One small bite at a time

Nutrition and catering services offer a range of tasty options for their calorie-conscious clients.

Every Saturday evening, I resolve to improve my eating habits. Despite my good intentions, by Tuesday the strain of the working week has crushed my willpower. According to reports, obesity levels in the UAE are on the rise and it seems I am not the only one with a dependence on convenience food.

With diets panned as ineffective and even dangerous, the UAE's expanding waistlines looked to a new concept that integrated hospitality and healthcare. Dubbed "nutrition and catering services", these health and wellbeing companies monitor clients' body compositions, deliver health-conscious meals on their doorstep and promote a healthy lifestyle.

Established in December 2004, Right Bite was one of the first companies to introduce the service to the UAE. "Right Bite started as a request by clients who wanted to consume healthy food but found a lack of choice," says Nathalie Haddad, managing director of Right Bite, Dubai.

According to Thuraya Baalbaki, founder, partner and managing director of Live'ly weight management programme, the schemes attract a broad customer base.

"We have young children, teenagers, men and women, pregnant women, diabetics, people on chemotherapy, people suffering from heart or kidney problems and those with food allergies or intolerances," Baalbaki says.

"We do not target one part of society because weight and health are common concerns for everyone," she adds.

Although details may vary between programmes, the core principles are the same, as Baalbaki explains.

"Following a consultation with a clinical dietitian, a tailored meal plan is delivered daily to the client. This is supported by weekly or fortnightly follow-ups to keep motivation high and to monitor progress."

According to Haddad, clients can choose from a menu developed by dietitians. "We offer different meal packages to suit individual needs and lifestyles, ranging from one meal a day to a complete daily intake. Many clients are surprised at how much they can actually eat and at the variety of food," Haddad says.

The downfall of many overweight individuals is the notion of portion size - something that the catering-service aspect of the programme addresses, says Seema Shetty, executive director of BiteRite, a nutrition service based in Abu Dhabi. "The portion size is the usual lesson they learn when they follow the BiteRite plan. Most people are used to having double or even triple quantities," she adds.

Shetty believes education is a key aspect of healthy-eating programmes.

"Nutrition education improves and strengthens a programme's fundamental concept in the client's daily life," she says.

"Education is part of the 360-degree approach of BiteRite. Besides sending e-mails about healthy living, we also conduct seminars on the subject twice a month. Our sole purpose is to train the eyes and tongue on understanding what comprises a healthy diet, including the concepts of balanced meals and acceptable quantities," Shetty adds.

Educating clients will ensure they do not relapse into bad habits once they complete the weight-loss programme, Haddad says.

"As dietitians, we firmly believe that the role of nutrition education is essential to helping individuals make positive and lifelong changes to their eating habits. We aim to give individuals a better understanding of how food affects their overall health and wellbeing," Haddad adds.

Baalbaki agrees. "The Live'ly box educates clients about portion size, food selection, cooking methods and self-control. With the education and training they receive, they begin applying what they have learnt," she says.

The main criticism the programmes receive concerns their cost. Programmes vary between Dh2,000 and Dh3,300 per month for the full package of three meals and two snacks but Baalbaki believes the price is more than justifiable.

"Our prices are reasonable when you consider the quality of food, the standard of service and the personalised care we offer. If you compare our prices to eating at a restaurant, you will find them cheap," Baalbaki says.

If UAE residents are serious about tackling their weight, perhaps it's about time they replaced the delivery boy with the delivery bag.

The bite that was right for me

When I moved to the UAE, I laughed - albeit nervously - at the prospect of gaining the dreaded Dubai stone. Three years on and countless brunches later, I had a wardrobe filled with clothes that no longer fitted. Desperate to regain my figure, I signed up for Right Bite.

During my first consultation, my assigned dietitian Nadine explained the basics of the programme.

Rather than eating three large meals daily, I would be provided with a green chiller bag containing five food portions, to be consumed at regular intervals throughout the day - breakfast (8.30am), a mid-morning snack (11am), lunch (1pm), an afternoon snack (4pm) and dinner (7pm). I also had to e-mail her the details of my food intake on Fridays - the plan's day off - and my exercise regime.

After choosing meal options for the first week from a specially tailored menu, Nadine carried out a detailed analysis of my body composition. From this data, she outlined targets relating to my weight, muscle mass and percentage body fat.

The variety of food that arrived each day was surprising. Instead of tasteless rice cakes and bland grilled chicken, there was a selection of Indian, Arabian, Oriental and Western dishes. Meal choices included a bagel and peanut butter for breakfast, pizza for lunch and chicken tikka for dinner. The afternoon snacks were the daily highlights, with choices including "trim" tiramisu, carrot cake and fudge brownies.

Besides salt and fat, the sugar content of each food is also carefully monitored so although the portion sizes were smaller than I usually ate, I never once felt hungry and my craving for sugar diminished. After following the plan for six weeks, I had achieved the goals that had been set. To ensure I continued to eat healthily, Nadine devised a maintenance programme I could follow.

Right Bite taught me to think about my diet in a different way. I think about what I eat, when I eat and how much I eat - questions I never asked before.

My energy levels have increased. Best of all, I have no problem finding something to wear and the only thing bulging in my life is my wardrobe.

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