Eat healthy, tasty meals as you seek to shed weight

How would you like it if someone prepared all your meals and delivered them in the comfort of your home or office, especially when you are on a diet? Well now it is possible to get that special service.

While most people on a weight loss mission have a problem starting a diet programme, Purple Earth Foods has found a way to make it easier and enjoyable for you to access and learn the art of healthy living.

Two friends, Loise Nyanjau and Wairimu Thumbi, partnered and formed the company on October 2012 whose aim was to teach people about healthy eating during weight loss.

Loise, who is a medical doctor, has vast knowledge and experience in the area of non-communicable diseases and handles the consultation side of the business. It was through her consultations with patients that she saw a need for dietary programmes which could help her patients achieve the recommended weight and health.

“Lifestyle diseases are now an epidemic in the country and there is need to help those affected live better lives especially through changing their eating habits,” says Loise, adding that a change in diet can help reverse some of these non-communicable diseases such as diabetes.

Wairimu is the food expert, coupled with entrepreneurial skills; she runs the business side of the company which also includes wholesome living using natural cosmetics and hair products.

The two now run programmes at the Purple Earth Food offices next to Yaya Centre often holding classes on the importance of eating healthy.

In the programmes offered, the Jump-Start programme which goes for two weeks involves consultations and a weekly meal plan which is delivered to clients every day.

The slim plan is a four-week programme during which the client receives low calorie meals delivered to them every week day at work and at home. Various consultations and cooking classes are held for the benefit of the clients as well.

The longest and most thorough is the 8-week programme which is for those on medical care and those who need medical guidance. This programme offers medical evaluation as well as low calorie meals delivered to them, which include breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as three snacks every day.

In all the programmes, clients are also taken through low-calorie cooking classes which run for four hours where they learn to prepare healthy meals for themselves and their families. Clients also have unlimited consultations with the doctor and get proper guidelines to achieve a total lifestyle change.

“Being on a diet does not mean skipping meals. It means eating a well-balanced meal that is both appetising in look and taste, unlike what most people think that it all needs to be boiled and bland,” says Wairimu.

Ideal

A lot of research has been done on dietary programmes for those who have non-communicable diseases as well as those on weight-loss programmes.

It is said that when on a weight-loss programme, 80 per cent of the effort is pegged on the type of diet you are on and 20 per cent on exercise.

In an earlier interview with BDLife, Damaris Karanja, who weighed 120kg, told of her struggles with weight loss when she only focused on exercising.

Her weight did not change much and it was frustrating until she got advice from a group who were going through a weight-loss challenge on the Operation Lose that Pot Belly – a page on Facebook which seeks to help members shed off extra weigh and share their experiences and dietary habits.

She is now at her ideal weight of 70kg, all due to changing her eating habits. There being a number of reasons why one purposes to lose weight, it is fitting to also find out the appropriate diet to be on.

“With diet playing a big role in this goal and very little change in eating habits, we are keen to make it easier for weight watchers and the sick to achieve their goal,” says Loise.

Clients with special lifestyle needs also get tailor-made programmes depending on their needs. One of the biggest hurdles is to help their clients substitute unhealthy foods for healthy meals by making them re-learn how to eat better

“Portion control as well as learning to eat lean protein and lean dairy products and how to make them tasty and sustainable is our aim,” Wairimu says.

The Health Café at Argwings Kodhek Grove, which is a grab-and-go or eat-in establishment, offers healthy and low-calorie foods everyday.