I am a full-time freelance writer and I was recently asked to write a series of articles about meal planning websites. I am now a bit of an expert on the subject. I come from the UK and this is something that we don't really do here, but a lot of the sites I wrote about are American. Does anyone use these meal planning sites/ resources? Do you find them helpful and are they worth the money?
I tried using eDiets back in the day, probably about 10 years ago. It was interesting, but ultimately it felt like once I made a few meal plans to fit my eating preferences, that I didn't really need to pay the $20-$30 a month (whatever it was, I can't remember now) to keep my account open there. There were of course other areas of the site, such as places where you could chat with others about your weight loss goals, but that didn't really interest me. I really don't feel like listening to others whine about being overweight and depressed. There were some interesting recommendations though, when it came to fast food. I had no idea, for example, that I could eat a Quarter Pounder (no cheese) and a small fry plus a diet soda for lunch and still stay within my calorie limits each day. I was trying to push their meal plans to the limit just for fun, to see if it would be possible to have fast food for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day and still lose weight, and according to their meal plans it is. I mainly just watch Youtube or visit cooking blogs, if I want ideas for make ahead meals these days, I don't use any paid services.
I have never used any meal planning sites. For that matter, I have also never read any books on the subject. It is something that hasn't entered my mind, as I never felt the need to have a special plan for my meals. But I can appreciate how useful it can be for people who need or want to stick to a certain diet, for the purpose of gaining optimal health and losing unnecessary weight.
Like you, I have never felt the need to try one. Even after I researched them for my client I wasn't tempted. I feel confident in my own cooking and I am fairly good at planning and sticking to a food budget. I found it an interesting concept though.
Here is the voice of experience! It has been interesting to read the pros and cons that you stated and I can see that it can be educaitonal. When I was doing the research, I did wonder how they contine to make money once people have learnt how to do it in the first few months, like you say.
I have never had the need to use a meal planning site. I have looked at a few magazines that gave hints on what to cook and have looked at a few cooking shows. I am sure there are people that would find those types of sites more useful than I would.
