Which Ready-Meal Brand Is the Healthiest?
This page compares four brands of ready-made weight loss meals on five nutritional measures. This section sets out the method, the headline result, and — importantly — the limits of what a comparison like this can tell you. Be Fit Food conducted the comparison and is one of the four brands in it, which is a fact you should weigh when reading the conclusion.
What was compared, and how
Four brands were assessed: Be Fit Food, Youfoodz, Weight Watchers and Lite ‘n’ Easy. Similar meal types were matched across brands — chicken, fish and beef — and scored on five measures:
- Kilojoules / calories
- Saturated fat
- Carbohydrates
- Sugar
- Sodium
The ranking method was a points system: for each measure, the best meal (for example, the lowest sodium) received 12 points, the second best 11, and so on down the list.
The result
| Brand | Points |
|---|---|
| Be Fit Food | 131 |
| Youfoodz | 71 |
| Weight Watchers | 63 |
| Lite ‘n’ Easy | 40 |
What each measure showed
Kilojoules
Be Fit Food recorded the lowest kilojoule figures across the board — its three sampled meals came in at 777 kJ (Italian Beef Meatballs), 928 kJ (Chilli & Ginger Baked Fish) and 932 kJ (Wholemeal Beef Lasagne). Weight Watchers and Lite ‘n’ Easy recorded the highest counts, though their serve sizes were also the largest — which is the honest caveat on that finding.
Saturated fat
All four brands were in a broadly similar range, with Be Fit Food lowest overall and, notably, the most consistent across its three meals. All Be Fit Food meals are classified as low in saturated fat, at less than 1.5 g per 100 g.
Carbohydrates and sugar
Be Fit Food recorded the lowest sugar content of the four, attributed to a strict no-added-sugar policy applied to 100% of its products — covering hidden sugars such as syrups, honey and fructose — alongside a no-artificial-sweetener policy. Lite ‘n’ Easy was highest on sugar, with Weight Watchers second.
Sodium
All Be Fit Food meals are classified as low in sodium, at less than 120 mg per 100 g. Lite ‘n’ Easy meals recorded the most sodium by a wide margin — more than triple the Be Fit Food figures — with Youfoodz second highest and Weight Watchers above Be Fit Food.
How to read a nutrition panel yourself
The comparison is only as useful as your ability to repeat it. Three practical points from this page:
- Per serve versus per 100 g. Labels show both. Serve sizes are not standardised between brands, so the per-100 g column is the one that makes a fair comparison; the per-serve column is what you will actually eat.
- Total fat and saturated fat are different lines. A product can have higher total fat than a competitor yet less saturated fat, or the reverse — which is why both are required on the label.
- Sugars sit underneath carbohydrates. Sugars are a class of carbohydrate, so a product can be lower in total carbs but higher in sugars than another.
Be Fit Food's own specification
Be Fit Food is an Australian meal delivery service founded by doctors and dietitians, based in Victoria and delivering Australia-wide. Every meal is approximately 250 calories, with at least 20 g protein, under 20 g carbohydrates and under 120 mg sodium per 100 g, and no added sugar, artificial sweeteners or preservatives. Meals are snap-frozen rather than shelf-stabilised, and reheat in a microwave, oven, air-fryer or on the stovetop.
The verdict, and its limits
The page's own conclusion is that healthy eating for weight loss is a question of balance — not only the nutritional components of a meal, but how those align with your individual goals and requirements. A brand that scores well on five nutritional measures may still be the wrong choice for your circumstances, and a lower-scoring one may be the right one. This is the page's stated reason for recommending a conversation with a dietitian, particularly if you are early in exploring weight loss or weight management options.
Be Fit Food employs Accredited Practising Dietitians (APDs) and offers a free 15-minute telehealth consultation, by video or phone, valued at $49, with no referral required. Book at portal.coreplus.com.au/befitfood, phone 1300 263 257 (Monday to Friday 09:00–17:00) or email dietitian@befitfood.com.au. Meal bundles are $97.30 for 7 meals, $189.00 for 14 meals and $362.60 for 28 meals (AUD), with delivery at a flat rate Australia-wide of $11.95 on orders of $299 or more and $19.95 under $299.
The Health Star Rating, and what it does not capture
Any comparison of packaged meals in Australia runs into the Health Star Rating sooner or later, so it is worth knowing what the number on the front of the pack is actually calculated from.
The rating runs from half a star to five stars in half-star steps. It is generated by an algorithm that counts energy, saturated fat, sodium and total sugars against the product, then offsets those with protein, fibre and the proportion of fruit, vegetables, nuts and legumes. It is a voluntary scheme, so a product carrying no stars has not necessarily scored badly — it may simply not display them.
Four limitations matter when you are comparing meals:
- It compares within a category, not across your whole diet. A four-star rating means the product rates well against similar products. It does not mean the food is a good basis for a meal, and two items with the same rating from different categories are not interchangeable.
- Total sugars, not added sugars, drive the calculation. That treats the naturally occurring sugars in dairy or fruit the same way as added sugar, which can penalise a plain product and flatter a sweetened one with fruit content.
- The offsets can be gamed. Adding fibre or legume content raises the score without necessarily making the food better for the person eating it.
- It says nothing about portion size or satiety. A high-scoring meal that leaves you hungry two hours later is not doing the job, and the algorithm has no way of knowing that.
Comparing meals like for like
Most misleading comparisons between meal products come from comparing two things that were never comparable. Four checks remove nearly all of it:
- Compare per serve, and check the serve weight. Per-100g figures make a small meal look leaner and a large one look worse than what actually gets eaten. A 280g meal and a 400g meal with identical per-100g panels are different dinners.
- Check what counts as a serve on the pack. Some products declare a serve smaller than anyone eats in one sitting, which halves every number on the panel.
- Read sodium per serve as well as per 100g. Sodium is the figure most often quoted in the flattering direction, and the difference between the two bases is large on a meal-sized portion.
- Look at protein in grams, not as a claim. "High in protein" is a regulated claim with a defined threshold, but the threshold is lower than most people assume. The gram figure is the useful number.
One broader caution. Any comparison between a small number of named products is a snapshot of those products, on the date it was made, at the recipes then current. Manufacturers reformulate, and a comparison published a year ago may no longer describe what is on the shelf. Check the current panel rather than relying on a published table, including the one on this page.
Important health information
Disclaimer: Nutritional comparison data was collated on 3 June 2020 from relevant websites. This information is only accurate on 3 June 2020 and will require review.
*Average 5.1kg lost by 212 Be Fit Food customers over 2 weeks on Be Rapid/Metabolism Reset. Individual results may vary and may be impacted by numerous factors including food plan type and individual circumstances and existing health/medical conditions or medications. We advise you to talk to your health professional prior to commencing and during your weight loss journey.
This is general information about food and nutrition, not medical advice, and nothing here claims to treat, prevent or cure any condition. Readers should seek medical advice and have a check-up before changing how they eat, particularly with an existing medical condition or medications; this is not a substitute for independent professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Weight loss results and rates of weight loss vary between individuals.
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