Mike Clay, owner of Custom Fit Meals, is the perfect advertisement for his company. By using the Custom Fit Meals program, which provides packaged, healthy meals to customers, he has lost more than 100 pounds.

“This company is my story,” Clay said. “Our mission is to make losing weight and being healthy easy for others. It’s not a diet; it’s a lifestyle change.”

The six chefs at Custom Fit create meals with fresh, not processed, nutritious food. It’s the type of meals that people need to eat, Clay said.

“Losing weight and being healthy is about two things: dieting and exercise. If people have to change only one thing about their life, they’re 85 percent more likely to be successful. If they have to change two things about their life, they’re only 35 percent likely to be successful. We make it so that our customers only have to change one thing.”

Customers can choose from three meal plans. The Lean Lunch and Dinner plan, which Clay said is the most popular, provides lunch and dinner during the work week for $69.99. The Lean Lunch and Dinner plan was created for the more casual dieter, while the Work Week Weight Loss plan is for a motivated dieter. For $99.99, the customer receives breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks during the work week. Custom Fit Meals also provides the option of building your own meal plan. Two meals a day cost $6.99, three meals a day cost $6.79 and four meals a day cost $6.59.

These meals are prepared twice a week, with rotating weekly menus for variety in the food. Custom Fit Meals is currently working on 50 new menu items, including some that are dairy and gluten free. The idea is to provide healthy meals for customers during the work week and begin good eating habits, so they can make easy, healthy meals during the weekend.

The meals are sent to four gyms around the area for pick up, twice a week: Crest Fitness Club, Wilmington Lady Fitness, Crossfit Wilmington on Market Street and the Burgaw Depot.

“My plan is that if people have to go pick up their food from a fitness center, then they are more likely to work out,” Clay said.

Clay began Custom Fit Meals after he quit his corporate job as a sales manager. The experience as a sales manager helped him with this business idea, Clay said.

The kitchen for Custom Fit Meals is located in Burgaw. It currently has eight employees and plans to hire six more people soon. The jobs will mostly be sales and distribution positions.

Although a customer must give a week’s notice if he or she plans to quit the program, there are no contracts or commitments at Custom Fit Meals. Some customers have been with the company since day one, and some customers choose to do three weeks on the program and two weeks off, Clay said.

“One group of CPAs have signed on with us for April, since they are so busy with tax season,” Clay said. “How long a customer stays with us just depends on his or her personal goals.”