The 7 Best Bodybuilding Meal Delivery Services of 2023

A quick look at the best bodybuilding meal delivery services

Meal delivery services have gained popularity in the last few years. Plenty of them offer healthy options, but if you’re a bodybuilder who’s short on time to cook, you may want a service that targets your specific needs and provides ready-made meals that require minimal preparation.

Bodybuilding requires you to max out at the gym while balancing rigor with recovery and optimizing your nutrition. And there are several meal delivery options to help you do just that.

We tested and chose meal delivery companies that can help you reach your fitness goals and save you some time in the kitchen by providing nutritious heat-and-eat meals.

How we chose the best meal delivery services for bodybuilding

The services featured in this article were selected based on the following criteria:

• Nutritional content: We looked for meal delivery services that balance proteins, fats, and carbs.
• Menu variety: Each service listed offers a diverse selection of meals.
• Ingredient quality: Companies use high quality, fresh ingredients that are often organic or sustainably sourced.
• Availability: Delivery is available for most areas within the United States.
• Value: Services provide a good value for the price.
• Expert recommendations: We asked registered dietitians and board certified specialists in sports dietetics what they look for when selecting a meal delivery service that can support muscle building. Healthline dietitians have also tested many of the services we recommend and provided their feedback below.

Here are 7 of the best bodybuilding meal delivery services.

Healthline’s picks of the best bodybuilding meal delivery services

How do these meal prep services compare?

Here’s a quick look at how the services on our list compare:

How can a meal delivery service help with bodybuilding?

Bodybuilding is a demanding sport that involves strength training to build muscle mass. As a result, you must meet certain energy needs to make sure your body has the nutrients required to build and repair muscle (2).

Optimal nutrition is vital to ensure that your body has the necessary macronutrients — protein, carbohydrates, and fats — and other essential nutrients to meet the heightened energy demand from strength training.

A meal delivery service can make it easier to stick to a bodybuilding nutrition plan by providing structured meals that don’t require time or culinary skills to prepare.

How does bodybuilding change macronutrient needs?

Athletes, including bodybuilders, have specific nutrient needs due to the increased energy demand from exercise. While individual nutrient needs vary, some general guidelines can help you select meals for bodybuilding and meet your nutrient requirements.

When to make a diet change for bodybuilding

For bodybuilders of all levels, diet is an integral part of daily training. Because of this, changes to your diet often align with changes to your training plan.

Efforts to modify body composition require you to meet nutrient needs while accounting for different calorie requirements. Your body’s nutrient and calorie demands will adjust as your activity level changes.

However, every person has a different starting point. Some bodybuilders will want to reduce their total daily calorie intake to lose weight and fat mass, while others will aim for an increase in total calories to build lean muscle mass.

What’s more, changes will come with the competition schedule. Leading up to competitions, you may find that your calorie needs are different than when you’re not in the midst of competing.

For example, competition season often involves “cutting” and reducing total calorie intake. This requires thoughtful preparation to ensure that the reduced energy intake doesn’t result in loss of both fat and muscle.

Many bodybuilders work on increasing lean muscle mass — aka “bulking” — during the off-season. This requires maintaining a resistance training regimen while increasing total energy intake.

In addition to the typical bulking and cutting phases, some people follow a bodybuilding lifestyle. These folks may simply be trying to maintain their current physique for a period of time.

Nutrient needs during this time may fall in between what’s necessary during bulking and cutting phases.

Different goals and starting points require an individualized approach when it comes to adjusting your diet for bodybuilding. Working with a registered dietitian or a doctor can help to ensure you’re meeting your nutrient needs and allow you to develop a customized plan.

We’re also providing some general guidelines below.

Carbohydrates

According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, carbohydrate intake for athletes can range from 3–5 g per kilogram (kg) of body weight per day to 8–12 g, depending on activity level (3).

For bodybuilders, it’s best if carbohydrate sources are nutrient-dense. Getting carbohydrates from a variety of sources will help ensure optimal nutrient intake.

Additionally, the timing of carbohydrate consumption is typically adjusted in tandem with individual training schedules. For example, bodybuilders may want to change their carbohydrate intake if they’re in the off-season as opposed to in the midst of a competition schedule.

General recommendations for bodybuilders are to consume 4–10 g of carbohydrates per kg of body weight per day (4).

Protein

Protein plays an important role in muscle growth and repair. Because of this, bodybuilders and others who aim to increase muscle mass must be attentive to their daily protein intake.

The Recommended Dietary Allowance for protein is 0.8 g per kg of body weight per day. However, this number is widely recognized as being too low for athletes (5).

One study of professional bodybuilders found that male and female bodybuilders ate more than triple that amount — an average of 2.7–3.3 g of protein per kg of body weight per day. This amount is not only higher than the necessary protein intake for the average person but also considerably greater than the recommended intake for other athletes (6).

The International Society of Sports Nutrition recommends daily protein intakes of 2.3–3.1 g per kg of fat-free body mass per day, especially when calories have been significantly reduced. This practice has been found to preserve lean muscle mass (1).

As with your carbohydrate needs, your protein requirements will vary depending on whether you’re in a bulking or cutting phase of competition.

Fat

Of the three macronutrients, fat is the most energy-dense per gram.

Bodybuilders may restrict their total fat intake in an effort to reduce their total calories. However multiple diet-based approaches have successfully modified body composition — and following a low fat diet isn’t required (1).

Research suggests that some bodybuilders consume as little as 8% of total calories from fat, while others eat as much as 33% of total calories from fat (2, 6).

Most recommendations indicate that athletes should consume 20–35% of total daily calories from fat while also ensuring optimal carbohydrate and protein intake (2).

However, research indicates that, in some cases, eating 20–30% of total calories from fat may be harmful if bodybuilders are restricting calories, and the relative increase in fat intake compromises daily carbohydrate and protein intake.

If that’s the case, dropping to as low as 15–20% of total calories from fat can be a better choice if it allows you to maintain sufficient carbohydrate intake (7).

How to choose a meal delivery service for bodybuilding

When shopping for a meal delivery service, there are several key factors to keep in mind.

Consider your individual nutrient needs

It’s wise to find a service with options that fit your fitness goals.

Jessica Isaacs, RD, a sports dietitian and the owner of Jessica the Sports RD, emphasizes that not all meal delivery services are created equal, so it’s important to find a service that fits your needs.

“Some services are targeted toward an athletic population, with macronutrients in line with what a highly active person may need, where others are geared more toward a less active population looking to lose weight,” explains Isaacs.

While some people may require meals with higher amounts of protein to increase muscle mass, others may need to look for meals with varying calorie or carb counts based on their goals.

“Everyone’s individual calorie and macronutrient needs will vary depending on body size, goals, training, and other factors,” says Isaacs.

“Generally, for someone with the goal of building or maintaining muscle, I like to see meals that provide at least 25 g of protein per meal and have the option to increase the protein portion as needed.”

If you’re looking to gain muscle, having the ability to customize your meals to meet your individual nutrient needs will help support your bodybuilding goals.

Assess the macronutrient composition of your meals

Total energy intake and macronutrient distribution are both important parts of reaching body composition goals, including efforts to build and maintain muscle mass.

Each meal delivery service offers a range of options when it comes to calories and macronutrients.

Research allergen and diet restriction procedures

If you’re following a specific eating pattern or have any dietary restrictions, it’s important to look for a service that caters to your needs. Some services may not be able to accommodate severe allergies or other dietary restrictions.

“If there are any allergies or avoidances to navigate, a meal prep company may or may not have a good grasp on how to accomplish this while maintaining the ideal nutrition profile,” says Isaacs.

If you have food allergies, research the meal delivery service and consider contacting customer support directly to ask about allergen policies.

Choose a plan with variety

Finally, choose a meal delivery service that features a diverse menu with plenty of options.

“Eating like a bodybuilder doesn’t have to and shouldn’t mean eating bland baked chicken, unseasoned rice, and steamed broccoli for all your meals,” says Isaacs.

“Sticking to a diet is much easier and people are more successful when they enjoy the foods they’re eating. A meal prep service should be able to target specific calorie and macronutrient needs while also delivering flavorful food.”

You can read reviews and consider ordering a small number of meals to taste the offerings before committing. You can also learn a lot about the variety by reviewing the company’s website and weekly recipe offerings.

Frequently asked questions about bodybuilding meal prep delivery services

Can meal prepping help you gain muscle?

Because meal prepping involves preparing ingredients and meals in batches, it can help you make sure you’re getting enough calories and protein to support muscle growth.

Plus, cooking ahead can help shorten the amount of time you spend in the kitchen each day, which may give you more time to dedicate to your training.

If prepping meals helps you save time and stick to your nutrition goals, then it may be a beneficial practice to add to your daily routine.

Is HelloFresh good for bodybuilding?

It’s important that your meals provide the right amounts of calories, fat, protein, and carbohydrates for muscle building and recovering from workouts.

HelloFresh provides nutritional info for all its meals, but you’ll need to determine whether the calorie and macro content are appropriate for your needs and goals.

If you’re not sure whether HelloFresh would be a good option, a nutrition coach or registered dietitian may be able to help you decide.

How much protein should you eat per meal to build muscle?

Your protein needs depend on your:

• activity level
• age
• body size
• body composition and other factors

About 25 g of protein per meal is a good place for most people to start, but you may need more, especially if you’re training regularly.

Experts recommend getting at least 1.6 g per kg (0.73 g of protein per pound) of body weight each day, which would work out to about 0.4 g per kg (0.1 g per pound) of body weight per meal if you eat four meals (8, 9).

What meal prep company do bodybuilders use?

Bodybuilders can choose from multiple meal prep services as long as their chosen service meets their nutrient needs.

Some meal prep services are geared toward bodybuilders and offer a combination of complete meals and meal components to make meal prep at home easier.

These companies also offer high calorie, high protein meals to make it easier for bodybuilders to meet their macronutrient goals.

Which meal delivery services are best for muscle gain?

A meal delivery service that’s best for muscle gain is one that provides an optimal number of calories and enough protein to support muscle building and repair.

Multiple meal delivery services now offer bodybuilding meals with a range of calories and macronutrients. Prepared meal kit service options include:

• MealPro
• Factor
• Trifecta
• ICON Meals

When choosing the best meal delivery service for muscle gain, consider your individual nutrient needs and ensure that the service offers meals with nutrient ranges that meet your needs.

The bottom line

Multiple meal prep delivery services are designed specifically for bodybuilding.

These services typically offer a range of plans for various fitness goals and often cater to certain dietary restrictions.

Look for a company that fits your needs and preferences and consider factors such as:

• nutritional value
• ingredient quality
• menu variety
• availability
• cost