frozen meals to lose 10kg

nats822

I live by myself. I'm a scientist. I often go away for work or work up to 12hr days outdoors doing mentally and physically challenging work.

These hours make me binge eat. And not exercise. (After 10-12hrs in the sun all i want to do is put my feet up).

I dont have energy to put much effort into meals. And even if I put say a frozen quiche on, I STRUGGLE to control my servings. When there's a delicious family size quiche staring me in the face I keep picking at it.

SO

I've been getting into frozen individual meals. And they sell such an assortment. Like chicken rissotto, shepherds pie, pastas etc.
Basically what Weight Watchers and Lean Cuisine make but those brands are more expensive.

Does anyoone else buy these? I'm using them for lunch and dinner lately. Warm lunch for winter so that I don't go out and buy anything.

They are delicious, normally full if veges or I just microwave some veges to add.

They only cost $2.50-$4 (AUD) each....

I have 10kg to lose and I think these will help me so much.

Anyoone else use these regularly?

paperpudding

I have a frozen meal now and then, maybe once or twice a week.

Not sure what I can say about them though - yes some are tasty, yes they are quick and easy and portion control is managed for you.

If you like them, and you count the calories I'm sure they can work for you ( just like any other given food really)

amusedmonkey

They don't sell frozen meals where I live, but I don't see any problems with having them often. They will also make logging easier for you. Instead of logging every individual ingredient, scan and go. I say go for it.

Francl27

There have been some threads on the subject if you want to do a search. The main issue really is the sodium, and that it doesn't really teach you much about portion control... plus making your own food would be more filling for the calories, typically.

Do you have a George Foreman grill? It just takes 2 extra minutes to put some meat on there and cook some veggies (even frozen veggies in the microwave). Or really, just getting a piece of fish and putting it in the oven for 20 minutes doesn't take much time either.

I've used the frozen meals but the last time I tried it just didn't compare to what I can make at home. And I rarely spend a lot of time cooking, honestly.

But sure, it's better than the alternative.

sheldonklein

If they please your palate and your calories goals, they're as good as any other food. They'd do neither for me, but different strokes.

flaminica

I do these a fair amount of the time. I work nights and prefer not to clatter around the kitchen cooking at midnight. As others have said, the trick is to find a line of dinners that have reduced sodium and enough food to be satisfying. Some "healthy" lines reduce the calories by reducing the amount of actual food and loading the dish with cornstarch. This makes them satisfying in the short term but you'll feel hungry in an hour because your body knows you haven't really eaten enough.

My other reservation with them is that you won't learn proper portion control if you rely too heavily on pre-measured foods. Consider them training wheels. Experiment with fast, one-pan cooking to expand your kitchen skill set.

Kalikel

Lean Cuisine is very often extremely close in calories to a regular Stouffer's dinner, so don't limit yourself to the diet boxes.

I think frozen dinners are an excellent way to get yourself accustomed to eating normal portions if that's something you haven't done! Big fan of that.

Flip side, they're laden with sodium. So very high. They're not as healthy as the food would be if you prepared it yourself (and don't taste as good, either.). But if you don't feel like coming home at the end of the day and spending an hour on dinner, they're very handy!

So, use them, but make them a crutch. One day when you're off work, make some food for yourself. Use the frozen stuff now, but keep thinking about transitioning to fresher, healthier foods one of these days.

Congrats on starting your weight loss journey, btw.

nats822

Thanks guys. I will have a look at the sodium.

@Kalikel I buy any brand of the dinner boxes :-)

nats822

@flaminica Yes I've been working nights too lately and I just love being able to pop it in the microwave without mucking around chopping and cooking

Patttience

No i don't but if they are working for you, then go for it. I was going to suggest, that on your days off if you could cook up some meals that only need heating up in a microwave or on the stove. Of course cooking all that takes time and you might prefer to do other things on your weekend.

You know, I've been thinking about this lately. Is it any wonder that people run to bad foods when our lives are so busy and there's no one at home cooking for us anymore.

For lunch, it doesn't take much effort to make a sandwich. eggs and salad are good. As your days are so long, you probably need a bit more than you realise too. You don't need to do extra exercise, unless you are sitting down at a desk but since you are doing physical work, you are burning plenty of calories. Make sure you pack some good healthy things for morning tea and afternoon tea. If you eat well during the day, you can lose overnight and not suffer too much from hunger. Its what i do.

Lilredcat

I lived off frozen meals and take out for years. So easy to use. The sodium is the issue as another poster mentioned. There are some services that will pre-make fresh portioned dinners/lunches for you to freeze but they are costly. If I had the cash flow I would use them.

laur357

I eat them on nights when I don't get home from work/gym until around 7:00 and sometimes for lunch at work. I usually add fruit or vegetables on the side. No issues with sodium and it gives me a variety without having a bunch of leftovers. (I'm single and for the most part really don't like leftovers or eating the same thing every day.) And for me, it doesn't hurt to have stuff like macaroni & cheese or lasagna portioned out ahead of time . . .

nats822

I just checked the sodium and it's very low. No wonder I needed to add salt to some of the meals!