DIET ON THE GO PORTIONED, DELIVERED GOURMET MEALS A FRESH IDEA THAT'S CATCHING ON QUICKLY WITH THE CALORIE-CONSCIOUS.Byline: Sandra Barrera Staff Writer Heather East enjoys rich, delicious food as much as the next person. Maybe more. When she tipped the scale at more than 300 pounds last year, the 39-year-old wife and working mother of two knew she had to make a drastic lifestyle change. And she wasn't thinking crash diet. "There's so many gimmicks out there," East says. "The energy drinks and the lose-weight pills are all bull. They may work if all you have to lose is a couple of pounds, but it's not going to work for somebody who has to lose a significant amount of weight. "It's got to be over a period of time," she says. "It has to be done safely." So, in December, the Van Nuys woman passed on gastric bypass surgery Gastric bypass procedures (GBP) are any of a group of similar operations used to treat morbid obesity—the severe accumulation of excess weight as fatty tissue—and the health problems (comorbidities) it causes. and signed up for the gourmet diet-to-go service Fresh Dining. She's nearly 40 pounds lighter as a result. Celebrity clientele Fresh Dining is a Burbank-based company that has helped Janet Jackson and former talk-show host Ricki Lake This article is about the person. For the talk show, see Ricki Lake (talk show). Ricki Pamela Lake (born September 21, 1968) is an American actress and tabloid talk show host, perhaps best known for her long-running Ricki Lake slim down Verb 1. slim down - take off weight lose weight, melt off, slim, slenderize, thin, reduce sweat off - lose weight by sweating; "I sweated off 3 pounds in the sauna" considerably. One in a growing number of comparable services and with financial backing from Lee Iacocca Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca (born October 15, 1924) is an American industrialist most commonly known for his revival of the Chrysler brand in the 1980s when he was the CEO. Among the most widely recognized businessmen in the world, he was a passionate advocate of U.S. , it delivers fresh, portion-controlled meals to the doorsteps of dieters across Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . "People don't eat right ... and it's got to stop or we're going to grieve a lot of people that are going to die too early in their lives," Iococca says while raising concerns about diabetes in a video on the company's Web site. "And that's why (the Fresh Dining) concept is so terrific ... that there's good food out there, and it can taste good and look good and be good for you." The Bay Area and San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. are next on the radar for Fresh Dining as the company goes up against other established gourmet diet-to-go businesses. One industry stalwart is Glendale- based ZoneChefs, which bases its meals on Dr. Barry Sears' Zone Diet, a balanced ratio of 40 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent protein and 30 percent favorable fats. "The Zone Diet is very complex," says Daniel Taugher, a spokesman for ZoneChefs, which will be relaunching this summer as Chefs Diet. "Here, we've done all the work for you. If you follow the diet, you're going to lose weight." The National Center for Health Statistics' latest data from 2003-04 show an estimated 66 percent of U.S. adults, ages 20 and over, are overweight or obese. Still, overweight people aren't the only customers ZoneChefs or any other fresh food delivery program are after. And that's certainly true of Susan Johnson Susan Johnson is the name of:
"We're more than just about diet," Johnson says, listing the company's relationships with hospitals, Meals On Wheels n. 1. A program that delivers hot meals to persons, such as the elderly or disabled, who are confined to their homes and unable to cook for themselves; also, the meals thus delivered. Such programs are usually conducted by governmental or charitable organizations. and even the reality series "Celebrity Fit Club Celebrity Fit Club may refer to:
Three portion sizes Susan's Healthy Gourmet uses ingredients that are low in fat, cholesterol and sodium while high in complex carbohydrates complex carbohydrates, n.pl polysaccharides; nutritional compounds composed of multiple monosaccharide (simple sugar) building blocks. Complex carbohydrates include starches, glycogen, and cellulose. so they're filling. The bulging menu includes a description of each dish and explains they come in three portion sizes -- 375, 500 or 600 calories -- to work easily with point systems. Weekly specials and family and kids meals are also available. "With other services, you don't really know what you're going to get," Johnson claims. "They will ask you what you don't eat, but they may be preparing two or three meals for everybody that day, and you may just be getting one of those meals. With us, you know exactly what you're getting." There is no minimum or maximum when ordering from Susan's Healthy Gourmet. Pricing ranges from $14.50 for a single 375-calorie dinner to $269.50 for a full week's worth of home-delivered meals. ZoneChefs' signature 31-day optimum results program starts at $39.99 a day. The vegetarian option is slightly less. Fresh Dining starts at $45.95 a day for a standard meal and $55.95 for organic. "It's expensive, but it's well worth it," says East, who each morning opens her front door to find a cooler filled with a day's worth of nutritious, chef-prepared meals totaling no more than 1,200 to 1,400 calories. Men receive 1,800 to 2,000 calories a day. Among last week's meals was French toast topped with apple-cinnamon compote and vanilla-ricotta cream, Ponzu- spiked edamame Edamame is a preparation of immature soybeans in the pod commonly found in China and Japan. The pods are boiled in water together with condiments such as salt, and served whole. and fava bean dip Noun 1. bean dip - a dip made of cooked beans dip - tasty mixture or liquid into which bite-sized foods are dipped with sesame chips, seared sear 1 v. seared, sear·ing, sears v.tr. 1. To char, scorch, or burn the surface of with or as if with a hot instrument. See Synonyms at burn1. 2. ahi tuna over mixed greens tossed with a honey, soy and lavender vinaigrette and pan-seared beef medallions with roasted fingerling fingerling young fish. potatoes and spinach. And for dessert, a decadent chocolate tart topped with fresh raspberries. "With us, you are going to be eating differently," says Bruce N. Knight, chief operating officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. of Fresh Dining. "But you're eating frequently enough that your body gets used to a certain amount of intake. If you wanted to get off the diet, you have a greater repertoire of things to go after. You have changed your eating habits. You have changed the menu, as it were, and we think that's significant." Nutritional counseling But East owes her success so far to more than just tasty meals with a gourmet flair. Fresh Dining also offers its clients nutritional counseling and even puts them in touch with a fitness trainer, the latter of which can tack on an additional $75 to $200 an hour. East works out once a week with Tim "Timmy T Timmy T (born Timothy Torres in Fresno, California on September 21, 1967) is a Freestyle performer and musician. He is best known for his 1991 Billboard Hot 100 #1 single "One More Try." He also had other memorable hits such as "Time After Time" and "What Will I Do. " Talman, the 42-year-old son of the late character actor William Talman of "Perry Mason" fame, who owns and operates Valley Boot Camp out of Encino. He has been working with East on cardio training and lean-muscle building since she started with the program. "This is a woman who has been in a cocoon cocoon: see pupa. of her own weight issues," Talman says. "Now that we're starting to peel away the layers, she's finding out exactly who she is." East, who's working through emotional issues from her childhood, says food was always a safe haven. "In my life now, I'm trying to change the way that I look at things because when you're 39 and you're still looking at your food as comfort, that's not right," she says. "It's meant to nourish your body, not comfort you." Sandra Barrera, (818) 713-3728 sandra.barrera@dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 13 photos, box Photo: (1 -- cover -- color) DIET AT YOUR DOORSTEP Gourmet meals may make weight-loss easier (2 -- 3 -- color) Van Nuys resident Heather East, above, eats a pre-made Fresh Dining salad. East has lost nearly 40 pounds since December. At left, executive chef Mike Weldon prepares Caribbean Salads at the Fresh Dining facility. (4 -- color) Meals from the Fresh Dining facility in Burbank are delivered pre-portioned to diners' doorsteps. Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer (5 -- 13 -- color) no caption (meals) Photos by Daily News Staff Photographers David Sprague and Andy Holzman Box: Taste-testing the recipe for success - Sandra Barrera, Nancy Dillon and Natalie Haughton |
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