Processed food versus natural foods

x1stefanyx

I know there is alot out there about eating organic, not eating processed food...but, I am fast paced hot dog lover!!! Therefore, I love my microwave and I love my Lean Cuisine. It makes planning and counting calories alot easier. However, I noticed after one week of eating all packaged foods and excercising, I gained a pound. I am going to get the same amount of calories this week but eat natural foods. and by natural I mean no boxes. I am going to actually prepare my own food and keep it simple but tasty. Yes this will be very time consuming and a pain in the neck. I don't really WANT to do this but the way I see it, I take up so much time counting calories and kicking my butt in the gym, its worth a try.

Any one ever been as crazy as me and tried this?

abartle

I have been off processed foods, no packages!!!, for a few weeks and have found it is a much better use of calories. Great way to stay energized and kick that scale back down to where it needs to be! Good Luck!

yeabby

You probably gained weight from all the sodium. Eek. Boxed food has a lot of it.

redefiningmyself

I make most of my stuff. Very little take out - or prepackaged food.
It is more time consuming, but I find it tastes better, is more healthy, and cheaper in the long run.

After a while of doing this, I don't even like the taste of packaged food anymore.
(except chips - me loves'm)

rhodenizer

Check out the amount of salt in all those processed frozen dinners etc. Water retention for sure and salt in large amounts is not very healthy. If you eat enough processed food you will be well pickled for life . Preparing your own food is a lot cheaper in the long run and a lot tastier in my opinion. The minute I splurge on a tv dinner i put on weight also. As much as I love hotdogs, have you ever seriously looked at what is in them?

ddecarr

I had great success with packaged meals. I liked the Healthy Choice line. They were balanced tasty and best of all ....portion controlled! I didn't eat them exclusively. Usually at least once a day, but many times it was lunch and dinner.

Syreeta6

I definitely try to limit packaged food consumption. I have noticed a significant difference in my energy, ability to stay full longer, and less bloaty! Put it to the test!

@redefiningmyself - Making your own is more time consuming but I find it a stress reliever, being in the kitchen...

LoriIAM

Natural foods don't have to be time consuming and a pain in the neck. Buy some baby carrots. Eat them raw. Nuke 'em for a dinner veggie. Same with apples. I cut them into bite size pieces and microwave for a minute or two...tastes like apple pie, if you squint your eyes and mouth a bit. Some people put sweetener and cinnamon on them, but that's way too much trouble for me. I'm a lazy natural foods eater most of the time.

x1stefanyx

Sodium=bad. Thanks everyone! I am so glad to hear from all of you. I am tottally feeling nice and full today with some fresh slices of all natural turkey and organic freshly made hummus w/ Celery.
@ddecarr thanks for recomending the Healthy choice line. I will have to put that on my shopping list. Its better to eat that than to stop at McDonalds when I am starving at work.

losinit_4_good

Another good line is the Weight WAtchers Smart Ones. I have one for lunch at work at least twice a week and it hasn't affected my weight loss. Altho, that's the only packaged food I eat.

I try to make everything from scratch but I don't go organic. With respect to those that feel otherwise, to me it is waste of money. I love apple sticks with nutella or pb. and for a quick lunch at work, I'm a big fan of whole grain ryvita snack bread, and a bag of mixed raw veggies (cherry tomatoes, baby carrots and snap peas). Maybe some low fat cheese. Very filling and super healthy.

I find since cutting out 99% of the processed foods I used to eat my taste buds have actually changed. I no longer enjoy the taste of overly salted or sweet processed products. I always joke with my husband "my brain wants the bad foods bu tmy mouth demands the clean ones!" Thee switch can be hard at first, your body might go throuh a bit of withdrawl, depending on how much processed foods you ate previously, but it is such a good choice to make! And definitely cheaper in the long run. Good luck!

JeffConstantine

There is a simple rule I saw Jaimie Oliver show: If it has ingredients you can't pronounce, DON'T EAT IT! I actually had to change my daily routine to make extra time to prepare foods that were healthier, either in the morning to chop, or in the evening to cook in bulk & package in separate daily containers. Plus, Rachael and I found that the food we cook tastes better than most prepared foods. In the long run, it's totally worth it!

FabCheeky

Check this link out to see what the ingredients in your food are AND the specific health concerns associated with those foods:
http://www.foodfacts.com/

I had to switch to a natural way of eating, because it turned out that most processed things have dairy, soy, wheat, yeast, and MSG. I'm allergic to all of them. Instead of continuing to eat those things, and giving my body over to medications to deal with the joint issues/inflammation, asthma, pain, migraines, gut troubles, allergies, etc...I just decided that I'm worth the extra time.

Your mileage may vary, but after learning what I have learned about what these weird little ingredients are...even if I could, I wouldn't go back.