Lizzy’s All-Natural was founded seven years ago with a mission to make healthy living as simple and delicious as possible. Sounds like sunshine and rainbows…
Which is not exactly how I felt when embarking on a three-day long Lizzy’s juice cleanse last summer – a dark time in my life during which I regularly debated eating my left arm for additional protein.
READ MORE: We Sent Shanghai’s Hungriest Writer on a 3-Day Juice Cleanse
Yet, somehow I found myself back again, this time testing out their newly launched keto meal plan – a roughly 2,000 calorie/day meal plan, with a macro breakdown of 10% carbs, 30% protein and 60% fat.
What is Keto
I will preface this by saying I am neither a licensed dietician nor nutritionist. However, armed with the finely honed research skills of an anti-vax mom, I simply typed the word ‘keto’ into the good ol’ interwebs, and this is the gist of what it spit out back at me.
(Pretty sure Dr. Google has something to say about it too if you want more.)
In a nutshell, keto – standing for ketogenic – is a low fat, high carbohydrate diet that, through a reduction in carbs, allows your body to enter a metabolic state called ketosis.
When your body is in ketosis, it become more efficient at burning fat for energy, rather than glucose that comes from excess carb consumption.
Fat is turned into ketones in the liver that supply energy to the brain.
A ketogenic diet has been linked to lower blood sugar and insulin levels, thus theoretically helping those with and preventing against diabetes, cancer, epilepsy and Alzheimer’s.
And then, for you youngins that don’t give a monkey’s uncle about any serious medical conditions yet, keto is most famous for its dramatic weight loss stories. We’ve all seen the before and after pics on Instagram – you can’t miss ‘em:
‘I lost 4 pant sizes in two months on keto.’
‘I lost half my body weight in six months on keto.’
‘I lost 80 kilos in a week on keto.’
Yeah right, screw you. I’m happy with my donuts.
But… I would like to see if it works. So I did.
My Experience
I will start out by answering the question on all of your minds – did I lose weight?
Eh… not exactly.
About half a kilo, probably water weight.
But… it was only five days, and your average person takes 2-4 days to drop into ketosis.
I am also a smaller than average person, so if you aren’t a shorty like me, in food quantity alone, you’d have a better shot at dropping a few KGs.
On the plus side, despite eating a much higher fat content than usual – and feeling noticeably fuller than normal – I did not gain weight. I will chalk this week up as Sophie: 1, Jiggle Thighs: 0.
The food – overall – is good. Are we talking replacement for your daily Charlie’s burger order good? Not exactly. But Charlie’s isn’t exactly putting in the work for trimming that waistline.
So, given the circumstances, the meals aren’t something you need to ‘choke down.’ Eating on the plan is still enjoyable.
You can start your meal plan on any day by scoping out the menu below to pick and choose which dishes you want most.
Ok, so what do you get? The bag arrives, with all items packed in eco-friendly packaging, clearly labeled for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.
The food is nestled by ice packs and wooden serving utensils, so even if you arrive home late, or you happen to not own a fork, you’re covered.
(Side note: if you don’t own a fork, you’ve got bigger fish to fry than your diet, and it’s time to hit up Ikea.)
The meals are ideal for those on-the-go, which is kind of no one right now during this semi-lockdown period. But, for normal life that isn’t inside a COVID-19 bubble, it couldn’t be more convenient.
Ok food deets.
It’s not so different from home-cooked healthy food; many of the recipes are similar to what I would find myself eating normally – a salad with some cheese and sliced meat; a stew topped with roasted chicken; a snack of Greek yogurt and nut butter; roasted salmon and some eggs for breakfast.
If you don’t cook, well – you’ve basically just paid for a full time ayi to cook healthy balanced meals for you, delivered fresh daily.
The value here is in the convenience and the knowledge of knowing the exact caloric and macronutrient breakdown of what you are eating.
Is it the best Moroccan tagine I’ve ever tasted in my life? No.
That said, as an everyday meal, am I upset while eating it or upset afterwards when I feel satiated yet not weighed down? Also no.
I don’t know if I dropped into a state of ketosis since I didn’t go all out and buy those tabs you can pee on to measure the ketones in your urine.
I guess I’m just not that serious of a dieter.
But, I did feel I had more energy as time went on, and was thoroughly surprised to not see any weight put on despite feeling so full that most days I didn’t finish all the food.
One caveat: I couldn’t get behind the bulletproof coffee and bulletproof tea, served on alternating days. It’s a regular coffee (or tea) mixed with MCT oil and butter for an extra hit of satiating fat.
Maybe it’s a mental thing, or I wasn’t feeling the texture, but this was not for me.
Coffee in my book is served black… an Americano, an espresso – fine, whatever. Don’t add a pad of butter in there.
I know Lizzy’s isn’t the only place to do this. In fact, it’s popular for those doing keto around the globe, and I’ve even seen it on numerous menus here in Shanghai, so I’m not blaming Lizzy’s.
Just giving a heads up that it’s…um, how can I say this – buttery?
Final thoughts:
The snacks are solid and a few of the dishes I plan to order again.
I lost weight (kinda), felt full and had more energy with minimal side effects.
The hardest part would be having to turn down eating out, but as my building was in quarantine for the majority of the time I was doing it, this didn’t matter.
Keto diet for five days: 4 stars.
Would recommend, especially for those on the go, those who can’t cook but want to eat reliably healthy, those wanting to see what keto is all about and – apparently – those who don’t own a fork.
Lizzy’s Keto Meal Plan Details
The meal plan can be purchased and started any time, available in one (RMB258), three (RMB759), five (RMB1,215), seven (RMB1,666) and fourteen (RMB3,262) day sets.
Each full day’s meal – including breakfast, lunch, dinner, two snacks and a beverage – is delivered between 2-8pm the day before, so if you want to start on a – for example – Friday, make sure to place your order before 4pm on Wednesday so it’s delivered on Thursday.
The keto meal plan is based on a 2,000-calorie per day diet, broken down into 10% carbs, 30% protein and 60% fat. Specific daily calories and macros are listed out within the Lizzy’s All-Natural Mini Program.
Lizzy’s also offers a 1,200-calorie per day balanced meal plan, a 1,350-calorie per day vegan meal plan and a soon-to-launch protein meal plan, plus juice cleanses and health-focused meals, snacks and drinks.
For more info about Lizzy’s All-Natural, visit www.lizzys.cn or scan the QR code to follow their Official WeChat account.
If you are interested in embarking on your own keto diet journey, or you just want to peruse some healthy foods, scan the QR code to enter the Lizzy’s All-Natural Mini Program.
See a listing for Lizzy’s All-Natural.
[All images by Sophie Steiner/That’s]