MACROS are one of the leading convenient meal delivery providers aiming to improve the health of their customers. âEat well, save timeâ is their motto and that sounds great to us! Nutritionist, Sarah Appleford, road-tested their Weight Loss plans to see how Macros fared when helping people drop the extra kilos while eating a well-balanced diet. Letâs see what she thinks!
Were the Macros meals nutritious?
The first thing I look at when assessing the nutrition value of any premade or packaged food is to look at the ingredients. I was actually surprised by the inclusion of whole food ingredients and the minimal amount of additives. In fact, the majority of the Macrosâ meals I tried didnât have any additives, emulsifiers, stabilisers or flavours.
All Macros meals are dairy-free, contain no refined sugar-free or artificial sweeteners and have no MSG added. Big tick!
Another appealing aspect of the Macros meals was the variety of protein used in the meals. Macros pride themselves on including adequate amounts of quality protein.
Most of the meals I consumed on the âWeight Lossâ plan contained an average of 25 grams of protein per serve (300 grams). I can just reach my daily protein intake according to the Government guidelines, by eating three Macros meals but it may be hard for others to reach their dietary goals if they relied on these as their main nutrient source. If you do want to lose weight and optimise your protein intake, you may want to look at the higher-protein meals in the Sculpt plan.
As protein is one of the more expensive components of a meal, I often find convenient meal providers donât use enough of this important nutrient. Not only is it a nutrient that is supportive of almost every process in the body including hormone synthesis, energy production, muscle growth, it is also whatâs going to help you feel full (very important if youâre reducing your portions for weight loss).
The Macros âWeight Lossâ plan is based on low calories and low carbohydrates. As such, the meals are mostly free of refined carbohydrates – another positive. In fact, most of the carbs came from vegetables like in the substitution of rice for broccoli rice.
At less than 350 calories per meal, these would no doubt reduce your daily calorie intake if youâre eating a Standard Australian Diet. Depending on your weight loss goals and your body composition you may even be able to eat up to 6 of these meals a day and lose weight.
One of the downsides of the Macros âWeight Lossâ meals is that they are incredibly low in fibre. On average they only hit 6 grams per 300 grams. This is due to the lack of fibre-rich ingredients such as vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds. It is recommended women consume a minimum of 25 grams of fibre per day and men should aim for about 40 grams. Fibre helps with weight loss and is also important for blood sugar regulation and digestive health, so itâs a shame Macros havenât considered this.
How convenient is the Macros range?
Choose your plan, select your desired meals and hit order and youâll have a Macros box delivered right to your door. As a subscription-based model, you can leave and forget while still having convenient meals arrive at your home.
It simply couldnât get easier than that.
The plans are also competitively priced with the âWeight Lossâ plan starting at $10.50 per meal and going down to $8.70 per meal depending on how many you order. Just keep in mind, eating 3 Macro Weight Loss meals a day isnât going to be enough calories and youâll likely need snacks as well. For men, you may even need to eat up to six of these meals a day making it quite expensive.
The meals are all fresh and take about 2.5-3.5 minutes to heat up. The main meal tray can be recycled which is a plus, with only the sleeve to discard in your soft plastics bin.
How was the taste of the Macros meals?
Hereâs where the Macros meals lost some points with me. I found they were a little bland on the flavour, but the most disappointing aspect was the texture. These reminded me of microwave TV dinners where there is only one texture: mush.
Of the meals I tried, they lacked variation in the texture, so I canât say they were the most enjoyable meals to eat. With a soft texture, itâs also really easy to eat these quickly as you donât have to do much chewing! I find this a downfall particularly if you are reducing your calories as they simply arenât as satisfying.
To sum up, eating the Macrosâ Weight Loss meals will likely help you lose weight, although I think there are alternatives that make weight loss more enjoyable.
