Home delivery diets are fast becoming the smart dieter's choice. Why? Because there's no counting calories, no planning, and no fuss - just simple, good food that's freshly prepared, nutritionally balanced and dropped right at your door.

Ask any woman what her biggest diet stumbling block is and she'll probably say lack of will power.

But when you're juggling work and family, it's just not that easy to plan and prepare special meals for yourself. And who hasn't come home late after a stressful day at the office, tired and grumpy? If the cupboards are bare, the lure of a chocolate biscuit or two is near impossible to resist.

Now there's a range of convenient and affordable home delivery diets, which promise to make losing weight easy.

But is it really that easy to have three calorie-counted, portion-controlled meals delivered to your door? We put them to the test.

BODYCHEF

With a choice of four different plans, including Vegetarian, Skinny B (modelled on the best selling Skinny Bitch book which Victoria Beckham was once spotted reading), Premiere and Lower GI, you'll find freshly cooked and varied meals, all made with natural ingredients and delivered in twice weekly batches.

Bodychef plans cost from £46.50 per week. See www.bodychef.co.uk or call 01502 513 644 for more information.

Claire Spreadbury, 28, tried Body Chef Vegetarian.

"I was very impressed! Some people might not like having their food dictated to them, but I loved it. My life can be really hectic so it was lovely to have all my food decisions already made, and my fridge stocked with all the right things.

"I didn't lose much weight on the trial but if you eat a lot of bad foods or have trouble with portion control, this will definitely suit you."

Susan Griffin, 27, tried Body Chef Premier

"Unlike other diets I've tried, I didn't get that rumbling feeling in my stomach between meals. You're not deprived of any type of food, which means you don't obsess about it. You're even allowed a delicious dessert each night."

Jenny Eastwood, 29, tried BodyChef Lower GI

"Typical meals included muesli with yogurt or fruit salad for breakfast, followed by a wholemeal pitta with tuna for lunch and barbecued chicken for dinner.

"I still got cravings for chocolate and wine though, which got me in the end, but it did teach me that my portion sizes are too large, helped me lose a few pounds, and it's given me a real kick start so I can manage my diet myself from now on."

Xenia Gregoriadis, 33, tried BodyChef Skinny B

"The meat, wheat and dairy-free meals including vegetable curry, chick pea salad and cashew nut pilaf were fresh, delicious, filling and nutritious. It felt like a good detox, and definitely a good one for losing weight fast.

"I thought I'd love not having to cook and it was nice for a while, but in the end I couldn't wait to get back to my familiar food routine."

PURE PACKAGE

The Pure Package is a bespoke, daily food delivery service, catering for everyone from celebs (devotees include Patsy Kensit and Ruby Wax) to post-op patients.

It costs from £29.95 per day. See www.purepackage.com or call 0845 6 123 888 for more information.

Anna Smith, 27, tried the Pure Package.

"Every morning's like Christmas on this plan! Restaurant-quality food included ostrich and quail eggs. The gluten-free banana and date cake was my fave. Portions were big enough but I did end up snacking. After only one week though, several people said I looked slimmer!"

DIET CHEF

Diet Chef is a more affordable option. Delivered in bulk, food is freshly cooked but vacuum packed to preserve freshness. You will need to buy fruit and veg to go with the main meals, which are high protein and low carbohydrate.

Diet Chef costs from £47.50 per week. See www.dietchef.co.uk or call 0208 242 6273 for more information.

Melissa Thompson, 27, tried Diet Chef.

"Having my meals delivered made sticking to this plan really easy. Food was tasty, interesting and rich with mains including chilli con carne and venison sausages. The granola, which had desiccated coconut in it, was delicious.

The soups for lunch weren't filling though, and the Naked snack bars were horrible. I found the food a bit too salty, too. But overall, great value for money and I lost a good few pounds in just two weeks."

GO LOWER

Go Lower is a high protein, low carbohydrate diet which promises to help you burn fat fast. Again, food is vauum packed to preserve freshness and you will need to buy your own fruit and veg.

Go Lower costs from £61.60 per week. See www.golower.co.uk or call 0845 226 0420.

Abigail Jackson, 27, tried Go Lower.

"The food is pretty tasty but variety is limited, portions are fairly small and I found the lack of fresh fruit and veg off-putting.

"I was also constipated and full of gas for most of the first week although the staff did suggest pro-biotic yoghurt which helped.

"If you can stick with it, this is a very effective diet and you don't have to do any exercise for it to work."

OTHER OPTIONS

GRAZE

If your New Year's resolutions are already slipping and you've started sneaking off to the shops for a mid-afternoon chocolate fix, a new snack delivery service could save you from yourself.

Graze boxes are little power packs of nutritional goodness, containing sealed packages of fresh and dried fruit, nuts, seeds, savoury rice snacks, olives and vegetables. Less diet-conscious types can even choose from an array of chocolate!

Everything is designed for the desk-bound diner - there's no fiddly peeling or noisy packets to open.

All you have to do is choose what sort of box you would like, what you would like in it, and when you'd like it delivered. The boxes are then sent by First Class post and guaranteed to arrive at your desk before 3pm.

A Graze box starts at £2.29 - visit www.graze.com to order or find out more.

WEIGHT WATCHERS READY MEALS

The Weight Watchers Points system is said to be one of the easiest ways to lose weight.

Celebs such as Coleen McLoughlin, Patsy Kensit and Claire Sweeney all reportedly owe their svelte selves to the plan, which gives participants a certain number of 'points' each day.

A new range of ready meals - including Cottage Pie, Sausages in Cider Gravy with Vegetable Mash, Chicken, Mushroom & Asparagus Casserole and Chicken Tikka with Coriander Rice - make the system even easier.

Each meal is around five points - not bad when the average person is allowed about 20 a day. See www.weightwatchers.co.uk for a more detailed explanation or to find a group in your area.

Weight Watchers Ready Meals are available from selected supermarkets nationwide, RRP £2.59.