Planned Meal Plans versus Eating Healthy

katm427

This afternoon, I've been giving a lot of thought to the concept of planned meals from diets from different companies. The only reason my mind has been wandering to those sorts of diet plans is because lately, I've been having issues maintaining healthy eating on my own.

I'm really only putting this out there to get different opinions on either ways to be more loyal to my maintenance of healthy eating or opinions of planned diets constructed by someone who isn't me.

Please don't tell me to Google. It's all I do anymore.

dittiepe

Is it time constraints that have you not eating properly? Or are you having difficulty with coming up with meal ideas that are healthy? I ask because the answers will affect my suggestions

hm_day

I say: You know what's good for you and what isn't. It's just a matter of sticking to what you know is healthy.

Plan out your own meals and stick to them just like you would if you were following a diet book. You want to LIKE what you're eating.

katm427

Thank you both for answering. Some of it is time constraint, some of it is just the fact that I have a very low level of willpower at the moment for reasons that I don't know at this point. I'm not even sure how to increase my willpower.

Rach911

While I am definately not advocating this company, I have never used it, but my brother did use NutriSystem for a bit and did great on it. He lost approx 50 pounds while doing so. However, like many of the companies that want you to buy their foods, once you quit eating it and try to do it on your own, you start to gain again and he did. Not to mention he still has a ton of their food cuz he got tired of eating it and wanted to go back to "yummy" food. Another downside to eating the pre-packaged meals they send you is they are exactly that...pre-packaged which means processed which means not fresh but chemicals. Best advice, if you want to do one of those, pay attention and learn portion control and then apply that with real, fresh foods. That is how I have dropped my 58 pounds so far...fresh (or sometimes frozen) fruits & veggies, fresh (or frozen) meats & fishes. I try to limit my pre-packaged/processed foods, but do still give in on occassion. The more fresh & real, the less chemicals
Oh, one more thing...I am not an expert, this is my personal opinion and experience, so like always, take it with a grain of salt. Hopefully it helped or at least gave you something to think about.

dittiepe

Thank you both for answering. Some of it is time constraint, some of it is just the fact that I have a very low level of willpower at the moment for reasons that I don't know at this point. I'm not even sure how to increase my willpower.

My suggestions would be to prepare foods that you like, but make healthier versions of them. You can even prepare many foods ahead of time and portion them into baggies or bowls so that you can just grab 'n go.
I believe that willpower is part habit. Breaking a habit is difficult, but not impossible. Try making it interesting and fun to cook your meals ahead of time. Plan a menu for the week for 3 meals and 2 snacks.
Things such as celery w/ cream cheese or laughing cow cheese, a handful of almonds, or a piece of fruit are all great snacks.
Breakfast quiches can be made a week ahead of time and even frozen until ready to use.
Even if you're not a low carb person, Atkins has a great "muffin in a minute' recipe that allows you to get a tasty fiber muffin made in the microwave in 1 minute.

Hope these suggestions help

babyblake11

Thank you both for answering. Some of it is time constraint, some of it is just the fact that I have a very low level of willpower at the moment for reasons that I don't know at this point. I'm not even sure how to increase my willpower.

i plan my meals everyday. ive now gotten into a routine were i rotate 3 breakfasts (raisin toast, wheat bix and oatmeal all with a piece of fruit) i eat the same lunch everyday (sounds boring but i absoloutely love it) rotate 3 different flavoured muesli bars and fruit for my snack. i dont worry too much about dinner itsd usually chicken veggies and some kind of complex carb. then i have the same dessert every night.

just get into a routine with your eating and it will work out great.

LifeJacketWaterJogger

great advice helped me too.. thanks

LifeJacketWaterJogger

thanks helped me too atkins does have some great recipes..

Suzymo3

I do the same. I eat the same breakfast everyday. Then, have several lunches and dinners that I rotate. It took me awhile to figure out my meals in the beginning but, now that I have them it's really easy and I rarely change them.

ahavoc

This really all starts at the grocery store. I have to cook for my family, who are not trying to lose weight. I have to be creative and cook in such a way that I can weigh and account for what I cook. I make everything from scratch, and it's not easy, as I have a full time job as well. But if my family benefits from healthy eating, and my daughter learns what it means to eat good healthy food, then it's well worth it. I love the recipe feature here on MFP, I can easily figure out what the calorie count is of a lot of the dinners I cook.

So, I have to make my decisions when I shop. Menu planning, and making healthy choices there. And I cook. sometimes I'll make enough to freeze and have another time.

But I find most of all that using MFP allows me to eat anything I want, I just have to work it in to my calorie goals for the day. I'm also not going to stop using MFP even when I've hit my goal and on maintenance. It is definitely a great way to make sure I'm eating the calories I need to maintain weight when I get there.