I wish I had a drive through in my own kitchen

AprilP24

This is my 2nd go-round with using this website. I was very dedicated when I first started in 2011 because in 2012 I was going to be a bride! I had a goal and with a lot of hard work, I ended up losing about 40 lbs before my wedding. A few months before the wedding, I was desperate and went to drastic measures by taking HCG shots. Those things worked like a charm, but they wouldn't renew my supply due to other medical concerns. while on the shots, I slacked on my monitoring and logging and just ended up falling off the myfitnesspal wagon. The wedding was beautiful and we are about to celebrate our 1 year anniversary next month on Oct 20... Well, if there is a 'freshman 15' in your 1st year of marriage, I doubled it.... I have gained 30 lbs back this year. I am soooooooo disappointed in myself and I know how I did it.... fast food is my weakness. I'm not a big dessert or soda person (once in a while, I'm guilty, but seriously not often) and I drink 60 oz of water each day at least (I know I should drink more... how much was the goal again?).... but my problem is the convenience of being able to just 'pick up' dinner and eat when I walk through the door at home.
I seriously hate cooking. I hate waiting to eat. I am not only fighting lack of will power, but laziness as well.... I do not know how mom's and wives get home from their full time job, get everyone situated, and cook dinner before 8pm.... It is literally impossible sometimes. Then, MORE times than not, I get home and realize I didn't take any meat out to thaw and have nothing to start working on.... I suck at meal planning. I suck at healthy grocery shopping.
So today, I am vowing to stick with logging on this site and to cook/eat leftovers each weeknight and stop spending money along with countless calories at fast food places.
Then, I need to throw in some exercise too..... which could be a whole other topic by itself. Time is on our side...pssshhh! humpf! as if! whatever! Time can not stand my guts! Time is my enemy at this point.... I compete with time..... time usually crosses the finish line way before I do.....
wisdom? encouragement?

grimendale

The Hungry Girl blog has a lot of low calorie, easy to make recipes. Many of them require no more than a microwave and ten minutes. If you're having a long day and don't feel like doing an involved meal, it makes for some decent options.

KapuaK

Hi there! First off let me say congratulations for getting back on MFP and getting back on track. It can be very difficult but as you have seen from your results in the past is that it is possible to see results. I work, go to school full time and do volunteer work along with family obligations. One thing that helped me was that I spend Sundays preparing my meals for the week. Snacks and breakfast is usually the easiest. I also cleaned out my entire pantry of every high sodium processed foods. I was told to go on a low sodium, low card eating plan. Anyhow cleaned out the fridge and freezer too. You can cook, you should find the time and if you can't there are choices at the grocery store to help you create 'convenience' in your own home rather than eating out. Eating out you tend to eat 3-5 times as much calories without even knowing it. Try it sometime and then log the calories on here just to see how many calories you thought you were eating versus what you actual ate. It's pretty scary to see those numbers jump like crazy. If you planned even two meals a week and cut back on 500 calories a day; you would see a weight loss. With some planning and prepping it can be done! You can do this! Making lifestyle changes rather than drastic dieting is better in the long run. It will help to keep the weight off. Try it in baby steps. Two days a week where you prepare your own meals. Sometimes I get the premade roasted chickens at the grocery store. They are perfectly good examples of a good premade meal. Add a salad and some other veggie (if you are going low carb) or add some mashed potatoes (homemade of course with little butter...try sour cream and chives instead!)
I hope that these little changes can help you to make some small advances toward your weight loss!
~Kapua

bcattoes

Look for simple meals. Most vegetables are good if you just toss them in olive oil and spices, dump them on a baking sheet and put in a hot oven until they start to brown. Frozen white fish, such as tilapia, haddock, orange roughy, can be put in the oven frozen and baked.

Crock pot meals are also easy and convenient. Just put everything in the crockpot before going to work and dinner is ready and waiting when you get home.

_Waffle_

Why? You belong in the kitchen and women can't drive well anyway. What's the point of it?

Debbie_Ferr

baby steps, girl. 5 days a week might be overwhelming & setting yourself up to fail.
how about....

2 nites a week, prepare a dinner.

2 nites a week, prepare some healthy side dishes to eat WITH your take-out food
... simple salad, sliced veggies, avocado, fruit etc.

btw ~ I do very very very little cooking.
Trader Joe grocery store is my BEST friend. And so are many a frozen veggies.
Oh, and I keep healthy snacks IN MY CAR. (small cooler with frozen water bottles, w carrots, string cheese, hummus, fruit, v-8 juice, almonds pre-measured into 1/4 cup quantities. etc)
Eat some on the way home, to take the edge off my appetite.
And consume water through out the day.

VictoryGarden

A crockpot can be your best friend as well. It can cook all day, so when you get home, you just sit down to eat! Google " healthy crockpot meals" to start.

Another word of advice is to start simple. Start with a basic pasta dish like spaghetti with ground turkey sausage, or a simple stir fry with frozen veggies, or grilled chicken salad. If start off trying to put together a full roasted turkey spread, you'll quit!

MFPRat

Congratulations for finding your way back to MFP.

Planning, shopping, cooking..it all takes a lot of time. But YOU are WORTH the time investment. Keep things as simple as you can. Start with just a few things that you can make ahead of time and have on hand during the week. Keep a few grab and go items handy, fruit, vegetables, yogurt, nuts, etc.

EmilyOfTheSun

I hate cooking too.
Cook a *kitten* ton of food on one of your days off from work...and freeze it in portions so you have ready to eat meals throughout the week.

Mechanikitty

Jamie's 15-Minute Meals.

Problem solved.

delicious_cocktail

Hit a fast food place once or twice a week. Count the calories and make them fit your goals. You have a much greater chance of success if you don't become a totalitarian.

BeachIron

I'm getting old and my attention span is not what it once was . . .

Debbie_Ferr

again, baby steps.

how about continue to do take-out 2 times a week, but focus on healthy choices.
stop the drive thru burger / taco / pizza / etc.

and do take out from chain restaurants that have a healthy selection.
going to cost a bit more, but girl, you are so damn worth it !!
then once you got the home preparing/cooking dialed in, limit your take-outs / dine-outs to 1x during the week.

Debbie_Ferr

Anyone have suggestions on healthier Take-outs at chains restaurants?
take it home, add a large portion your own veggies or salad, and you're all set.

Some of my favories are:

Applebee's - "Under 550 calories" section:
Napa chicken & portabellos <- favorite, favorite, and reasonably priced.
Roasted Garlic sirloin

Mimi's Cafe - "Fresh & Fit" section:
Salmon
Grilled Chicken & Fruit Plate

AprilP24

Thanks for the suggestions! I will check it out! Yes, taking baby steps is a good plan... all of your comments were very inspiring! Now, I gotta go get a crock pot.