Dishing on The Fresh Diet #2 @freshdiet

Maybe it was all the chili and beer I ate during the Superbowl, but when I finally decided to try the Fresh Diet for the first time a few months ago, it was the morning after.   I was ready to rid myself of not just one night, but literally, years of over-indulgence.

In my first report on the Fresh Diet, I mentioned that The Fresh Diet is a meal plan that brings fresh (not frozen or preserved) meals right to your door on a daily basis. You choose your weight goal, and The Fresh Diet suggests three meals a day and two snacks that will be appropriate to that goal.  The enticing thing about this plan is that you’re not eating “airplane meals” that are frozen or worse, freeze-dried.  Oprah lost a lot of weight thanks to a diet-conscious chef, and plenty of celebrities and socialites keep their figures that way as well. The Fresh Diet will fulfill your own fantasy of “staff” to feed you!

It all sounds wonderful, but real life impinges on even the most sought-after goals.  I knew from the beginning that  I am often not home at meal times, and wouldn’t be able to travel with food. And, losing weight doesn’t just mean making better choices (and hopefully upping your activity level),  it also means eating less. In this case, a lot less.  The Fresh Diet is delicious, but the portions, even for men (larger, but not shockingly so), are very small.  A piece of meat the size of your fist may be the “correct” portion size, but it will leave a lot of people wanting more.  Perhaps the most important thing I’ve gotten out of being on The Fresh Diet, if only on again, off again, is that my portion size (not so much my food choices) is what has sabotaged my previous ability to lose weight. The portions on The Fresh Diet are what I used to eat for an appetizer, not for my main course!

When food intake goes down dramatically, cheating also happens. No one is truly immune from a bad day when a tiny chicken breast and a few veggies doesn’t satisfy.   The weight loss articles in fashion magazines make losing more than a few pounds (safely) look easy, but in real life, never cheating is extremely difficult.  Occasionally you will get a report of a woman in one of the articles that sheepishly admits to having a drink  (just one) with the girls, or caving and eating a cookie  just one), but real women need carbs and booze and sometimes, chocolate, despite the longing for a bikini-ready body.   Theoretically your stomach does shrink after a while, but  I’m constantly aware that I’m hungry.  Most of the time I have willpower, but when the hunger pains (or emotional eating) really strike hard,  I know that if I eat something more than what’s in my bag that day, it’s not a good idea. Sometimes, however, I just have to add something.  The Fresh Diet doesn’t officially suggest “safe” foods (maybe there just aren’t any) but I have chosen a piece of low fat string cheese or a handful or almonds as my “go to.”

Fresh Diet on Vacation:   Recently I went to Europe including some time in Paris and 9 days at sea on Norwegian Cruise Lines Norwegian Jade. For this trip there was no way I could have meals delivered to me, but I’d already learned just how small a real portion should be.  Even though the food was tempting, I knew when I was eating more than I should.  I also avoided too many carbs and sugars,  The result is that while the average weight gain on a vacation is one pound per day, this time, even after 14 days away, I only gained about four pounds. While I wasn’t happy about gaining weight, I also was relieved that with all the drinks and luxurious meals I enjoyed on the Norwegian Jade and in Paris, my weight gain would have been much more, had I not been on The Fresh Diet before the trip.  I lost the weight I gained, within two weeks.  Encouraged,  I’m going to stick with it another month. Please note that The Fresh Diet is not offering me this service for free, but this is the best weight loss result I’ve had on any diet in the past 20 years.

My love for The Fresh Diet is not unconditional.  No meal plan is perfect.  In reality, my biggest challenge isn’t feeling hungry or having to eat small portions (the food is tasty, the meals are truly tiny). The biggest challenge is that my daily life gets in the way of  my meals.  For example, I go to a lot of events every week. After a hard day, it’s really hard to pass up a glass of wine, or to say no to a tasty mini quiche or a buttery pastry when you are hungry, and waiters are circulating with trays and trays of yummies.  I’m hungry and this lovely good is wafting up to my nostrils, and my own Fresh Diet Meal is at home. On  weekends I’m not following the diet at all. On the other hand, I have actually started to look forward to seeing a blue, black or green “Fresh Diet” insulated bag outside my door in the morning.   And I love not having to shop for food, figure out what’s for dinner, or cook it and clean up afterwards. You can choose your meals on The Fresh diet ahead of time, so you’ll always know your meals are “set.”  Unless I order a salad or something that can’t be frozen, when I can’t get home to eat, I can freeze those meals for later on, or another day.

Another things to note that is while the food is good (I love the cheesecakes and the breakfast waffles and crepes), but the meals arrive cooled by ice packs in an insulated bag. This keeps the food safe to eat, but you have to reheat some things.  I’ve avoided choosing  breakfast eggs and oatmeal because re-heating makes the eggs rubbery and the oatmeal, gooey.   I’ve learned to eat most of my daily carbs in the morning in the form of waffles and french toast (half a waffle or piece of french toast). And there just aren’t enough vegetables. A portion of baby string beans is about ten (I counted).  Why the diet doesn’t include more veggies surprises me. How many calories could a bit more spinach or lettuce, be? A vegetable will never take the place of a chocolate pudding, but at least it would add some extra bulk.

You might also wonder how couples do on this meal plan.  My husband John agreed to spend a month (in solidarity) on The Fresh Diet with me.  He lost weight, but refused to weigh himself so I can’t tell you how he really did.  You can see he looks slimmer though.  He really struggled with the size of the meals, and isn’t continuing with me.  This is going to make it more difficult for me not to cheat. It’s hard to watch someone eat a football sized steak while you’re eating a tiny piece of fish and a few veggies. But eventually, I am going to have to stop The Fresh Diet too, and I think he learned as I did, that a mountain of potatoes and a big steak is a splurge, not a regular meal.

I’ve been tweeting about the Fresh Diet @advicesisters.  If you have questions about this meal plan please contaft me or leave a comment here. Meanwhile, if you want to try The Fresh Diet go to the web site . Tell them Alison of The Advice Sisters sent you!

Did you enjoy this feature? If so, please leave a COMMENT below in the comments section below, or contact The Advice Sisters by Email form. You can also follow Subscribe to The Advicesisters.net Feed, follow Alison Blackman on Twitter @advicesisters and on Facebook. If you would like to learn more about my work, you can also visit my personal web site and subscribe to my National Beauty and National Luxury Lifestyles columns on the Examiner.com. Thank you for your interest and your support.