All junk food in my home, need meal ideas from what I have

marty_tin

A couple weeks ago my boyfriend and I went grocery shopping and stocked up on everything we'd need for the next month. In two weeks I will be able to afford to go grocery shopping again (living paycheck to paycheck) and though I wish I would have gotten healthier food, I didn't. We were shopping for convenience items. Yesterday I decided to make a lifestyle change, but I'm in a difficult situation. I have a few canned fruits and vegetables, ground beef, bacon, sausage, $1 packaged meals, and frozen breaded chicken and fish. I also have the basic ingredients flour, sugar, tomatoes, canned 'cream of' soups, tuna.... I don't know what to do! Help please.

amtyrell

Ok the key to weight loss is in how much you eat not what you eat. So start by logging everything you eat before you eat it. Then determine your calorie goal and make your portion sizes fit that goal.

kam3190

You can eat any of those things. It doesn't matter what you eat as long as it fits in your calorie goals

janejellyroll

Eat the things you were going to eat, just in portions that fit your calorie goal. Focus on getting sufficient protein, fiber, and fat each day (if possible) because these things tend to drive satiety (feeling full) for most people (you may vary, but it's a good starting point that you can adjust as you notice your results).

chelllsea124

As long as you stay within your calorie deficit, you can eat any of those things. You can make different choices next time around. Just stick with what you've gotten this week. I had to do this when I started and it was hard, but it worked. Good luck!

janejellyroll

Also, those aren't "all junk." Some of the foods you listed are nutrient-dense. Even the ones that aren't can still be part of a healthy diet.

Lizzy622

I was expecting to read a list of ice cream, potato chips, cookies and cake. Your list isn't bad at all. Take one of the $1 packaged dinners and open a can of veggies and you have a much more satisfying meal. Just watch your portions and salt and you should be fine. You may want to rinse canned vegetables due to salt and canned fruit if packed in syrup.

Lounmoun

Log your food. Try to hit your protein goal and stick to your calorie goal.
Eat what you have. It has nutrients therefore it is not junk.

Plan meals before you shop next time. A big pot of soup isn't hard to make and you can freeze it and reheat it.
Low budget friendly foods where I live are oatmeal, tuna, whole chicken or chicken thighs, dry beans, lentils, rice, pasta, bread, peanut butter, eggs, potatoes, carrots, apples, ground turkey, cabbage, onions, canned tomatoes, frozen vegetables.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10565773/tight-budget-grocery-list#latest

dlkfox

It's all good. Seriously. Just start logging.

fitoverfortymom

I agree. Just start logging toward your calorie goal. Even if you go over calories because if food limitations, developing the habits of weighing your food is good practice.

Wd011000

I was in a very similar situation when we (Hubby and myself) started our "lose weight/eat better" journey (we have a teenage athlete in the house who was only partially on board with us). I had a pantry full of chips, sugary cereal, poptarts, and highly processed convenience foods. First, I stopped restocking things as they were consumed, and gradually, the chip shelf went from double stacked bags of potato chips/doritos/snack crackers to just one bag of tortilla chips and a box of saltines. My son was the cereal eater, so as he ate the sugary stuff, at his request, I replaced it with cheerios, rice krispies and rice chex. What we did was to reduce the amount of junk food we ate per meal/snacking and add in something healthy, like fruit, hummis and veggie sticks, etc until the junk food was gone. Same with dinner--have a healthy meal on the nights you have time to cook, and save the microwave, convenience foods for the busy nights until you've gotten rid of them.