Final Verdict
When it comes to meal delivery services for fitness, there is one to fit every lifestyle, taste, and dietary need depending on your personal goals. Offerings range from ready-made meals to prepped ingredient boxes that come to life in your kitchen. While there are many excellent options out there, Trifecta Nutrition is our top recommendation because of its wealth of nutrition information, variety of meal plans, and the additional support materials it provides to help you meet your fitness goals.
Guide for Choosing the Best Meal Delivery Services for Fitness
Are Meal Delivery Services Worth It?
Meal delivery services can help ease the transition from rarely cooking or eating at home to eating at home for most meals. It can sometimes be overwhelming to overhaul your entire kitchen and get into a meal-prepping rhythm, so starting with a delivery service makes choosing high-quality foods easy and seamless. Meal delivery services may be right for you if you are looking to add new foods, more plants, and more protein to your diet. They are also a great way to cut down on foods that can be inflammatory like dairy, gluten, or soy. Regardless of your eating habits, delivery services make it easy to get nutritious meals on the table quickly.
While meal delivery services have a lot of benefits, if you're looking to consume fewer calories or limit your sodium intake, it's important to read the nutritional information provided, especially for pre-prepared meals, before taking the plunge.
Comparing Meal Delivery Services for Fitness
The number of different food delivery services that can help build strength and stamina can be overwhelming. Some companies may focus on physical fitness explicitly, while others may not overtly, but are still terrific options for achieving fitness goals. Here are the ways to compare different types of services:
- Dietary goals: What is your desired goal? If you are looking to add muscle, prioritize plans that focus on high-protein portions. If overall physical health is the goal, look for meals that are high in fiber and protein, low in sugar, and include healthy fats.
- Household size: Who is this plan for? Assess who you are planning to feed with the delivery service. Are you looking for a plan to feed your whole family or just you? Services range in meal sizes and the number of meals offered.
- Diets offered: Some delivery services offer macronutrient-specific plans whereas others offer paleo or high protein plans that focus more on protein but less on a balanced plate. Choose a service based on your style of eating and goals.
- Allergies: Determine whether the delivery service will work with allergies and other dietary restrictions. Some services have plans in place to accommodate allergies whereas others are less strict.
- Price: There is a wide variety of price points when it comes to delivery services. Take note of whether you are looking for one, two, or three meals per day and for how many days you need meals as this will affect the price.
Meal Delivery Services as Part of Your Fitness Journey
If you are new to the fitness world, it can be overwhelming to balance everything: a job, a family, an intense training routine, and then fueling your body properly. Meal delivery services take the guesswork out of wondering if you are consuming enough or eating the right portions. Some services are excellent for counting macros whereas others are great for bulking up on high-quality protein. Manage your subscription based on your schedule: Order enough meals to cover long training days and off days or save money by only ordering the meals you need on busy days.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are the Potential Health Benefits of Using Meal Delivery Services for Fitness?
Delivery services provide meals or recipes that are portion contained. They are also a way to make sure you are getting the calories, carbohydrates, and protein your body needs to balance your workouts. Prepared meals or meal boxes also provide the opportunity to try new foods that you may not normally purchase on your own. For those who are stuck in a food rut or food routine, delivery services can boost variety and flexibility, which means a greater number of nutrients can be consumed.
How Much Do Meal Delivery Services for Fitness Cost?
The cost for meal delivery services range based on the number of meals, preferred diet plan, and types of meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). We found services that offer meals as low as $6 per meal and as high as $17 to $20 per meal.
Do Meal Delivery Services for Fitness Offer Plans for Bodybuilding?
There are some meal delivery services that seem to cater to bodybuilders or feature more protein in their dishes. When it comes to gaining muscle and losing body fat, it's important to look at the nutritional information in prepared meals or consider what prepared ingredients are being provided if there's a DIY aspect.
Methodology
We ordered, cooked, and evaluated meals from 40 different meal delivery services to rate each one’s offerings, nutrition profiles, prices, sustainability, and, of course, flavors. We contacted the customer service teams at each of the companies, collected data, and rigorously reviewed each one.
Our Verywell Fit writers are all registered dietitians who relied on their research and its resulting data to inform their reviews.