Retail Manager Sheds 27 Pounds in 7 Weeks with Diet-to-Go

Name: Ned Hochstein
Age: 58
Occupation: Retail Management
Meal Plan: 5 Days a Week, 1,600 calories Balance
Favorite Meal: Breakfast, waffles and fruit topping
Start-date: March 3, 2020
Starting weight: 272.6 pounds
Goal weight: 225 pounds
Height: 6’2”
Pounds Lost: 26.6 pounds
Activity Level: Light exercise (recumbent bike)
When I get a craving, my go-to trick is: I take a Hershey kiss instead. Just one. Not 10.




When retail manager Ned Hochstein had to put another hole in his belt to keep his pants from falling down, he knew he was well on his way to meeting his goal of losing 47 pounds before his daughter’s wedding.

“I normally wear 3XL T-shirts,” Ned said of that moment. “I have T-shirts that 3XL, and I also have 2XL and XL...I put on a 2XL, and…my wife said, ‘Wow, you lost so much weight, your stomach’s not even close to where it used to be.’”

Ned, 58, started his recent weight loss journey in March with a target of weighing 225 pounds for his daughter’s wedding, scheduled for Sept. 5, 2020.

“This past August [2019], my daughter got engaged, and with her wedding coming up, I knew I needed to try something new to make sure I was happy with how I looked in those photos,” Ned said.

Ned had tried diet programs before to shed pounds after battling Leukemia and taking medications that caused him to gain weight, as well as having shoulder surgery that made him unable to work.

“Most of my excess weight came around three years ago as a side effect of medication I was taking after being diagnosed with Leukemia,” Ned said. “Then, unfortunately, after the first medication they prescribed wasn't working as well as the doctors hoped, I was put on a new medication [in April 2019], which worked to manage the cancer, but made me gain even more weight. This was discouraging, because while I felt healthy in one aspect, the weight gain made me feel unhealthy in other ways, and unhappy with how I looked.”

The diet program he was trying also didn’t work as it allowed Ned to eat certain foods in unlimited quantities, which caused him to overeat.

“I was a big person to begin with, [and] once I tried unlimited, that didn’t work for me,” he said. “I was eating 1,000 calories of pasta [in a sitting] without even thinking about it.”

That’s when Ned turned to Diet-to-Go. In March 2020, he signed up for the 5-days-per-week, 1,600-calories-per-day Balance Plan.

“It was different than anything I had tried before because now I had professionals preparing balanced meals for me, and was able to take all of the tracking and guesswork out of the equation,” Ned said.

Ned said he also enjoys how tasty the meals are and how it teaches him about proper portion size — something his last diet program was lacking.

“The meals I’m getting now show me the size I need,” he said. “And the taste — it’s actually more balanced. I noticed they don’t use diet food so much...but just [manage] it more with the quantity.”

Ned shed nearly 27 pounds in just seven weeks.

“That first week, I lost four pounds,” he said. “Once you start losing weight and you keep doing it, it’s self-motivation by that point. Then you’re getting used to the food, to the amount of food — and suddenly, you’re getting it.”

Ned also ensures he stays on track by spending time riding his recumbent bike and allowing himself small snacks — such as grapes or a couple Hershey’s kisses — throughout the day.

“I won’t eat breakfast until 10-11 a.m.,” he added. “That way, I don’t eat at 9 a.m. and then I’m hungry at noon, and then I eat dinner at 5 p.m. and am starving [again] at 6 p.m. Dinner now is between 6-7 p.m.”

Ned said another happy moment for him was on a recent video call with his family to celebrate his birthday, where he said they all noticed how much thinner he looked.

“The combination of results, as well as having a guaranteed grocery delivery every week of nutritious meals that I find tasty and satisfying has really put my mind at ease,” he said.

We think it’s important to share real stories from real customers! Do you have a Diet-to-Go success story to share? Email us at [email protected].