Lean Cuisine Food

stefizzle9109

I've been on MFP since Halloween (yeah a good time to start a diet right?) Ive lost 28lbs and recently Ive been switching two meals a day to Lean Cuisine meals. Any one else tried these foods, if so how well did it work for you? I have heard bad reviews about high sodium, but I do drink 8-10 glasses of water a day (not sure if that helps). I eat in between 1000-1200 calories a day. I have recently hit a plateau for three weeks now. Suggestions?
Thanks

RussetBrunnette

I eat 1 a day, usually lunch. They are kind of high in sodium but like you I drink a lot of water as well, I have lost weight in the past with them and I am now as well, hope this helps!

jgirl09

I've been having only one a day most of the time and it's at lunch time, every once in awhile I might have one for lunch and dinner. So far since my first weigh in I have lost 7 pounds in one week. So I have nothing bad to say about those...yet.

lizard053

I did better when I started making my own lunches and getting away from Lean Cuisine. It's good, tasty and easy. What I did was to make extra portions of dinner, and freezing single portions to take as lunches. Before you know it, you have a freezer full of your very own "lean cuisine" with much less sodium.
If you're going to continue using them, I would suggest adding a little more water. Maybe 2 more glasses a day.
And perhaps you're not eating enough and that's why you're not losing?

amymt10

The sodium is high but not as high as say Marie Calendars or Stouffers. I eat one for lunch Mon-Fri at work and just drink plenty of water all day. I like the WW Smart Ones as well. I go back and forth depending on what is on sale and for different variety. At first they werent filling enough but I think my body is used to them now and I'm fine as long as I dont forget my afternoon snack!! lol

sharonsjones

I eat them for lunch Monday through Friday and like others have said I drink a lot of water. I think they are good! The pizza ones satisfy my craving for pizza.

rebeccawalker1982

If you hit a plateau, you might need to increase your calories. With only 1000-1200, your body is prob "storing the "fat'" at this point....uping the calories will make your matabolism speed up again and you should start losing about...just add an avacado or something like that to 1 meal a day (they are about 300 cals each) Avacado is high is fat but it is the good fats that you want to eat and they are good for you or find another healthy higher calorie food that you can just add to a meal.

stefizzle9109

Im going to try upping my water by another glass or so, sounds like a good suggestion thanks! Im a college student, so trying to find easy and quick it whats super important. A personal issue I suffer is not having portion control and with these meals they definately help on that front. Thanks for all the input

klb620

I keep a variety on hand, at home and at work. I have four kids and a husband that are not watching their calories, so it's nice to have something on hand for their pizza or chili dog nights. I guess I'm not much of a help since I don't have them daily. I have to say though, their new larger portion ones are great when you feel starving. I like the turkey, stuffing, whipped potatoes and green beans one.......add a bit of pepper and it's wonderful! and for less than 300 calorie, you can't beat it :-)

Dave198lbs

its convenient and cheap. its not good fuel for your body though.

UsedToBeHusky

Lean Cuisine is high in sodium. Most will advise you to make your own. It is healthier and cheaper. But I imagine that, like me, you are choosing to eat them for the convenience. I would recommend Healthy Choice instead. They have always had the lowest sodium than any other pre-made products on the market.

Hellbent_Heidi

I'd say you just hit a plateau and its not necessarily about specific foods (although the "processed" factor of two LC's a day is probably something to adjust). Definitely time to change things up by either changing your calorie intake, or adjusting your workouts (or both). Our bodies get used to a certain intake and exersice routine and after a while it doesn't respond the way it did before.

You'll probably have to change some things around to figure out. Try cutting back on the processed food, and adding fresh veggies for one of those meals instead, and if you've been doing the same exercise routine, kick it up a notch, or add something new to the mix.

Good luck!

EDIT - to answer your original question though..yes, I eat them too..some of them are really good, and they're very convenient to take to work for lunches. Probably not the greatest choice, but low calories, and great for portion control.

Serah87

I have one a few times a week.

SmartAlec03211988

In my earliest weight loss days I ate nothing but Lean Cuisines, around 1600 calories worth, and lost 40 lb before I transitioned to prepared meals. The sodium content was high, but it didn't adversely affect my blood pressure because my blood pressure was lower and lower each doctor's visit during that period.

I did make sure to drink tons of water, at least 70 oz a day.

MB_Positif

I honestly never liked very much frozen food and would only eat it if there wasn't a better options. However, since I started MFP and pay a lot more attention to what I am eating I make a lot of soups to freeze and lower calorie healthy meals. I am unemployed right now, but I used to LOVE it so much when I sat there and ate my giant bowl of food that was between 300 and 400 calories and watched my coworkers eating their teeny lean cuisine and healthy choice meals. Granted they are usually probably more like 200 to 300 calories but I would prefer to load up on more good quality home made food in order to ditch the crazy sodium!

alexbelly

After a while all the Lean Cuisines taste the same.

I used to eat them all the time, but only until I earn enough points to order a free lunch bag. I have felt better since i cut out frozen foods, though.

Chrisandsteph99

I eat one a day monday through friday also for lunch. I have limited time and don't know what else to eat. Sometimes I will eat a steamable veggies. What does everyone else eat for lunch when your crunched on time?

jadedone

Be sure to eat more than just the Lean Cuisine. Add 1-2 servings of veggies, and perhaps even a yogurt to make sure you are eating enough. The LC meals have very little fiber in them, so you need to make sure you get your servings in.

I am more of a DIY person, so if going for convenience, I prefer the cooked chicken breast strips to add to my own salad. Or make my own rice bowl with veggies, rice, chicken and sauce. Or replace the rice with beans. I find these things healthier and tastier.

Dave198lbs

I eat one a day monday through friday also for lunch. I have limited time and don't know what else to eat. Sometimes I will eat a steamable veggies. What does everyone else eat for lunch when your crunched on time?

nuts
greek yogurt (fage brand has best ingredients)
chicken breast (cooked the night before)
natureal peanut butter on ezekial bread

lots of easy ways to avoid eating over processed chemical laden foods

sdrawkcabynot

I did better when I started making my own lunches and getting away from Lean Cuisine. It's good, tasty and easy. What I did was to make extra portions of dinner, and freezing single portions to take as lunches. Before you know it, you have a freezer full of your very own "lean cuisine" with much less sodium.
If you're going to continue using them, I would suggest adding a little more water. Maybe 2 more glasses a day.
And perhaps you're not eating enough and that's why you're not losing?

^^^^^^ Bump!


I need to start doing this. I always have left overs but never freeze them. I need to change that!

TeaBea

I eat Lean Cuisne's/Healthy Choice sometimes. I like to add my own veggies. Kashi frozen meals are pricey... but I look for those when they're on sale. I will make my lunch several days a week, but sometimes I'm just too rushed.

Canned soups are also good, look for "Healthy Request" to lower the sodium, Amy's soups are good (if you can find them).

Yes, making your own meals is better ..... but sometimes that's completely impractical. Just do the best you can do.

LoriBarefoot

Yea I would definitly go to 1 a day atleast. If you can try to do 1 every other day. Switch it up and experiment with other healthy foods.

The steamfresh veggies are great and easy. Birdseye or Green Giant. And you can get the Perdue Perfect Portions chicken breasts that you can cook from frozen. Also, the produce section has already wrapped and microwave ready baked potatoes and sweet potatoes. You can have a "home-cooked" meal in minutes!

Vailery

I ate them for about 2 weeks and I did loose a little over a pound a week but since then I have started to figure out how to cook healthy and I loose a lot faster. Im not sure if this is because of not eating the meals but I am going to continue to do what seems to be working.

bmmadden

I eat them as well or the Smart Ones for dinner usually with a vegetable and whole wheat bread on the side and I drink about 16 cups of water a day. I try to eat at least 1200-1300 calories a day and I get 30-60 minutes of exercise in a day, so maybe try making sure you hit 1200 calories a day at least and if your not exercising yet try to get some in but if you are working out maybe increase your time to see if that helps to get out of the plateau

GoMizzou99

I like some of them. I especially am fond of the Fajita Style Chicken Spring Rolls (200 calories) ... absolutely delicious.

99clmsntgr

I used to eat them every work day for lunch, bouncing between whatever brands are on sale. Some taste good, some taste meh-tastic. I found I like the Cafe Steamers from Healthy Choice better (particularly the roasted red pepper alfredo) and they tend to have less sodium than both Lean Cuisine and Smart Ones. The Kashi meals are pretty good, too, as are Amy's Lean (or Light or whatever they're called).

Just be mindful of the sodium levels, they can be upwards of 850mg per serving! And some of those Lean Cuisines are sneaky, there's two servings in the box.

EDIT: I will add that, like some of the other posters, I've started cooking my week's worth of lunches on Sunday or I'll make an extra and bring left overs from the night before. I still have some of the micro-zap meals in the freezer, they've been relegated to "Oh, I'm all out and have nothing else," fill-in.