The Fresh Diet
The Promise
Designed by a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef, The Fresh Diet serves up fine dining with calories in check. You get every meal delivered directly to your door.

Each day, you get three portion-controlled meals, plus side dishes and two snacks. The meals fall within a set calorie range based on your gender and diet goals.

Most women get 1,200 to 1,400 calories a day, while men follow a 1,600- to-1,800-calorie plan. How you adjust your calories will depend on how much weight you want to lose.

What You Can Eat
You get fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and whole grains served up in mouth-watering combinations, like persimmon and fig marmalade-stuffed French toast with turkey bacon, or miso halibut with wild rice and cabbage. You can even eat desserts like caramel panna cotta or cappuccino cheesecake.

You have two plan options. If you choose the Premium Plan, you design your own menu. On the less expensive Chef's Plan, your meals are chosen for you.
Drinks aren't part of the program. You can drink as much water and calorie-free drinks as you'd like, but adding sugar-sweetened or alcoholic beverages will raise your daily calorie count.

The Fresh Diet is simple. You order the food online, and it arrives in prepackaged containers ready to heat up in the microwave or oven.

Limitations: Though you have some flexibility in choosing your own meals, options are limited. There's no room for adding foods from your fridge or pantry. The delivery options depend on where you live. In some areas it's daily delivery, but in most it's twice a week. You can enter your ZIP code on the web site to find out.

Cooking and shopping: You won't have to do any, since all of the food you need each day will be delivered right to your door.

Exercise: Recommended.
Cost ranges from $35 to $60 a day. There are 7-, 14-, 21-, and 28-day plans. The longer you stay on the diet, the less you'll pay per day.

Support: An online meal planner will help you choose nutritionally balanced foods that you'll like. The plan also gives you access to a certified dietitian to help you make smarter food choices.The Fresh Diet is based on portion control and low calories, while focusing on healthy, whole foods. Although there is no research on whether this specific plan works, it is likely to help people lose weight.

It's not clear whether a dietitian is calculating the nutrition content of their food. So, if you have a health condition -- like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, or high cholesterol -- you would need to ask about the saturated fat, carb counts, and sodium in their meals. Check with your doctor about whether this diet is OK for you.

The Final Word
The benefits of this diet are that it’s tasty, convenient, and takes the guesswork out of meal planning. Plus, the focus on fresh foods, like fruits and vegetables, is good.
The downside is its cost, especially over the long-term.
The diet may work for people who are very busy, can't cook, and can afford the meal service. It's not for you if you love to be in the kitchen and would rather save money by shopping and cooking for yourself.