Write On: Healthy habits

Remembering to pack a healthy lunch for work? Not one of my strengths lately.

After months of indulging on takeout, I’ve been needing a change. 

My coworker’s husband, Ryan McNeil, owns Fresh Kitchen. When she told me about the new 14-day challenge he developed with registered dietitian Laura Georgy, I was all over it. My challenge would be to eat 1,200 calories every day for two weeks, combining Fresh Kitchen’s meals with low-calorie snacks.

Fresh Kitchen has suggested meal plans, but there are no restrictions on mixing and matching dishes as long as you stay within the 1,200-calorie limit.

I was amazed by how healthy the food was yet how good it tasted. I got to eat honey mustard chicken, banana pancakes, chicken stir-fry and roast beef—guilt-free.

It turned out this challenge was just what I needed. All that stuff about having more energy and feeling good when you eat right? It’s the real deal.

These are my suggestions for trying the challenge:

Schedule strategically. Don’t start on a whim. Study your calendar for holidays, birthday parties, tailgates—any event where you’ll be surrounded by people eating copious amounts of food. You do not—I repeat, do not—want to go on a restricted diet when your social calendar is packed. For me, this meant all of November was out, between my birthday, travel plans and Thanksgiving. There’s no way I can sit near birthday cake or anything pumpkin-related and not eat it. I settled for a two-week period right before Halloween.

Don’t cheat. If you follow step one, this is easier. But I’ll admit I cheated three times—once at a tailgate, when I was starving and far away from my perishable Fresh Kitchen meals, and twice at work events where I felt like not eating would be rude. In these moments of desperation, I came to appreciate how many calories I usually consume without blinking. One glass of wine? Anywhere from 70 to 160 calories. Chips and queso? Oh, you don’t even want to know. I could easily consume more than half of my daily allowance in a single appetizer. At the end of the two weeks, I’d lost two pounds. Not bad, but I’m sure my results would have been more dramatic had I not slipped up.

Use it as a time to discover new foods you might like. Broccoli and green beans aren’t usually on the list of things I enjoy eating, but with the right seasonings they can be eat-every-last-morsel good. I’m not usually a meatloaf person, but Fresh Kitchen’s turkey meatloaf made me a believer. I discovered low-calorie but filling snacks at Whole Foods: I could eat two cups worth of certain brands of popcorn for only 70 calories. Also? La Croix was my best friend. Fizzy, delicious, zero calories. Done.

Build new habits. I’ve tried and failed at 1,200-calorie diets, but this challenge showed me that it was because I’d been going about it all wrong. Of course I was starving when I tried to get by eating nothing but grilled chicken and fruit salad all day. On a typical day with this meal plan, I was eating a mix of protein, vegetables, grains and starches—and staying within my calorie limit.

This experience made me believe in myself. It proved I am capable of eating healthy, of saying no to dessert and wine. If I set my mind to it, I am capable of fixing bad habits.

And with a new year on the horizon, that’s exactly the encouragement I need.