Ever heard of the ‘Zone’ diet?

MANILA, Philippines - There is a popular food and health trend for working individuals, including celebrities — the “Zone” diet. People under the program consume only a specific amount of calories per day. Different meal service companies have taken advantage of the new trend and now offer this kind of program — eliminating the hassle of calculating calories and preparing Zone diet meals. They will even deliver meals straight to your doorstep.

One of the pioneers of this service in the Philippines is US-certified nutritionist Nadine Tengco. Famous for designing diet plans for many Filipino celebrities, Nadine says that the venture is a business borne out of her lifestyle.

“I realized that it was a business that was just ‘so me!’ I’ve been ‘healthifying’ my family’s heirloom recipes since my teens… I drew from my cross-industry work experiences to design a business out of my lifestyle,” Nadine said.

Growing up, Nadine witnessed her family suffer from different kinds of diseases. She even considers herself as “genetically-compromised” because of the extensive medical history that her family has. But this situation only pushed her to practice a healthier lifestyle and to be more conscious of her health. “I watched many of my family members suffer so I tried to change my own destiny through healthier cooking and eating,” she said.

Her job as a nutritionist for celebrities taught her to be more flexible and creative in designing diet programs. One of the things that is a must in her recipes and juices is dietary fiber, specifically C-Lium Fibre. Nadine emphasizes the importance of fiber in the body, highlighting that people usually fail to consume the recommended 20 to 35 grams of daily fiber-intake.