Some people are great chefs, their culinary skills are so impressive that they can open even the barest of cupboards, identify ingredients among a scarce selection and somehow whip up an incredible concoction that’s tasty and nutritious. This is not me. Ever since home economics class at secondary school, I’ve been a terrible cook. I like the eating part – just not the making bit and, unlike running, which I find relaxing, I see cooking as the most stressful daily chore. I’ll try and off-load meals to my husband as often as possible.
However, I can do the basics, meaning that, on the plus side, the meals are generally very healthy as they lack creams and sauces but, on the other hand, they’re often a tad dry or flavourless. So, I decided to give my family a break from burnt and bland dinners and struck up a deal with my hubby. He would look after food for himself and our little girl while I tried out a two-week delivery service.
My confidence in the kitchen has always been low after being told that I was a rubbish cook at school. I think that, if I tried to be adventurous, perhaps I could find meals that I was able to cook, and that is one reason why I was excited about this fortnight. Hopefully, I’d be inspired to try new recipes to make meal times more exciting.
There are lots of food delivery and meal services available and, through the power of Instagram, I found a company called Gymology (gymologyuk.com). I looked into the reviews and there are plenty of athletes and celebs that have tried it out, so I knew I was on to something that could be very interesting. Gymology is the brainchild of a girl called Katie, whose other half is a rugby player. She recognised the need for a good nutritious diet for people like me who are useless in the kitchen or for others who simply don’t have the time. She offers three options – build, balance or burn. Build is for those who want to gain weight or muscle, balance is for those keen to maintain, and burn is for those who want to make sure they are having enough protein. I opted for burn.
The meals arrived on Sunday – all fresh, and enough to last until Wednesday when the next delivery would come. I had a plan where I would be responsible for my own breakfast – easy enough; scrambled eggs or a protein shake worked a treat. Then, for lunch and dinner, there were two meals from which to choose. I opted for mainly veggie and chicken dishes. You don’t know what’s coming, you just advise them of your likes and dislikes and the company tailor it round that. The first delivery came and included tasty, filling dishes, such as barbecue chicken with sweet potatoes, cajun chicken with sweet potato mash and veggies, halloumi with chilli fried rice and tomato salsa.
One meal is slightly larger than the other, so I would generally have that for lunch and the smaller one at night. This worked perfectly for me as I was full all day – usually I’d be tempted to raid the cupboards for Ella’s snacks or for any rogue sweets and biscuits. The meals came for six days, allowing for one cheat day.
At the end of the fortnight, I noticed that my stomach was flatter and my waist was definitely more trim. I’ve already planned another session in the new year! Obviously, there are plenty of companies that offer a similar service and I have to say it’s definitely something worth considering, particularly to give you the motivational health kick you sometimes need to stay on track with your goals.
