. So if you’re picturing bowls of gruel, you can think again.
We’ve rounded up the best food subscription services to help with weight loss targets below. Be warned; they don’t come cheap but if you’re looking for a springboard to get you started or need a routine to develop good habits, they’re a worthy place to look.
See the best food subscription deliveries to help weight loss below
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Gousto
Best for: foolproof, wasteless cooking
If nothing turns you off like eating the same meal, day in and day out, Gousto is here to rescue you from the monotony. The company sends all the ingredients and seasonings you’ll need to cook a hearty yet wholesome meal in as little as ten minutes. The only things they won’t send are store cupboard essentials you’ll likely already have, like salt and pepper, milk and vegetable oil.
The selection of DIY meals is deliciously large and dieters can choose from Calorie Controlled or Healthy Choices for their main meals, giving them the freedom and flexibility over the rest of their daily menu.
The best thing about Gousto is that once delivered, you’ll have everything you need - so there’s no excuse to order a takeaway or drag yourself around a supermarket hoping for inspiration to strike. The recipe cards are designed to be kept on file (and you can even order a free binder to keep your favourites safe) so that you can whip them out to make again if you find yourself daydreaming over a previously devoured dish.
As you’re making everything from scratch there’s nothing to stop you from modifying a recipe; say less chilli, using spray oil instead of bottled or skipping the chips to accompany your burgers and using them for another meal instead.
If you’re not sure about your plans for the week, ordering one-off boxes when you need them through the app is a better option than a subscription. New customers can score 50 per cent off their first box right now too.
From £22.99 per box.
Buy now, Gousto
Mindful Chef Recipe Box
Best for: the health nut
Mindful Chef’s meals are aimed at the health conscious. As such, they are free from dairy, gluten, refined carbs and refined sugars.
The recipes read like the menu of a great restaurant with an emphasis on high-quality protein. We're talking plates like Goan-inspired King Prawn Curry, Sri Lankan Beef Keema with Coriander Yoghurt and Spicy Ethiopian Chickpeas with Mangetout. Order from three to five recipes at a time for one or two diners, or enough to feed a family. Calorie counts for each dish are listed under the meal choices online so you can see exactly what’s on your plate before you place your order.
Mindful Chef is a great option for those who want to lose weight but still enjoy the odd dinner out or mid-week treat.
Delivery days are on either Monday or Sunday so you can start the week on the right foot with a good balanced meal, making it a positive choice you’re more likely to continue.
Buy now, Mindful Chef
Green Chef
Best for: hearty fare for all nutritional needs
With all the food subscription services now available on the market, it’s tough to stand out from the crowd but Green Chef certainly manages it. What it comes down to first and foremost is pure choice. No matter your dietary requirements, you’ll be able to find delicious and nutritious meals to liven up the mid-week slog.
Keto, low carbs, balanced, vegan or vegetarian - this recipe kit delivery has them all. You don’t have to stick to just one either; mix and match to your heart’s content.
Next, the quality of the ingredients really is worth noting. We had a steak one night and the result was truly restaurant-worthy. Most meals can be whipped up in around 30 minutes or less, which is a godsend for those looking for great-tasting meals after a long day of work (whether that’s at home or otherwise).
From £31.50 per box.
Buy now, Green Chef
Tastily prepared meals
Best for: restaurant-level ready meals
Tastily offers 32 pre-made meals made by Michelin-trained chefs designed to feed time-squeezed customers who are accustomed to restaurant-quality food.
Delicious and nutritionally balanced, the brand uses cutting-edge packaging technology to keep each lunch and dinner dish fresh for seven days so there’s no need to freeze.
We loved the variety and flavour on offer, as well as the fact each meal tops out at 500 calories, comes with at least two servings of veg and needs just three minutes in the microwave before eating.
The menu spans meat, veggie and vegan options and the subscription can be gifted - it’s a thoughtful idea for anyone moving into a new home or starting uni. We’ll be going back for the Three Bean Chilli; a delicious light supper.
From £6.74.
Buy now, Tastily
Nosh Detox
Best for: science-backed weight loss.
With an almost medical-looking website, Nosh takes weight loss seriously right from the get-go.
Applying a nutritionist approach to shedding pounds, Nosh offers plans that are sugar-free, alkaline-friendly, a four-day liver cleanse and even a vegan keto option, notoriously difficult to prep if you’re doing it on your own. There are also juice fasts, cleansing and IV drips to help you reach your health targets in a safe, considered way.
Everything is freshly made using seasonal produce, so you’re eating in sync with the time of year. Dairy and gluten-free, Nosh’s food programmes are ideal for giving your digestive system the break it deserves – particularly helpful after a period of over-indulgence like Christmas.
It’s expensive, but if you’ve tried everything else under the sun to shift the pounds and failed, Nosh is certainly worth a try.
Buy now £79.00, Nosh Detox
Foodhak
Best for: nutritional and delicious weight loss meals
Weight loss food plans tend to have a bad rap. Losing weight doesn’t always go hand in hand with tasty dishes - and that’s what Foodhak is here to change. The label was created to replace your typical takeaway - no longer can you justify clicking the Deliveroo order button when you have one of these ready-to-go meals in your fridge.
There are different plans, from the detox to reset, but if you’re looking to shed calories then the weight loss variation makes it a breeze. With the likes of vegan paella, vegan mince, Korean congee, vegan miso soup and the Italian vegetable Pomodoro that comes with gluten-free pasta, you have interesting flavours that feel like a “normal” meal yet are packed with nutritional benefits and created with high-quality ingredients. Best of all, they only take around three minutes to cook.
The vegetable-rich, gut-friendly microwaveable sachets look hearty but be warned that some are double servings - this may prove to be an error if you’re following the meal plan information guide that comes with the food as then you have one less! The addition of the Seeded Omega and Millet Crackers, which were moreish and impressively filling was most appreciated.
Gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan meals are delivered directly to your door weekly to totally take the stress out of the mid-week prep and there’s no commitment, you can cancel anytime.
Buy now £6.25, Foodhak
Jane Plan
Best for: all-in-one diet food
Drop the celery, this plan will see you sitting down to everything from Channa Dahl, Chicken Arrabiata Hot Pot and Veggie Chilli. The Jane Plan comes in one, three or four-month plans, but whichever option you choose, you’ll get breakfast, lunch and dinner plus a snack for every day.
You can swap meals or reduce the number of times you get the same one online, giving you greater control and variety of what ends up on your plate. Thanks to great packing, the meals have an impressive fridge life so you can always save them for later on the nights you want a cheat meal.
Calorie counting is sorted too; most menus tot up to under 1,200 calories per day, but you needn’t worry about going hungry. The portions are generous and the food is actually tasty.
There’s also a support service in place, so you get to speak to a qualified nutritionist at the beginning of the plan and during if you need to. If you have a week where you go off track, the superb support service will help you to work out your next steps.
From £62.25 per week.
Buy now, Jane Plan
Fresh Fitness Food
Best for: aiding personal fitness goals.
After hearing rave reviews from the fitness community, we knew we had to try Fresh Fitness Food for ourselves. From the outset, it’s clear that this is not your ordinary meal delivery service. You start by filling out a comprehensive questionnaire detailing your goals e.g. losing weight or building muscle. Then you detail the ingredients that you’d like to remove from the equation and based on your aim, height, weight and calorie intake, it creates a bespoke meal plan for the number of days that you specify. Each comes detailed with its nutritional information.
The service delivers your food overnight to your door. Deliveries begin at 11pm and end at 6am to provide you with that day’s dishes as each is made fresh. This is slightly challenging if you don’t have a ‘safe place’ and it doesn’t feel like much freshness would be sacrificed if you did the week’s deliveries at once.
The food is ready to go on arrival and most can be enjoyed hot or cold. While the breakfast is not the most inspired and can be easily put together yourself (yoghurt and granola), the lunch and dinner options are tasty, especially the chicken salad and lamb meatballs. Word of warning, they don’t appear as appetising as they look on Instagram but don’t judge a book by its cover.
From £26 a day.
Buy now, Fresh Fitness Food
Huel Black Edition
Best for: fast fuel
High protein, low carb and 100 per cent plant-based, Huel Black Edition offers nutritionally complete meals that time-pressed diners in particular love (it takes just one minute to prep a bottle).
Each serving contains 400 calories with 17 meals per bag - so one should last you the better half of a month, if you only have it to replace one meal a day (which we strongly recommend).
Tastewise, these powders are more palatable than others of its ilk and are ideal for breakfast and lunch, although you may want to think about something more substantial for dinner.
The menu includes vanilla, salted caramel, cookies & cream, chocolate, strawberries & cream, cinnamon swirl, banana and coffee caramel - although there is an unflavoured and unsweetened option too if none of the above appeal.
One bag costs £28.50, which, with 17 portions in each bag, works out to £1.68 per meal, so it's easy on the wallet too, especially with food prices as they are. It may not be the most joyful-looking option, but the low calories, decent taste and legions of faithful fans make it a real contender to help weight loss efforts - but only when paired with a sensible, healthy diet and fitness regime.
Buy now £28.50, Huel
