Health and Fitness
As anyone that has ever faced a hotel breakfast buffet will tell you, traveling poses undeniable challenges to anyone trying to stay healthy and/or manage his or her weight.
Is colour coding the secret to better health and a slimmer waistline?
That’s what travelers staying at Starwood’s Sheraton Hotels and Resorts are being told.
Starwood has announced its new approach to nutrition – colour coding. With Starwood’s Color Your Plate by Sheraton Fitness scheme, travelers are able to stay healthy by eating nutritious food when they are away from home, developers of the programme say.
All travelers need to do is add three colours of fruits and vegetables to their plates to stay in shape and increase their energy levels when they are traveling.
Dieting and Weight Loss
All of the dishes on the menus developed by Starwood for Sheraton Hotels and Resorts have 500 or fewer calories, so they should help travelers not gain weight when they are traveling.
The programme is the latest extension of the Sheraton Fitness programme by Core Performance. It is available at more than 400 Sheraton hotels and resorts in 70 countries around the world.
“Traveling used to be an excuse for poor nutrition,” says Mark Verstegen, Core Performance Founder, whose nutrition and research team developed the new programme.
“Sheraton is now offering an innovative and easy way for guests to enjoy healthy, delicious meals on the road.”
Colour Your Way to a Healthier Diet
The Color Your Plate initiative incorporates Core Performance’s “Nutrition Color Code” to educate Sheraton guests about the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. All dishes feature colourful, key nutrients from fruits and vegetables to make sure that all meals represent the perfect dietary balance.
- Yellow foods: optimize brain functions
- Green foods: rejuvenate musculature and bones
- Orange foods: support skin and eye health
- Red foods: support heart and circulatory health
- White foods: enhance immune system, lymph system and cellular recovery
- Purple foods: promote microcirculation
“The branded menus also follow the Core Performance philosophy by offering well-balanced meals that provide proper fuel for the body,” a press release issued by Starwood Hotels states.
“With the new menus available at restaurants and in-room dining, guests now have access to a global library of nutritious, tasteful dishes no matter where their travels take them.”
Core Performance Fitness Programme
Starwood’s Sheraton Fitness Programmed by Core Performance – the brand’s signature fitness offering – was launched in 2007.
“The last thing people have time to think about on the road is getting the nutrients they need,” says Amanda Carlson-Phillips, Vice President of Nutrition and Research at Core Performance.
“By brightening their plates with colorful fruits and vegetables, we hope the programme encourages travelers to re-think their nutrient needs while still enjoying the tasty menu items they have come to expect from Sheraton chefs.”
Skirt Steak Chimichurri, Shrimp Tacos, Portobello Burger, and All-Natural Roasted Turkey BLT with lemon mustard aioli are among the tasty dishes on menus at Sheraton Hotels and Resorts taking part in the scheme.
Comment
I am a frequent traveler that always returns home from trips a few – if not several – pounds heavier than when I left. And it is always a struggle to get my weight back down before my next trip, and I start the process all over again.
I am also someone that finds counting calories a bit tedious. So I like two things about this approach. First, I like the fact that someone else is counting my calories for me. Second, I like the concept of choosing foods according to their colour because this makes absolute sense to me.
There must be a reason why carrots are orange, spinach is green, and eggplant is purple. Surely it has something to do with their chemical makeup – and, by extension – their nutritional value.
Can’t “weight” to try this out. I look forward to my next stay at a Sheraton hotel or resort!
The color coding and other meal details in the menu should be encouraged by other hotels. Many people tend to complain of being sick after traveling (because of the food they ate) and I think this is one of the starting steps of increasing food health consciousness while fully enjoying a trip.