As Friday approaches and my second week of the programme comes to an end, I once again feel a sense of accomplishment. The feeling is most likely attributed to a combination of the fact that I’ve never stuck to any regimented meal plan before and the programme is slowly but surely making me healthier. Reflecting over the past week, I realise that this meal plan has not only provided me with more energy throughout my day, but has left me feeling healthier and nauseated at the thought of unhealthy foods.

Missed it? See our week one progress report here

On Tuesday, I decide to go in for my progress check. The dreaded weigh-in would tell not only me, but also Martin Lorentsson, the founder of Eat Right, whether or not the meal plan was effectively working (or, perhaps, whether or not I was sticking to it). Saju, the girl on duty in the restaurant that day, readies the scale, asks me to remove my shoes and requests for me to step on. As my bare feet touch the cold scale for my second weigh-in at the Soho restaurant, I don’t feel as apprehensive or nervous as I did the first time. I look down at the scale, watching the little circles rotate on the digitized screen and finally the weigh-in is complete. Saju scribbles a few numbers down on my progress sheet and lets me know that I’ve lost over one kilogram and a bit of body fat along with it.

The following day, I receive a phone call from Lorentsson, who excitedly talks about my progress and how wonderful it is, not to mention how many calories I’ve shed in the last week. With over one kilogram gone, he claims that I’ve lost over 11,000 calories in just one week. He humorously remarks, “I don’t know what you were eating before, probably junk food, but these are great results”.

With the boost of confidence from my second weigh-in and the excitable phone call from Lorentsson, the rest of my week flies by and I find myself thinking about my guilty pleasures less and less. My cravings for chocolate diminish, my need for fried food is replaced by wanting to eat salad (I promise, this is unheard of) and I find myself looking forward to my next meal delivery.

This second week of meals has been made up of substantial breakfasts, such as oatmeal with dried apricots and raisins or yogurt with bananas, almonds and raw oats and even buckwheat pancakes with a blueberry compote and small serving of maple syrup. My lunches have been salmon with broccoli, green beans and brown rice, as well as pasta with chicken, mixed vegetables and a lightly dressed salsa. I can’t say the portions are ever generous, but I never find myself hungry or dying to eat and I feel like this is where many people get feeding themselves wrong. It’s never about eating until you’re full or stuffed; it’s more about eating what your body needs and keeping everything balanced.

I’ve learned that not only is portioning key, but the balance of foods that you feed yourself is important. My education on healthy eating has definitely taken a step forward with this program. The key to a healthy eating day is to begin with a substantial, carbohydrate and protein-filled breakfast and lunch, followed by a protein and veggie-packed dinner. I’ve noticed that my dinners usually consist of some kind of protein, grilled chicken, flank steak or salmon, gracefully placed on top of a bed of spinach or salad leaves and accompanied by a scrumptious dressing. In terms of my daily eating routine, this is what has changed the most.

In a way, the food that is delivered to my office and my home each day is replicable at home, but with great effort. I can envision myself recreating the meals at home, especially the breakfasts. Everything that has been delivered to me is tasty, at times refreshing and exciting to eat. The presentation, due to delivery and plastic packaging, is not up to restaurant quality and can make the food appear homemade. But in this case, looks can be deceiving and each time I reheat one of my meals it tastes as good as if I were seated in Eat Right itself.

With personalised progress reports, follow-up phone calls from the owner himself, definite progress and door-to-door delivery, the programme has got to be one of the most convenient and well thought-out around. The need to restock my refrigerator with food and slave away in the kitchen creating portions unknowingly too large for myself is now gone and I can rely on the knowledge of Lorentsson and his team to carry me into a healthier chapter of my life.

As we continue into our third and fourth weeks with Eat Right, we will be giving progress reports here on HongKongTatlerDining.com, so make sure you keep an eye out and ear open to see what we think about this movement towards a healthier life.

For those interested in enrolling themselves in the four week meal programme, please contact Martin Lorentsson, founder and creator of Eat Right by calling +852 6197 5820 or e-mailing martin@eatright.com.hk