October 29, 2003
By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
Jennifer Aniston does it.
So do Madonna and Demi Moore.
No, we're not talking about
the latest yoga craze, but rather the Zone diet, which promotes eating
40 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent protein and 30 percent dietary fat
in each meal.
Of course, Jen, Maddy and
Demi have something the rest of us don't -- personal chefs to prepare each
high-maintenance meal. But thanks to a
gourmet food preparation and delivery service called Balance for Life,
Chicago area foodies may enjoy the concept -- for a price.
For $1,085 each month, you'll
have the luxury of having ready-to-be-heated meals delivered to your front
door nightly. Each day's allotment includes three hearty meals, two snacks
and a 16-ounce bottle of water as well as plastic utensils. It's delivered
in a black insulated bag with ice packs to keep the food fresh. When you're
done with the bag, you leave it outside for the delivery person, who'll
retrieve it when leaving the next day's meals.
"I'm not a doctor or a chef,
but I know good food," says Balance for Life President Troy Sutter. "And
I'm fortunate to have a chef who is the bomb. He can find a dish that everyone
likes and make it work in this program. You don't have to be deprived of
good food to stay healthy and fit."
The 39-year-old Sutter launched
Balance for Life in 2001. Currently it delivers meals to Chicago and the
surrounding suburbs as well as southern
Florida. He's preparing to expand his market to Texas and New York
later this year.
"The Chicago clientele for
Balance for Life started off as top heavy with women," he says. "There
was a 70-30 ratio of women vs. men. But that's
changed to about 60-40 now, which means guys are feeling more comfortable
with the program. They don't have to tell anyone they're on a diet and
the lunch bag doesn't have any cutesy logo on it. It just looks like a
lunch box."
Honestly, I was surprised
at how much food I had to eat every day. I actually called them to make
sure they had me on the women's program rather than the men's. Indeed,
I was on the 1,200 calories/day program. I am a big eater, but I was never
hungry.
Some of the food was delicious
-- the chicken and tuna wraps for lunch were flavorful. The Thai beef salad
with baby greens and soy vinaigrette was tasty. And the asparagus and spinach
ravioli was to-die-for good.
But there were some clunkers,
too. Forgetting the adage that if it sounds too good to be true it probably
is, I made the mistake of picking the
cheesecake for dessert. The cake was more like a sweet, gooey bread,
but not in a good way. Same for the muffins, which I found a bit squishy
and
tasteless. As for the key lime pie, well, it would've tasted better
if I had just sucked on a lime. After that, I selected the small tuna salad
portions
for my daily snacks. Much better.
Overall, I would've liked
less meat and more veggies in my meals, but that would've gone against
the Zone's 40-30-30 concept.
Dietitians say programs
such as Balance for Life can be a great way to jump-start a diet, but they
stress that without making a life-long
commitment to eating differently and exercising, the lost weight will
quickly find its way back.
"This can be a wonderful
tool to provide structure," says Gina Hammarlund, associate professor of
nutrition at Finch University of Health Sciences. "But it's important for
people to work at making long-term changes and understanding what they're
eating and why. [Delivery services] can give you the best food in the world,
but if it's not palatable to you you're not going to eat it. You need to
work with someone to help you adjust your menu to meet your taste preferences
so you get everything that you need."
Over my month-long stint
with the program, I found myself subbing out some of the food I'd grown
to dislike with my own snacks, like cherries, a slice of cheese or a big
leafy salad.
Balance for Life rates high
for convenience, though. The meals are delivered nightly. On Friday evening,
they drop off your weekend meals. On the third weekend, they forgot my
Sunday portions and I was secretly happy. I'd gotten sick of the food and
wanted to eat something spicier.
"We can't cater to specific
meals for people, whether it's Asian or vegetarian," says Sutter. "But
we're hoping that people learn about portion
sizes and eating the right combination of foods to maximize their food
intake."
Did I lose any weight? Maybe
a pound or two, but I honestly can't say whether it was due to sticking
with the program or because I was so stressed from planning my wedding.
But I will say that the
first thing I ate after my month was up was a slice of Eli's cheesecake.
And the calories were worth it.
***
If you decide to try the program, choose the 7 days/week option. It's actually cheaper than the 5 days/week program.
Meal plans:
31-day cycle, 7 days/week:
$35/day or $1,085/cycle
31-day cycle, 5 days/week:
$39/day or $1,209/cycle
16-day cycle, 7 days/week:
$39/day or $624/cycle
16-day cycle, 5 days/week:
$41/day or $656/cycle
For more information, call (866) 225-4543.
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