The short answer
A slimming programme works if it creates a calorie deficit, and that is what most meal delivery programmes do, at around 1,200 to 1,550 kcal per day. Their real price is between 278 and 609 EUR per month for plans without fresh produce, far from the « 4 EUR for the first month » displayed in the shop window. Their promises, 5 to 6 kg in the very first month, are at least two and a half times the rate of 1 to 2 kg per month adopted by the French National Authority for Health (HAS). And Anses points out that 80% of people regain weight within the year after a diet. A programme can help you get started; what matters afterwards is knowing how to put together filling meals yourself, like the free sample week we offer below.
The six programmes compared
| Programme | Type | Price recorded | Calories per day | Support | Promise displayed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Régime Box | meal box, 4 per day | 398 EUR for 1 month; 278 EUR per month over 8 months | not stated | not stated | 4.17 kg on average in the 1st month |
| Qilibri | delivered meals, 4 per day, 6 days a week | 509 then 549 EUR per month without a long commitment; 379 EUR per month over 8 months | « neither a low-calorie diet » | qualified dietitian, exchanges by email | -5.4 kg in the 1st month |
| Comme J’aime | delivered meals, 4 per day | 609 EUR for 1 month; 439 EUR per month over 10 months | 1,350 to 1,550 kcal | dietitian or coach every 15 days | -6 kg in the 1st month |
| Cheef | delivered meals, 2 to 5 per day | « from 4 EUR the 1st month »; full price in the configurator | 1,200 to 1,350 kcal | qualified dietitian, 20 min every 15 days | -5.1 kg in the 1st month |
| Dietbon | delivered meals, 4 to 7 days a week | « from 4 EUR the 1st month »; full price after assessment | not stated | qualified dietitian, once a month | -10.3 kg in 3 months |
| WW | app and coaching, no meals | from 9.25 EUR per month over 12 months | points system | coaches, workshops depending on the plan | no weight loss figure |
Our method
We did not test any programme in real-life conditions. We recorded from the official websites, on the same date, what each one displays: its real price and not just its teaser price, the calorie intake when published, the support and the qualification of the person providing it, the commitment and cancellation terms, and the weight loss promise with the source that goes with it. We then compared these promises with the recommendations of HAS and Anses, and with the two scientific reviews that are the reference on commercial programmes. No link on this page is an affiliate link at present.
The four types of programme
- Delivered meals (Cheef, Qilibri, Comme J’aime, Dietbon): prepared dishes, calibrated in calories, delivered every week or every month. The easiest to follow, and the most expensive.
- Boxes (Régime Box): the same principle, as a monthly parcel of long-life products, cheaper.
- Online coaching (WW): an app, a points system and support, with no meals provided. The cheapest, but you have to cook.
- The home method: an intake calculated with our calorie deficit calculator and recipes whose calories are known. Free, and it is the one you keep after a programme.
The detail, programme by programme
Régime Box: the cheapest of the meal programmes
On its page archived in May 2026, Régime Box displayed 398 EUR for one month, or 3.56 EUR per meal, and 278 EUR per month over eight months, or 2.49 EUR per meal, for four meals a day including a snack, fresh produce not supplied. A trial week at 139 EUR, with no commitment, lets you send back the rest of the parcel. Its promise is the most modest and the best documented: 4.17 kg on average in the first month, across 108 « satisfied » customers, with a note stating that results vary from person to person. We found neither the calorie intake nor the support arrangements.
Qilibri: the most present support, the most restrictive commitment
Qilibri charges 509 EUR for the first month then 549 EUR per month without a long commitment, and drops to 379 EUR per month over eight months, with a first month at 99 EUR. Support is provided by state-qualified dietitians, with daily exchanges by email. Two points to read before signing. Its FAQ states that it is « neither a restrictive diet nor a low-calorie diet », without publishing a calorie intake: yet you do not lose 5.4 kg in a month, its promise, without a calorie deficit. And its terms and conditions provide for tacit renewal for up to 12 months and reserve « the right to refuse a cancellation request » before the end of the commitment. Finally, Qilibri cites a loss « 2.25 times faster » with a professional, attributed to Anses without specifying the document.
Comme J’aime: the most transparent on calories, the most expensive
Comme J’aime publishes its intake: 1,350 to 1,550 kcal per day, after a first week at a reduced intake. It is also the most expensive: 609 EUR for one month, or 5.44 EUR per meal, and 439 EUR per month over ten months. Its promise of 6 kg in the first month rests on a study of 27,782 customers whose average BMI was 35.2, that is, in the obese range: someone who is slightly overweight will lose noticeably less. The support, every 15 days, is described sometimes as that of a dietitian, sometimes as that of a « slimming coach ».
Cheef: the lowest intake, with no tacit renewal
Cheef announces 1,200 to 1,350 kcal per day depending on your profile, and support from a qualified dietitian, 20 minutes every two weeks. Its displayed price, « from 4 EUR the first month », is a teaser price: the real price only appears at the end of the configurator. On the plus side: no tacit renewal at the end of the programme. Its promise of 5.1 kg in the first month refers to a note whose text we did not find on the page.
Dietbon: the price only appears after the assessment
Like Cheef, Dietbon only displays a teaser price of 4 EUR for the first month. Support from a qualified dietitian is monthly. Its terms and conditions provide for month-to-month renewal at the end of the commitment, and 50 EUR of administrative fees for early cancellation. Its promise of 10.3 kg in three months cites a 2019 opinion survey and a 2015 Swiss medical journal, with an honest note: « these results cannot be guaranteed ».
WW: the only programme evaluated in 12-month trials
WW, formerly Weight Watchers, delivers no meals: its app assigns points to foods and offers support. From 9.25 EUR per month, it is by far the cheapest, but on a 12-month commitment that renews automatically. It is also the only one in this comparison evaluated in published randomised trials: in the review by Gudzune and colleagues, its participants lost at least 2.6% more body weight than control groups at 12 months.
What the studies say
The systematic review by Gudzune and colleagues, published in 2015 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, brought together 45 studies, including 39 randomised trials, on commercial programmes. At 12 months, Weight Watchers participants lost at least 2.6% more body weight than control groups, and those on Jenny Craig, an American meal programme, at least 4.9%. The authors stress that many trials were short, with many dropouts.
On meal replacements, the meta-analysis by Astbury and colleagues, published in 2019 in Obesity Reviews, covering 23 studies and 7,884 adults, finds at one year an additional loss of 1.44 kg compared with other diets, and of 6.13 kg when the replacements come with enhanced support. In other words: the product matters less than the support.
To our knowledge, none of the French programmes in this comparison has been the subject of a published trial: their figures come from in-house studies, on their own customers.
What a programme can and cannot do
Promises faster than the recommendations
The French National Authority for Health recommends, for a person with obesity, a target of 5 to 15% weight loss, averaging 1 to 2 kg per month. For a person who is overweight, the aim is first of all not to gain more. Its 2023 guide points out that a lasting loss of 3 to 5% already improves blood glucose and triglycerides. Promises of 5 to 6 kg in the very first month therefore exceed the top of this range by at least two and a half times.
Weight regain is the rule
In its 2010 report on slimming diets, Anses notes that weight regain affects 80% of people one year later, and that it increases over time. It also notes that all diets cause a loss of lean mass, around 15% of the weight lost. HAS warns against successive diets, which cause weight fluctuations that can be dangerous. See our guide on yo-yo dieting.
Leaving the programme is the key moment
A delivered meal programme works as long as you eat its meals. The day the deliveries stop, you need to know how to put together meals of the same standard. That is why a programme with real dietary support, which teaches you to shop and cook, is worth more than one that only delivers.
The free alternative: a sample week at about 1,370 kcal
Here is a week made up solely of recipes from the site, whose calories are calculated ingredient by ingredient from the Anses Ciqual table, as our methodology explains. It averages around 1,370 kcal per day, within the range of delivered programmes, with almost 90 g of protein on average to keep hunger at bay.
To go further, find all our slimming recipes and our guide to losing weight healthily.
How to choose
- Ask for the full price for a full month, not the teaser price.
- Read the cancellation terms: tacit renewal, fees, minimum duration.
- Check the qualification of the support: qualified dietitian, or a « coach » without a regulated title.
- Insist on a published calorie intake: a programme that does not give it does not let you know whether it suits you.
- Be wary of figures in promises with no sample size, duration or customer profile.
Also be wary of supplements presented as programmes: see our review of Miniweight. And if you want to make coaching your career, see our slimming coach page.
Our sources
- Haute Autorité de santé, « Surpoids et obésité de l’adulte : prise en charge médicale de premier recours », 2011; « Guide du parcours de soins : surpoids et obésité de l’adulte », 2023, updated in 2024.
- Anses, « Évaluation des risques liés aux pratiques alimentaires d’amaigrissement », report of November 2010.
- Gudzune KA et al. Efficacy of commercial weight-loss programs: an updated systematic review. Ann Intern Med, 2015 (PMID 25844997).
- Astbury NM et al. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of meal replacements for weight loss. Obes Rev, 2019 (PMID 30675990).
- Official websites of Cheef, Qilibri, Comme J’aime, Dietbon and WW, and the Régime Box offers page archived on 16 May 2026, recorded on 26/09/2026.
- Ciqual 2025 table (Anses), for the calories of the sample week.