Meal Makers: Tasty, tailored, diet-conscious repasts delivered to the door save time in busy lives

In a city where the escalators move faster than most places on Earth, it is no surprise that Hong Kongers generally rush through life – caught up in a whirlwind of work, play and work once more. To cope with this hectic lifestyle in one of the world’s busiest cities, anything that saves time is welcomed and valued. If a regular, unavoidable part of our daily schedule can be shortened, then it is a godsend – and popping first to mind here is meal prepping.

For those unfamiliar with the term, these are handy services that prepare, package and send meals based on your dietary and fitness needs. You can choose how many and which meals you want to get each day and how many days you want them delivered to your doorstep.

Meal planners usually arrange for the day’s meal packages to arrive in the morning so that they can then be reheated according to the provided instructions to suit individual eating routines.

In addition to saving time, meal subscription plans come wrapped in perks. Meals are planned by dieticians or nutritionists and prepared by talented chefs based on a profile created for each subscriber, who completes a questionnaire regarding their eating habits. This not unduly lengthy Q&A – remember, time is of the essence – encompasses dietary preferences like plant-based or pescatarian, food allergies or items ruled out for reasons of health or faith, and fitness goals – if the customer wants to lose or gain weight.

Buying a bespoke meal plan is a feasible and convenient way to eat healthily every day, so here are Hong Kong’s best meal subscription services to trim precious time spent in the supermarket and kitchen.

Nosh

Nosh has earned its reputation as a leading meal provider to busy Hong Kongers. Letting you choose the type of diet you want to follow – keto, flexitarian, pescetarian or vegan – Nosh designs a custom meal plan based on your fitness needs. Whether the goal is to drop a few pounds for an event scheduled in three days or gradually lose weight in a month or more, Nosh offers short-term and long-term plans to help its customers achieve their ideal body mass index. For clients who are unsure of their nourishment needs, Nosh’s nutritionist steps in to discuss and determine customised plans. In addition, all ingredients are fresh and premium, and experienced chefs prepare these healthy foods.

A typical package consisting of three meals per day will cost anywhere between HK$200 to HK$500 and you can also opt for two meals per day. If you are looking to be economical, you may want to opt for a long-term plan because, for instance, a three-day balanced diet plan is priced at HK$315 per day while the same plan will cost HK$266 per day if you choose a 30-day subscription. Nosh.hk

Nutrition Kitchen

Ideal for those gymgoers, Nutrition Kitchen is the preferred subscription meal plan of personal trainers as it makes it easy for customers to sustain a healthy diet by providing meals with the ideal amounts of macronutrients, particularly a high quantity of proteins to help with muscle-building. The most popular for body weight transformation is the low-carb package with each meal being around 400 calories for women and 500 for men and they are priced at HK$4900 and HK$6000 respectively for a month-long three-meals-per-day plan. The nutrition data – the number of carbs, proteins and fats – is specified for each dish allowing you to make an informed decision while personalising your plan to include your favourite from the provided options. Furthermore, you can also satisfy your sweet tooth by adding one of the healthy snack options or nutrition-loaded smoothies.

The company sources ingredients of the highest quality and its team of nearly 400 chefs cooks daily, enabling each subscriber to receive freshly prepared meals every morning. The delivery service is only available on weekdays, so it is perfect for office workers who may have weekend brunch or afternoon tea plans. n utritionkitchenhk.com

Eatology

Adhering to a tagline that reads, “Eat healthy, Live easy”, Eatology offers multiple diet plans, including the likes of Asian, Mediterranean, paleo and ketogenic. The brand prepares your ideal plan by collecting basic information like your height, weight, age, daily activity level, dietary choices and fitness goals that could be simply just to eat healthily or want to lose weight and build muscles. But, if you wish to seek advice from an expert first, you can always send the aforementioned details to the company’s in-house dietician who will be happy to discuss and guide you in finding the perfect meal plan for you.

Moreover, the meals also tempt foodies as they are designed by top chef Vincent Leroux, who previously worked at Michelin Guide restaurants. Thereby, every single Eatology plan, which is estimated to be HK$1800 for a five-day three meals-per-day plan, can be likened to the taste of eating in a fine-dining restaurant. High safety standards during preparation and delivery, and biodegradable packaging tick the right boxes, too. eatologyasia.com

Bain Marie

Those who are personally diligent about sustainability will favour Bain Marie for its determination to follow a zero-waste operation – only the exact quantity of food ordered is prepared and the cutlery provided can be washed and reused. Equally laudable is the use of fine, organic ingredients and the banishment of preservatives so you can devour a delicious meal guilt-free. Each meal comes with a variety of dishes and all packages allow you to try different cuisines.

Daily menus are decided by skilled dieticians based on your calorie requirements, depending on whether you need a low-calorie plan for losing weight or more to build and strengthen muscles, then cooked by a team led by chefs who have been part of Michelin-starred kitchens. A plan will typically cost anywhere between HK$1600 and HK1800 for a five-day plan. bainmariehk.com

Can Intermittent Fasting Lead to Sustained Fitness? We weigh the evidence…

While it’s an undoubtedly popular concept among the more fad-minded in the contemporary health and fitness world, exactly how effective is intermittent fasting when it comes to weight loss and an overall improvement in health? Well, for one thing, it’s certainly easier to manage than you might expect. All it requires is a little self-discipline, though, if you were over-blessed with that you might not be worrying about any excess weight problem in the first place.

The idea behind intermittent fasting is that, by restricting your food intake, your body will be obliged to deplete its fat reserves to meet your energy requirements. While glucose from carbohydrates is your body’s most direct fuel source, you burn fat to provide energy when glucose isn’t available. Inevitably, this is more likely to happen when your body’s level of food intake is relatively low.

Essentially, intermittent fasting means scheduling for yourself periods when you refrain from eating. As it is not about what to eat, but only when to eat, it is not considered a diet per se. Although being mindful of what you eat will certainly deliver optimum outcomes, some studies have shown good results are still possible in instances where 14 hours of daily fasting are sustained without changing your normal food choices.

That aside, let’s briefly consider the five supposed benefits of this particular practice.

Weight Loss

Many of those who favour intermittent fasting do so in the belief that it will trigger a hormone reaction that catalyses weight loss. This is based on the notion that lower insulin levels, higher Human Growth Hormone levels and increased amounts of norepinephrine (noradrenaline) will increase the breakdown of body fat and facilitate its use to meet energy needs.

According to one 2011 study, intermittent fasting also results in less muscle loss than continuous calorie reduction. There have also been claims that it especially benefits those people that don’t have time to devote to meal planning and preparation. This may be why it appeals to those seeking an easy alternative to something more rigorously thought-out and planned.

Improved Cognitive

Functioning While the buzz surrounding this practice is relatively new, the notion of intermittent fasting actually dates back many centuries. It was practised by a number of ancient civilisations, with many contemporary religions retaining some vestige of the practice, often in the belief that it helps achieve clarity of focus. In support of this, a study published in Molecular Psychiatry indicated daily fasting can enhance memory and help guard against neurological disorders.

Fasting is also said to increase the level of a brain hormone called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). A BDNF deficiency has been cited as a cause of depression and various other brain problems. Some have even claimed that fasting can help fend off Alzheimer’s Disease, the most common neurodegenerative disease. Such suggestions have, however, yet to achieve widespread acceptance among the medical community.

Longevity and Slow Ageing

Another supposed benefit of intermittent fasting is that it can even help you live longer. This is based on the claim that its triggers autophagy, a cellular recycling process that disposes of older and potentially diseased cells, resulting in an extended lifespan. Such assertions are, however, somewhat contentious.

While there have been some studies that could be seen as lending credence to such a notion, this is a highly controversial medical field and one where commercial imperatives are frequently seen as trumping proper evidential analysis. As ever, it’s best to treat any such claims with a measure of cynicism until an acceptable level of scientific consensus emerges.

Improved Heart Health

There have also been a number of assertions that the practice of intermittent fasting can help ward off future coronary problems. As heart disease is both widespread and potentially hugely debilitating (if not fatal) this is an extremely alluring prospect, while again being one that should be treated with a degree of caution until it is comprehensively endorsed by the medical community at large.

Advocates of the notion, meanwhile, maintain that intermittent fasting may improve the body’s insulin response, a mechanism that helps control blood sugar levels. This chimes with the belief that lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels can lower the risk of weight gain and diabetes, two factors known to be related to higher incidences of heart disease.

Prevention of Cancer

Inevitably, given the wide range of benefits attributed to intermittent fasting with varying degrees of credibility, sooner or later some advocate or other was going to champion its anticancer potential. Equally inevitably it was also going to be the ‘sooner’ box that got ticked.

Proponents of this particular belief maintain that intermittent fasting reduces the risk of cancer by slowing the ability of cancer cells to adapt and spread. As a corollary to this, there have also been suggestions that fasting can reduce the side effects of chemotherapy. While not wishing to entirely discredit such notions, it’s worth bearing in mind that the higher the Fear Factor, the greater the likelihood that unverifiable solutions will be posited by the less scrupulous practitioners. Few conditions have a higher fear factor than cancer.

Trimming the Fads: Debunking quick-fix diet plans

For decades, it was believed that the best approach to weight loss was to eschew fat intake in particular, and eat less in general. Thus, calorie counting became the foundation of a series of dietary plans that were popularised in the early 20th century and expanded in the ’30s following a trend of Hollywood starlets embracing dieting to lose weight. These have now become what we now know as ‘fad diets’.

The public appetite for diets that promise a quick, easy path to long-term weight loss with minimal effort has not abated. The truth of the matter, though, is that these are commonly restrictive eating plans that discard one or multiple food groups in favour of another, sometimes resulting in more health concerns caused by eschewing diets in the first place. Fashionable diets like the Grapefruit Diet, Cabbage Soup Diet, Subway Diet and a slew of celebrity diets that come and go essentially reach the same unhappy – and hungry – conclusion: an unbalanced and unsatisfying meal plan that is simply unsustainable. As the old adage goes, if it’s too good to be true, it probably is.

Do they actually work?
Fad diets claim to provide quick fixes to shedding the stones from the scales – simplifying complex scientific studies that extend beyond caloric intake. More often than not, eating patterns that claim to have the solution to rapid weight-loss result in loss of water and muscle rather than adipose tissue, or body fat. Submitting to them long term can be dangerous. There are many testimonies of excessive weight gain following periods of strict dieting, and serious health issues from diabetes to cancer alongside side effects like constipation, nutrient deficiency and a weakened immune system. Calorie counting is also a known trigger of eating disorders.

This is not to say that all diet plans are detrimental to health. As Hayley Chan, an in-house nutritionist at premium meal and delivery company Eatology, explains, a healthy diet constitutes a balanced variety of different food groups and nutritional sources that complement an individual’s fitness and wellness goals, such as muscle building and clean eating. According to the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, replacing ‘low-quality food’ containing refined grains, sugars and high levels of starch, trans and saturated fats – think white bread, potato and sweetened beverages – with ‘high-quality food’ – raw vegetables and fruit, whole grains, healthy fats and protein – can lead to dramatic health improvements and increased satiation.

The Mediterranean Diet and the Keto Diet, if followed correctly, are two examples of eating plans that have been scientifically proven to benefit health and provide effective weight loss. The former offers a nutritional and flexible eating pattern, while the latter highlights the importance of macronutrients and metabolic changes in the body.

A holistic approach to weight loss
Beyond nutrition, scientific studies have detailed the association of behavioural psychology and self-esteem with weight loss. In recent years, nutrition experts and dietitians have veered towards more holistic practices that highlight the genetics, lifestyle and mindset of each individual.

Although it uses the guidelines of BMI (Body Mass Index) and BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), Eatology strongly emphases the enjoyment, as well as the convenience, of eating healthily. Its goal is to offer flavourful and nutritional dishes without the tedious process of counting calories or macros, or shopping and cooking. Similarly, Sally Poon, a registered dietitian and founder of Hong Kong-based Personal Dietitian, says that although reducing total calorific intake with some form of exercise can realistically lead to 2 to 4kg of fat loss per month, lifestyle plays an important role in achieving long-term weight loss. Adjusting one’s environment and being aware of personal triggers can help to avoid cues to overeating.

“Caloric counting was the foundation of dietary plans and birthed what we now call fad diets”

Likewise, Mayuri Punjabi, a Hong Kong-based certified health coach and founder of MyEurekaLife, believes that the education of your body, health conditions, lifestyle and behavioural habits are fundamental to changing your relationship with food for a sustainable weight-loss plan. She explains that one of the key pillars of her coaching is ‘bio-individuality’, which focuses on “internal and external circumstances that look at all aspects of her client’s life, from underlying health conditions to habitual behaviours to shifting mindsets”. She adds, “Deconstructing each craving down to its roots usually reveals a deeper level of psychological trigger that influences the way you think, feel and act towards food” – a stage in the process she calls a “eureka moment”.

Research published by the Canadian Centre of Science and Education in the Journal of Food Research states that environmental and psychological factors play a significant role in the longevity of weight loss. External influences like peer pressure from friends and family, and social media portrayal of beauty can lead to feelings of discomfort about one’s appearance, a low level of self-esteem and feelings of guilt. These associations that affect how individuals eat can be altered by cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), as stated in a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine. CBT that involves specific goal setting, consistent self-monitoring, feedback and positive reinforcement from a social support system has been proven to increase the longevity of an individual’s weight-loss progress and maintenance. The research found that “the more group counselling sessions participants attended, the more weight they lost and the less weight they regained”.

How to decide which plan suits you?
As any professional health expert will tell you, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to weight loss. An eating pattern for one person may be more or less effective for another person depending on their genes, lifestyle and underlying health conditions. Structuring a meal plan that works for each person’s unique body and lifestyle should be based on individual biological, behavioural and lifestyle characteristics. But ultimately, consistency, discipline, stress management and sleep all contribute to how and what we eat. One can start by consulting a certified and registered nutritionist or dietitian to determine the best strategy for healthier eating habits and lifestyle. These Hong Kong-based nutrition and meal-plan services offer consultations and tailor-made programmes that suit each individual’s lifestyle and health goals.

Sally, Shi-Po Poon, Personal Dietitian
Registered dietician at the Health and Care Professions Council, UK and accredited Practising Dietician at Dietitians Association of Australia with more than 13 years of experience in dietetics, specialising in cancer and weight management.
Contact: +852 3596 6468 / @sallypoondietitian
personaldietitian.com.hk

Mayuri Punjabi of MyEurekaLife
Certified health coach by the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York with an educational background in genetics and biochemistry.
Contact: +852 6343 2910 / @myeurekalife
myeurekalife.com

Eatology Aisa
A leading food delivery service that provide science-backed and chef-crafter gourmet meal plans that offer practical, sustainable and convenient eating in tandem with customers’ lifestyles and health goals.
Contact: +852 2368 6331 / @eatologyhk
eatologyasia.com

Tuck In, Tuck Out: Unearthing the benefits of intermittent fasting

Literally everybody – whether they practice it or not – knows that eating right is the best way to stay healthy. But over the last few years, there’s a trend gathering momentum, which advocates that choosing when you eat is as important as what you ingest. Yes, we’re talking about intermittent fasting, perhaps one of the world’s most popular health and fitness trends today.

So what exactly is intermittent fasting? Simply put, it’s an eating pattern that revolves around alternating periods of fasting and feasting. Given that it doesn’t specify the kinds of food that one should eat, but rather dictates a schedule for when one should partake, it’s rather more of an eating habit than a diet per se, albeit one that’s quite Spartan in spirit.

Yet, this frugal lifestyle is something that humans are conditioned to adapt to rather well. Throughout the course of human evolution, fasting has been a common-enough practice. Ancient cavemen ate whatever food they could hunt or gather, and when conditions were unsuitable for either, a period of enforced fasting would ensue. Hence, humans have evolved to be able to function without food for prolonged periods of time.

Perhaps because of that, to this day, fasting continues to have religious and spiritual connotations, with the practice of abstaining from food thought to be purifying for the body and soul in almost all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam and Buddhism.

Mystical implications aside, the more scientifically-inclined will undoubtedly be happy to hear that intermittent fasting has quite a few proven health benefits. When we fast, our body releases the fat-burning hormone, norepinephrine, which in turn boosts metabolism rates that can lead to weight loss, particularly the much-hated belly fat. Simultaneously, our growth hormone levels increase while insulin levels go down, kicking off cell repair processes that can boost our health in the long run.

Given all its benefits, it’s not surprising, then, that several different types of intermittent fasting have been devised, and should you be so inclined, here are three of the most popular versions to try:

The 16/8 method: As the name implies, this method restricts your daily eating period to eight hours, say, from 1pm to 9pm. Then you fast for 16 hours in between, skipping breakfast.

Eat-Stop-Eat: This involves fasting for 24 hours, once a week, but having regular meals at regular hours on all other days.

The 5:2 diet: With this method, your calories consumption goes down to a bare minimum of 500-600 calories on two non-consecutive days of the week, but you can eat normally on the other five days.

Text: Suchetana Mukhopadhyay