Seattle Sutton Diet Review

Seattle Sutton Diet Review

By CANDICE GREY

ConsumersCompare.org

Update: May 25, 2022

“Seattle Sutton” herself founded the Seattle Sutton Healthy Eating Diet in 1985. The headquarters is based out of Ottawa, Illinois but they also have offices in New Hope, Minnesota as well. This program is a meal delivery service, and the customer will not need to set foot in their kitchen. All meals are pre-made at a facility and shipped out weekly. You receive 21 meals per week, and the meals are made in bulk resulting in no choice of the food you will consume. If you have additional questions, their support line has low volume due to the number of clients they are now serving so they are helpful when asked. In 2006 the company was catering to 8,100 clients and in 2015 their numbers have dwindled to 3,000 clients which shows that the popularity and demand for this business is dying.* This business is also not accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) see link here.

Do Dieters Lose Weight On The Seattle Sutton Diet?

The customer has the option to choose between a 1,200 or 2,000 traditional calorie-a-day meal plan. Or they have the option to choose a 1,200-calorie vegetarian plan. The small number of people that have been able to eat the food provided to them saw weight loss. The poor taste of the food has left bad customer reviews and dwindling customer numbers. For one individual to eat on the Seattle Sutton Diet for roughly one week it will cost $150.00 dollars. This is very expensive, as many people can feed a family of four for $100.00 a week. It is mentioned on their website, that the overall knowledge when choosing the foods are from certified dietitians, not doctors. There is not however any evidence that this style of eating is meant to help you lose weight. There are no real studies done on the site telling the dieter why the program was formulated the way it was for weight loss. The testimonials on the website are rather cheesy, and they are hit and miss as far as success is concerned (but you will only see the good on the website).

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Is The Seattle Sutton Diet Easy To Follow?

Because this is not a diet program that you have to follow, it is easy to eat the meals you pay for. The program can be 1 week with 21 meals, or it can be 1 year depending on what you need it for. If you are looking for long-term help, they offer a multi-week ordering system so you do not have to place orders every week. It is very expensive, however, and would not be easy to follow knowing the service costs a lot just to have meals cooked for you. This might be a good short-term fix for someone ill, or unable to cook for themselves. After one round you could understand the basis of what you are supposed to eat, and grocery shop for those items yourself to save money. There are no known negative side effects from this eating program. Some complaints have been around the freshness and quality of the meals, and the inability to choose what meals you receive. This program serves the same meals to all of their customers with a 5-week rotating menu. All in all, the idea of eating pre-made foods that have been said to taste okay will not be a long term thing. This in and of itself is extremely hard to follow, especially for picky eaters who are particular about their food. There haven’t been any real side effects noted, but there have been people just saying they could not stomach the food or it just made them feel ill overall.

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Conclusion

  • Way too expensive long term
  • There have been reports of the food tasting horrible
  • Customer base is dwindling
  • Unable to choose what food you receive
  • Takes the social out of cooking and eating meals with your family
  • They only have one social media, and that is Facebook. On Facebook, they have 36,862 fans, and little to no activity with their likes and comments.

I would not spend money on this program personally, because I like to know what goes into my food. Having all of my meals pre-made at a facility and then shipped to my door does not sound appetizing at all. There have already been reports of the food not tasting good, and you are paying a pretty penny for those meals! They have a no refund policy, which leaves the risk on the customer’s shoulders.* If you do not like the meals, you are stuck eating them for an entire week, while losing $150.00. While some people like this convenience, it is not something to pay for the long term as it will get pricey. There social media presence is rather low, with little to no activity on any channels. You can order the products right on the website, as it is not offered in stores or online. I would not call this company a scam, but there are much easier and tastier ways to eat healthy while losing weight, and this diet is not one of them.

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FAQs

What is the weekly cost for this program? 
The cost can be anywhere from $200-$250 depending on where you live.

Are there meals GMO-free?
Yes, meals are antibiotic-free, as well as GMO-free.

Can you use mayo, mustard or ketchup?
It is not recommended, due to the number of calories that will be added once condiments are used. Certain spices are allowed, but only in moderation due to the sodium content.

How can I get in touch with the company?

E-mail: Not provided

Phone: 1-800-442-3438

Address: 611 E. Stevenson Rd. Ottawa, IL 61350

Website: seattlesutton.com

5.9 Total Score
Seattle Sutton Diet Scorecard

6.5Expert Score
Quality
6.5
Value
6.5
Satisfaction
6.5
5.3User's score
Quality
5.8
Value
5
Satisfaction
5.1
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16 Comments
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  1. Also, I noticed that you had suggested to John in NYC that they deliver nationally. I spoke to a chef in NYC who had done a YELP review for SSHE after he had tried it and although he liked a lot about it, he said national delivery for him on the East coast was outrageous. This was from his experience from about 2014 and he said he was paying nearly $13 a meal! As you can imagine, that is high, especially the little breakfasts. It’s looking like I would be experiencing something close to that also, and I am in the same state as the SSHE kitchens!

  2. I was on this 10 years ago in Chicago and it worked. I had gastric bypass two years ago and lost over 200 pounds. Lately, been struggling with a little gain. I only get a half week of food (for me) and it is working again. I like the food, much healthier and better tasting than processed food you get in restaurants. I do cook but am living in a one person household and the food goes to waste. This is perfect!

  3. My husband and I have used them off and on for 6 years! If we find we are tending to gain weight or stray from eating healthy, we order the meals! I disagree with the writer of this article. The meals have been interesting and have a lot of items I had never tried and found out I LIKE them! It has broadened my healthy food choices at the grocery store because I realize I like these foods. The cost is a little high, so we don’t order every week, but I can positively say that Seattle Sutton meals have helped us have a healthier life style! Some of the meals are fantastic, while some aren’t my favorite, but all have a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and healthy, lean meat or fish choices.

  4. 4.5
    Quality
    90
    Value
    90
    Satisfaction
    90

    Been useing them for 4 months. Food is good. Program works IF YOU Work it. , it’s too easy … just eat what they send you.
    … but, the people/family that run it ?..!,,?? Horrible Folks ! Come off as “too big for their britches” type. Way to stuck on themselves. They are text book Family runs successfully business into the ground. Give em a few more years and there will be nothing left.
    What was 8k folks is 3k … why did 5k folks leave ’em? …, I post this because of selfishness… I need to find another outlet, but they have best program out of all I’ve tried. 230lbs to 190… 40″ waist to a 36″… it’s a shame it’s controlled by folks that have no business dealing with the public. O well.

    Helpful(2) Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
  5. I’ve been on SS for over a year and had been on it several times in years past. I was quite concerned last week when my distributor only had one freezer case with a few meals of all the calorie levels. I have a rare form of cancer that is not curable, and SS is helping me eat nutritious meals. I find eating very unpleasant anyway, so I force myself to eat, and SS is as good as any food, plus it has the fruits and vegetables I need. I can’t stomach cooking because the smell really nauseates me. Prefrozen meals from the grocery store make me ill, probably because of all the preservatives, so SS is literally keeping me alive. As for weight loss, my body doesn’t lose much and I don’t require many calories, so my weight loss has been very minimal. I also don’t absorb nutrients very well, so everything I put in has to be maximally nutritious. I certainly hope SS stays around a while longer, because I don’t know what I’ll do without it.

  6. Good review! My Husband and I have been on it, on and off, whenever we gain or have a new health issue as we age….for the last 15 years. LOVE the variety, love most of the meals….cost is always a concern tho. We are not good cooks and many of SS recipes are not easily recreated by us. So when cost gets tough with SS and we watch it on our own, we invariably get extremely bored with straight up healthy eating due to our lack of cooking skills…..and yes, we’ve tried. Cheating usually follows within a year and we’re back to square one. My personal fantasy is that I could be a very visible advocate for SS and have our SS food paid for as compensation. I think then, we’d be set for life and would doubtfully stray ever again. But with that said, as far as cost. We believe their cost is warranted and really scratch our heads sometimes wondering how the SS family and their distributors make any money at all. Between the cooks, packers, drivers and travel expenses they absorb. Even delivery costs passed on to the clients aren’t the worst. I’m traveling further twice a week as my local distributor closed and their costs were higher also, which was of concern. That distributor continued other locations but we questioned their costs and went to another distributor 20 minutes further due to their costs being cheaper….but I am now spending more on gas and it’s super inconvenient. The company won’t deliver directly to me from Ottawa because these semi local distributors are still here. We even considered being distributors but couldn’t see where we would make enough money for the time put in servicing clients. Take care and continued success to you!

  7. 6’1, 39 year old male
    I live in NYC and SS is not an option for me here. However, when I lived in Chicago, I did the 2000 calorie plan religiously for 6 week and went from 205 down to 165- a 40 lbs difference & all this without working out!

    Some of the meals are better than others… frankly some are really unappetizing but I found that after the first couple weeks you are significantly less hungry and the quick results motivated me to stay on track.

    When I finally started eating regular food again, I realized that health foods like salads, etc. tasted a lot better than I remembered. At that point I started running a mile to the gym and back and incorporating a 1/2 hour of weights and pull ups when there. Within 4 months I had gone from a tubby 205 to 165 and then gained 10 lbs of muscle… I was RIPPED! Seriously, I looked like an action figure. Renewed confidence came in abundance. My social life and dating in particular took off. I really owe it all to Seattle Sutton.

  8. I lost 40 pounds in 8 months on the SS program. I found the food to be good with a wide variety. Regarding the cost, when broken down per meal it is about $7.00 per meal. I don’t consider this expensive. Most people spend more than $7.00 when they go to Mcdonald’s and that of course is terrible food in every way, but the lines are always long there. I am a big fan of SS!

  9. I have been on Seattle Sutton’s for just about a month now. I have been getting the meals paid for by a Health Partners weight loss study called BestFIT. Before I get into the details, I’d have to say I would not pay full price for the Seattle Sutton’s service.

    The food is not terrible, but it is not great either. I frequently add hot sauce, or a little salt and/or pepper, I have to track my calories for my weight loss study program and I have noticed in the nutrition facts that the meals are typically high sodium, over 1000mg. which would be higher than the recommended amount for a day after three meals.
    I typically enjoy more exotic food, which is well represented in the meals with plenty of tex-mex, southeast asian and vegitarian meals. My biggest complaints are the unripe/over ripe fruit, salads with all greens but a few shreds of carrot, got sick from a baked potato, the lack of any curry dishes and all breads are served dry (I’m not allowed to add butter due to the study)..

  10. I have been using Seattle Sutton sporadically for the past 8 months, and I have found the food to be, for the most part, very edible, and, that said, they have recently changed some of the (presumably less popular) meals for the better. In addition, the food is freshn (with fresh fruits and vegetables), and it is REAL food, NOT loaded with artificial ingredients. Yes, it’s a bit pricey, which is why I skip a week or two between my SS weeks. BUT, it is SOOOOO easy to stay on this diet — you don’t have to expose yourself to the temptations of shopping at the supermarket or eating out; instead, you just “go shopping” in your fridge, looking at your SS choices for the week and picking what looks appealing at the moment. I’ve had very good results with the 1200-calorie traditional menu of meals, and have rarely felt overly hungry or deprived. It is important to note that these meals are low fat, low cholesterol, and sodium restricted, and that they contain no harmful additives, no high-fructose corn syrup, and NO trans fat. My weight loss during my “on” weeks eating the SS meals has been very impressive; it almost seemed that there was some kind of chemical reaction going on with the combination of foods that led to even more of a loss than would be expected on a 1200-calorie diet. And on my off weeks, when I try not to undo my progress by eating a lot of big salads and not being “bad,” I haven’t regained much. As for the low numbers of customers SS serves, that is probably because they don’t seem to market very heavily outside the area where their plant is located. I’m fortunate to live close enough to the Illinois HQ so that meals are delivered by truck twice weekly to my local distributor where I can pick them up. People who aren’t so lucky have to pay (about $18 per week, I think) to have their meals shipped directly to their home. THAT makes the price pretty prohibitive. For me, though, the price is $136 per week (base price of $146 less a $10 coupon my distributor runs regularly). [I believe the Minnesota operation, while following the SS menus, is independent from the main company headquartered in Illinois, and even has its own production plant. I’m pretty sure that offshoot only serves Minnesota.] As you can see, I’m totally sold on Seattle Sutton (which I affectionately call my “lady food” — long story), so I’ve questioned why they don’t expand to having more production plants in other locales so that the diet would be accessible to more people (without the costly shipping expense). Such a fan am I that I traveled to the Ottawa, IL plant from my home in Indiana for their 30th (?) anniversary open house and celebration. Some of Ms. Sutton’s family members are involved in the business with her in Illinois, and I get the impression everyone is content to stay small and just keep doing what they have been doing very well for many years (the above review notwithstanding). Expansion is risky and costly. I just selfishly hope they continue in business in Illinois so I can continue to benefit from the only diet that I have found to be sustainable and successful for me in the long term, and the only diet with prepared foods I could actually stand to eat! I would encourage anyone and everyone needing to lose weight or needing a restricted diet for other health reasons (e.g. diabetes or heart disease) to check out Seattle Sutton online and to try it for a week, even if you have to pay the shipping cost. (If you find it helps you, you can do as I do and skip a week or two in between your SS weeks to cut down on the expense.)

  11. Does not taste good and there is no way to pick and choose deliveries.
    The customer service needs major improvement. When I called to complain they said that I am being unreasonable as this is a small business run by a family. Wait, what??? I am a customer and have they not learned that customers come first always?I mean I do understand some people can be unreasonable and treat you like garbage but all I was asking was to postpone the delivery for a few days as I had to leave the state for a family emergency. I was talked down to and simply wanted to notify the company about the way I was spoken to. If that is how you treat your customers this business will never survive or grow.Was disappointed and would not recommend to anyone!

  12. Reply
    Raymond E. Clutts July 22, 2020 at 3:07 am
    3.5
    Quality
    80
    Value
    50
    Satisfaction
    80

    I used Seattle Sutton for about 18-20 months beginning at 320 lbs. and I did eventually get down to 208. And, so I felt it was a worthy plan that produced significant weight loss when used in combination with a regular work out plan as well.

    I’m willing to concede that it was relatively expensive but then so is a heart attack or stroke in terms of medical expense and lost wages. I got really significant long term health benefits from it and so the trade off seemed reasonably proportionate.

    I’m also willing to say that the menu options were monotonous but again the trade off was that I’d only eat the 2000 calories delivered in three daily meals and in return for sacrificing any element of choice I lost almost all the weight that was my target goal.

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  13. 1.5
    Quality
    50
    Value
    30
    Satisfaction
    10

    The food wasn’t bad. But when I had an issue with how Amanda treated me, I complained. I asked to speak to the owner Rene. She told me she would call when she got into the office. Well that was 10 days ago. Sheila, my delivery rep was super nice. The rest of the people I dealt with not so much. I had a legitimate issue about her employee and she didn’t want to hear it. So I’m done with this company.

    + PROS: Sheila was nice. Food wasn’t bad.
    - CONS: Rude staff. Unresponsive owner. Too many days of yogurt and granola for breakfast.
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  14. 1
    Quality
    20
    Value
    20
    Satisfaction
    20

    Much of the food has zero flavor and I have compared several of the meals to Saw Dust.
    The So called bread is always stale.
    This is the second time I tried this program. I was told that it was much improved now over z couple of years ago.
    I throw out as much as I eat.

    + PROS: Easy to microwave. Breakfasts are not bad.
    - CONS: Food is dry with little taste to it. Bread products are always stale and dry. Not enough diversity in the food.
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  15. 5
    Quality
    100
    Value
    100
    Satisfaction
    100

    I just tried the Hummus Vegetable Wrap and it was delicious! Generous portion and very fresh. I’m looking forward to the Pecan and Poppyseed Chicken Salad, next! I’m going to look into this program for my health and convenience.

    + PROS: Delicious, convenient, and healthy!
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  16. 0.5
    Quality
    10
    Value
    10
    Satisfaction
    10

    I recently tried the 1200 calorie meal plan. I was very disappointed with the meals. I was expecting fresh fruit with my meals and the fruit that was paired with the meal was spoiled and some appeared to have been previously frozen. The rest of the food was bland. You are also expected to heat up most meals in the microwave, which was not what I wanted. I was expecting a meal plan that had the meals already prepared, which they were, but also that I could cook in the oven or on the stove top, which for the most part they were not. The meals were also exceptionally small compared to a meal you could make at home for the same or less calories. I tried this plan so that I could have a better balance of foods and try new things, but I now know that Seattle Sutton’s is not the meal plan for me.

    + PROS: I did not find any pros, sorry
    - CONS: Lack of taste and ingredients too expensive for the quality and portion containers are bigger than necessary, bad for environment shipment is over 40 pounds due to the ice blocks
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