Q&A with The Fresh Diet CEO Zalmi Duchman

Based in Miami, Fla., The Fresh Diet has made a splash by slimming down celebrities with its fresh-delivered gourmet meal service.

Most recently, The View co-host Sherri Shepherd took off 41 pounds with a Fresh Diet plan.

With delivery to South Florida, Chicago, the New York tri-state area, Southern California, Boston and Philadelphia, The Fresh Diet has served more than 2 million meals since its inception in 2005.

The plan doesn't come cheap -- it averages around $40 a day, depending on the plan you choose -- but if you're the kind of person who stops at Starbucks on the way to work for a muffin, goes out to lunch with office mates, hits the vending machine for snacks and meets your buddies for dinner, you may find that your wallet can handle it, especially because the meals include everything -- no extras needed.

• Check out a slideshow of more Fresh Diet meals
  

And you're not getting freeze-dried chicken nuggets or powdered spaghetti. Every night, a delivery person leaves a cooler with the next day's meals and snacks (think of it as the Diet Fairy). And it's not just chicken and tofu. Foods include Chilean sea bass, pork tenderloin, crab cakes, lobster ravioli and guava cheesecake -- all formulated with the right calories for your needs.

Fresh Diet CEO Zalmi Duchman has a novel approach to publicizing his plan. You can often find him on Twitter, spreading the word about The Fresh Diet and retweeting people's comments about the eating plan.  That's where we first met up with him.

We wanted to know more about The Fresh Diet and the past and future of and the company, so here's a quick Q&A:

Q. Why did you start Fresh Diet?

A. In 2005 I had been working for a condo developer for the last 4 years and realized that the market  was down. I decided I needed to start a business and after doing some research discovered that there  was no fresh meal delivery service in South Florida. I launched the company that day while keeping my day job. My wife cooked the meals and I delivered the meals all night. We served three clients our first day which was Jan. 1, 2006.

Q. The food plan is based on The Zone Diet. Why the Zone? What makes it better than other weight loss plans?

A. Although the diet was originally based on the Zone diet, we have shifted away from this over the last year. I would say that 60 percent of our meals are of a 40/30/30 balance, which is the best way to achieve one's weight loss or lifestyle goals. However, with our array of choices, especially our dinner mix & match, we have moved to our own diet -- The Fresh Diet. Our philosophy is to serve great fresh and healthy food, keeping out all white flour, potatoes and pastas replacing it with whole wheat, multigrains and sweet potatoes.

Q. Which celebrities have been on your plan?

A. We have had many celebs on our service. Some names include, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Sherri Shepherd, Paula Abdul, Clarence Clemons, Brooke Hogan, Steve Smith (NFL), Mila Kunis, Glenn Douglas Packard (Brooke Knows Best) Scout Masterson (Tori & Dean).

Q. What sort of input do customers have into your meal ideas?

A. Lots of input. We are constantly in contact with all of our clients and receive their feedback on the meals daily. In the past we have removed certain meals that we have had negative feedback as well as introduced new meals from our clients' ideas.

Q. You've expanded into quite a few markets lately. Do you envision being nationwide?

A. Our plans are to open up two new kitchens in 2010. The kitchens will most likely be opened in Houston and Seattle. We hope to serving at least 70 percent of the nation fresh by 2012 and the rest via FedEx by mid 2010.

Boston Fitness Examiner Sarah Dussault reviewed The Fresh Diet. Read her review HERE.