I love your website and think you’re doing a great service for the dietetics profession. I am also a registered dietitian with a Masters in Health Science. I work at a 600-bed hospital in a major southeastern city. My clinical emphasis for the last four years has been in nutrition support.
Here’s my question: a dieter recently asked me what my impressions were of the Richard Simmon’s Deal-A-Meal program. Not having much experience with this product, I was wondering what you thought?
FYI, Richard Simmons didn’t develop the deal a meal, a dietitian did as an educational tool. She sued Richard Simmons and I remember that she was awarded damages.
Deal a meal is based on the exchange system but uses individual cards for each exchange. The person moves cards from one side of a folder to the other to keep track as exchanges are eaten each day. I haven’t kept close track if Richard Simmons has made any changes to what the dietitian developed. I don’t believe the deal-a-meal diets are individualized like a dietitian would do with an exchange diet for weight loss. I also don’t know if there are various calorie levels for deal-a-meal so maybe one “size” deal fits all. Whereas, a dietitian could customize the calorie intake and meal plan to the individual.
Thanks for the positive feedback. It is nice to hear, especially from peers. I used to do nutrition support and loved it.
