South Beach Diet

If I could given the South Beach Diet a zero-star rating, I definitely would.

I have always been overweight (even when I was a competitive swimmer). I made it part of my New Year's resolution to try and lose weight and get to a healthy BMI. I researched a lot and found that the South Beach Diet had good reviews and seemed relatively easy to follow (especially with the food delivery as I work usually over 50 hours a weeks, which makes cooking hard). I was excited to get started although I wasn't thrilled with the price. It is about $375 per month and you still have to make six meals on your own so you are essentially spending over 400 a month on food (over $100 a week, which seems absurd).

I tried the food for two weeks, and found it be super processed and tasted unnatural. It was like eating plastic. The portion sizes are extremely small (especially compared to Jenny Craig or Nutrisystem, which are both handsomely larger). And they don't taste good. Nothing tasted good; not the shakes, snacks, meals, NOTHING. Which is one thing if you are seeing a result and losing weight, which I did not. I was extremely upset about this since I was following the diet religiously for a month and saw no progress on the scale. So, I was eating awful food and not seeing any results; not a great combo when paying an arm and a leg for it with guarantees that it will work (and quickly).

I decided that the South Beach Diet wasn't for me (obviously given the results). When I called to cancel (since you cannot do it online), the customer service agent kept asking why I wanted to cancel or what could be done to keep me. At this point, I wanted the South Beach Diet chapter of my life to close, with as little pain and annoyance as possible. I made it crystal clear that I just wanted to cancel my account and then the customer service agent informs me that he has to charge me an ADDITIONAL $125 to cancel my account. So, for a crappy month of meals, I got no weight change and an additional $125 out the door.

When I expressed my frustration and confusion over why they would be charging again (since they did not clearly state that was the cancellation policy), I was given an unsatisfactory response (it's Company Policy). I have never encountered such poor customer service. They do not care about their customers. The South Beach Diet company is a scam artist trying to suck all the money they can out of you! I felt like I was totally taken advantage of and like a schmuck, which is an awful feeling. I have no problem paying for something if I feel that it has that value. I do not like paying for something and feel that I am getting the rug pulled out from under me. I expressed those concerns to the agent as well as contacted the helpline hoping that they would have the decency to refund the cancellation fee (but to no avail). This is a horrible company with awful customer service. I cannot say it enough, it is a TOTAL SCAM!

If you want to spend a small fortune on crappy food with wishy-washy results and have to pay more when you want to leave and have to deal with a company that does not care about its customers at all, then this is for you.

Again, I cannot say it enough - DO NOT do the South Beach Diet, you will lose your money and reget it! I know if do.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I tried about 10 different items on South Beach Diet. I found them to be pretty low quality. To be honest, I’ve never eaten frozen TV dinners, so maybe that is part of the issue. However, between the artificial taste and the fact that you have to go out and buy and prep 90% of the fruits and veggies to meet the plan menu, I really wonder how this program continues to exist.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

When I say that I ordered only two months worth of food, I specifically stated I only wanted two months. The service representative heard me as I repeated that I only wanted two months; that I could only afford two months. She never once stated that this would be an "auto-refill" order or I would have not ordered at all or told her right then and there to cancel any additional deliveries beyond the second month.

Be aware that there are rewards that are given to representatives based on their sales record. PLEASE make sure you understand what the representative is ordering in your name - and wallet - as it could enhance the "green" in their wallet and diminish yours drastically! I not only had to place a dispute with my card company, but I contacted FedEx to have an additional "refill" returned to sender after I was told the shipment was non-refundable!

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

This plan is beyond a rip-off. I ordered it online and received the reduced price for the first month. I tried to keep an open mind but the food is terrible and all the frozen meals taste the same. In addition, they were tiny. No wonder you lose weight, you don't eat.

I immediately called to cancel only to find out there is a $125 cancellation if you order it online and you don't complete two months. I have never done one of these and thought it would be a good way to not have to prepare food and maintain my weight, BIG MISTAKE! Now I have a freezer full of high sodium food that tastes awful!

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I am extremely upset by their cancellation policy. I canceled on Sunday, and I have a confirmation number, and yet I received an email saying my order has shipped. I called into their customer service and they said that I should have called on top of canceling online, but nowhere in the email did it say I needed to do that, I sent them a screenshot of said email. It said it was canceled. So I expected it to be canceled. Now I am out money that I didn’t have to pay for the food that I didn’t want! They need to fix the cancellation policy or at least let your customers know that canceling online isn’t good enough and they should call in as well.

I will not recommend anyone to use this service, I’d much rather point them in the direction of any other company that won’t screw them over and then blame the customer for a company screw up.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Do not use this product. All it is boxed food like Atkins. You might as well go to the store and purchase any of the frozen foods, that is what it is. I thought it would be fresh food like a Home Chef, where they send you ingredients, instructions, you cook yourself. I was wrong, it is just a big box of boxed food. They are very expensive, and if you have a question, they are very unresponsive. I tried three times to cancel my auto-ship delivery and had no response, until finally five days later someone canceled it. Then they tell me we are going to charge you even more money to cancel your auto delivery. Needless to say, I had to pay an additional $125.00 to cancel my order. Do not use this product. I warned you.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I have only been on this diet for four weeks and have lost 17 lbs, and I now weight 200 lbs. I tried almost every diet but I didn't like the food and cost on home delivery ones and I can't replace meals with shakes. The first two weeks were hard because I love carbs and hate vegetables. The second phase easier because they add some carbs back in and good desserts. I do cheat once a week and have a meal I want like hamburger and fries or pizza. I do not purchase the meal plan, I make my own food and it doesn't take a long time to make.

I also do a lot of substitutions and look on the internet to find other ways to do veggies since I hate them so much. I think I will be able to stick with this because of all the substitutions, I make like baked crispy vegetables instead of boiled or steamed. I spent money to get a lot of different seasonings and I am learning which I like and which I don't. I also drink a lot of my veggies in my smoothies. This is the best diet plan I have tried, even better than the Good Fat diet. I can't give any diet five stars because it's a diet.

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

Please be sure you are aware that if you try the SBD on auto delivery and accept the $50 reduced cost, you will have to pay a cancelation fee of $125 if you cancel after the first month. I did not like the food, and most of the package was shakes and bars. I could purchase much better shakes and bars at GNC for less cost. I did not enjoy the majority of the food.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

What a rip off. Food is okay, but they demand a minimum of two orders after you pay a ridiculous $450+ for the initial order. Not worth it. Shakes and bars taste like sawdust. Stay away.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Unfortunately, I have had such a horrible experience with their customer service. As a first-time person signing up, everything was amazingly smooth. Then they ignore you. I was on hold for nearly an hour today once again, and the person still could not help me. I finally got smart and called on the line that said "first-time customer" and it was picked up immediately, and the girl is trying to help me with my situation.

I do not need this stress, and neither do you! I highly recommend you go somewhere else for your diet delivery products.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

There were not to be any frozen foods. Yea right, almost everything was frozen. I have $400+ to be thrown away, no place to keep it. I eliminated all shakes, popcorn, and add eggs, etc. They don't care and send what they want. If you don't like their products, they charge you $125.00 to stop. As far as I am concerned, this is a SCAM. When you call, they are not interested, just explain to you how you don't know what you are doing. If you ask for a supervisor, they will not have one. Buyer beware. One star only because I was required. It should be a minus.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend