Our goal is to provide you with nutritionally correct meals made with fresh natural ingredients. We do not subscribe to any extreme or fad diets (diets with a name). Instead, we provide well balanced meals based on scientific research and the recommendations of experienced nutritionists and trainers. We recognize that each person has different caloric and nutritional needs depending on their body type, lifestyle, and goals. Our system is designed to target your specific requirements and help you stay on track towards achieving your fitness goals. We also understand that people want choices and flexibility. Our ordering system enables you to select the foods you want, from a continually evolving menu, and order as often as you like without any subscriptions or commitments.

We buy our food fresh from local farmers markets, grocery co-ops, and top kitchens & distributors specializing in healthy foods. Nearly all our food items contain no preservatives or artificial ingredients and are minimally processed to best preserve nutrients. Our food differs from most restaurants and packaged food in that we generally use less sugar, salt (sodium), and saturated fats. Therefore, some people may need time to adjust their eating habits.

Our menu contains a wide selection of quality proteins, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats (unsaturated fats). All our proteins and animal products come from animals not treated with hormones. To minimize toxins and pesticides we use organic fruits and vegetables whenever possible and always wash them thoroughly. We also include a selection of uncooked/unroasted vegetables and nuts to avoid damaging heat sensitive nutrients. To better serve your needs our menu has additional sections for deserts, beverages, supplements, and supplies. We regularly update the menu to always bring you the best selection of great tasting healthy foods and are always looking for new items to add. Your feedback and suggestions are always welcome to help us serve you best.

To insure quality and freshness each order is prepared shortly before delivery. Foods are individually packaged and labeled to make meals easy to store and eat.

The purpose of this section is to outline the basics of how to structure your daily eating. There are countless sources for learning about nutrition available on the Internet, in bookstores, and libraries. We encourage you to inform yourself as much as possible using multiple sources to learn how to make the best choices for your health. The overall goal of eating right is to provide your body with the correct balance of nutrients while maintaining a stable blood sugar level. Proper nutrition is the key to building muscle, losing fat, and overall good health. While exercising is essential to achieving a fit body, nutrition is the dominant factor in getting noticeable results.

To make a lasting change in your physical fitness you must make permanent changes to your lifestyle. Eating right and exercising regularly must become a part of your daily routine. If you are accustom to eating large meals with high sugar and fat content you will have to retrain your body to eat proper portions of natural healthy foods. Changing your eating habbits takes some discipline and it's normal to have cravings for the foods you were used to. But as your body adjusts you will begin craving healthier foods instead. However, it is also important to not deprive yourself of the foods you love. The important thing is to eat correctly the majority of the time. What you eat on occasion is less important -- just remember to keep your portion sizes in moderation.

The first step to eating correctly is consuming the proper amount of calories (energy) for your body. Factors such as age, weight, physical activity level, body composition (percent body fat), and your genetics all play a role in this value. To help you determine your energy needs we provide a "Health Profile" tool that generates a recommended daily calorie value based on your information. The recommended value provides a good starting point and you should periodically re-asses this value based on your progress. However, when estimating your progress you should rely more on looking at your body and taking measurements, such as the size of your waist, versus strictly weighing yourself. This is because you may be gaining muscle while losing fat, which is certainly good progress.

For your body to perform at its best it's not only important to eat the right amount of calories but to also eat at the right times. Numerous scientific studies have shown that eating 6 meals a day (approximately every 3 hours) improves energy level, muscle building, fat loss, and increases your resting metabolic rate. By eating six times a day you stabilize your blood sugar level and avoid starving yourself and then overeating. After each meal you should feel satisfied -- not starving before or full after.

The final component of a correct meal is the choice of foods within it. Each meal should contain a proper balance of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Animal products (meats, fish, eggs, dairy) are generally considered the best source of protein beacuse they contain enough of all the essential amino acids and have a high biological value. However, all the essential amino acids can also be obtained from plant sources by combining foods such as whole grains with legumes (beans). Carbohydrates, such as fruits, vegetables, grains, and beans, are the primary source of energy for the body and generally make up the largest portion (by calories) of a meal. The carbohydrate portion of a meal should be chosen to contain a variety of foods rich in vitamins, minerals, and other micro-nutrients. To keep your blood sugar stable you should favor high-fiber complex carbohydrates (slow digesting) and avoiding sugars and refined foods (Ex. cakes, white bread, etc). Fats should also be a part of every correct meal and are essential to good health. Unsaturated plant fat and fish oil (including omega-6 & omega-3) are the healthy sources of fat. Saturated fat should be kept reasonably low and trans fat (partially hydrogenated fat) should be eliminated entirely. The "Health Profile" tool, mentioned above, also provides recommendations for the proper percentages of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Lastly, remember to drink plenty of water with your meals and throughout the day.

If you are trying to lose fat or gain muscle it is important to realize that changing your body takes time. Your body will have a natural tendency to return to its previous state. But generally the longer you maintain the change the easier it is to keep. As a habit you should try to eat right and make good food choices whenever possible, regardless of where you are eating (including restaurants). The meals you order from Gingeryam can provide a good template to keep in mind when estimating the proper portions and content of a well balanced meal.

The Gingeryam ordering interface makes it easy to properly structure your daily meals. You start by completing a short health profile to set your recommended target values for the number of calories per day and percent protein, carbohydrates, and fat. You then use the Meals Manager to schedule/order your meals for the week. Dynamic controls allow you to add and remove food items and instantly see how your choices affect the nutritional balance of each meal as well as the totals for the day compared with your target values. You can also view and print your order history to track your nutrition.

No matter what your nutritional needs are we hope to help you acheive your goals.

This section provides an outline for exercising to get results. As with nutrition you can easily find many resources on how to exercise effectively and we encourage you to learn as much as possible about it. If you are new to weight training or have limited exercise experience you should check with your doctor and make the investment of getting a good personal trainer. Your exercise program will vary depending on your goals and current fitness level. In general, everyone should include both weight and cardiovascular training in their regular routine. Playing sports and other physical activities can be a lot of fun and a great addition to your exercise program. However, your results will greatly improve by making time for workouts specifically targeted at your goals.

The first step is to create your exercise plan. A good personal trainer is probably the best resource for guiding you at the initial stage -- although many books and online articles can help accomplish this as well. You should never become dependent on a personal trainer to make you exercise. Instead you should only need a trainer in the beginning to help you create your plan -- then it is up to you to carry out the plan.

Cardiovascular Training:
Among other health benefits cardiovascular training helps burn fat and strengthen your heart and lungs. There are many ways of doing cardiovascular training and plenty of controversy over which one is best. The two main categories of cardiovascular training are low-intensity and high-intensity training. Low-intentisy training involved steadily maintaining your target heart rate for approximately 30 - 60 minutes. This is generally accomplished by walking, jogging, or biking at a pace at which you are just able to maintain a conversation without panting or breathing too hard. High-intensity training (also known as High Intensity Interval Training or HIIT) is when you cycle through bursts of intense effort followed by a short recovery period. An example of HIIT would be sprinting for 1 minute followed by a slow walk for 1 - 2 minutes -- usually done for 15 - 30 minutes. Most research indicates HIIT is a more effective way to burn fat and maintain muscle. However, HIIT is more taxing on the body and requires a higher level of fitness. You should research the possibilities and experiment with different activities and methods to see what type of training gives you the best results.

Weight training:
Weight training has many important benefits such as increasing lean muscle mass, increasing metabolic rate, preventing injury, and reducing risk of coronary disease. Learning proper weight training takes time and it's important to use correct technique to avoid injury and get the maximum benefit. A few of the basic principles for getting results are to change your workout every few weeks, perform a variety of exercises, focus on the eccentric (negative or lowering) portion of the movement, and push yourself hard. When you perform the same workout every week your muscles adapt to that workout and you no longer get as much benefit. Try varying the amount of weight, types of exercises, lifting tempo, and number of repetitions each time you work a body part. Also, for each body part try to include exercises that use barbells, dumbbells, and machines (do not only use machines). Paying extra attention to the eccentric (negative or lowering) part of the exercise will also improve the effectiveness of your workout. To make each workout payoff you must push yourself hard. Regularly performing light workouts will yield minimal results. But most importantly always remember to eat a good post-workout meal containing protein and plenty of fast-acting (high sugar) carbohydrates to feed your muscles.

NOTE: If you do cardiovascular and weight training together always do weight training first. It's best to save your bodies stored glycogen (sugar) for energy while weight training -- when it's needed most.