cheap/easy weight loss diet?

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  • Yeller_Sensation
    Yeller_Sensation Posts: 373 Member
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    lots of good ideas here. im thinking i'll start with the lean cuisine and fruits and veggies for a bit, then try a slow cooker.
    eventually im sure i'll get adventurous enough to try some easy meals, but i'll wait on that for a little bit just to be safe.

    To be clear, my comment below is not out of judgment but curiosity:

    What are you trying to be safe from? Making a mess? Wasting money on groceries?

    Don't be afraid to learn to cook. Embrace the challenge. As others have already mentioned, you WILL save money. You will also feel great pride in making something good and yummy for yourself. And don't be afraid to ask those who know how to cook for help.

    :flowerforyou:
  • jonnyman41
    jonnyman41 Posts: 1,032 Member
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    omletes, quick, easy, cheap, healthy and you can add most things left over in your fridge for taste. cheese, tomatoes, lots of veg, sliced ham/chicken/beef etc . no effort needed
  • brboydjr
    brboydjr Posts: 43 Member
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    Unless you want to live on raw food or takeaways - learn to cook. It's the best thing you can do to ensure you have a long and healthy life.

    I'm not talking about ambitious fancy stuff but anyone can cook if they can be bothered to try. If you have family or friends who can help teach you then ask them and make the time to give it a proper try. Otherwise buy a student cookbook as these are aimed at starter cooks with basic equipment and small budgets. My husband used to be a disaster in the kitchen because his mother only thought his sister needed to be taught how to cook (seriously!!) but can now he can and does cook good food, nothing fancy but its healthy and nice to eat. My sons could both cook a proper meal by the age of 10 so I'm sure you can. You may have a few disasters but so what, just learn from them and move on.

    I bet you couldn't drive the first time you got in a car, or swim the first time you got in the water but they're both life skills worth learning and so is cooking.

    Thumbs up!!
  • quirkytizzy
    quirkytizzy Posts: 4,052 Member
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    I just discovered you can microwave eggs if you like 'em scrambled. Mix in a microwave safe bowl, add cheese or veggies or whatever you like, and microwave it. Roughly a minute per egg. Stop in between the microwave every 30 seconds or so to stir and then wham! Tasty eggs. And all you have to clean up is the bowl. (I eat it straight from the bowl or else slap it onto a tortilla.)

    Baking is also easy for me. Assemble something (quesadillas are my current favorite), put the oven to 350, and cook for 10-12 minutes. I do the same for fish.

    I hate to cook. So I get where you're coming from.
  • StheK
    StheK Posts: 443 Member
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    In regards to eating out, some people still can't let go of fast food. The closest you are really going to get to "healthy" is Chick-Fil-A, protein and calorie-wise anyway.

    There's no excuse for recommending this terrible company to anyone, for any reason.
  • avondaleklr
    avondaleklr Posts: 24 Member
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    Unless you want to live on raw food or takeaways - learn to cook. It's the best thing you can do to ensure you have a long and healthy life.

    I'm not talking about ambitious fancy stuff but anyone can cook if they can be bothered to try. If you have family or friends who can help teach you then ask them and make the time to give it a proper try. Otherwise buy a student cookbook as these are aimed at starter cooks with basic equipment and small budgets. My husband used to be a disaster in the kitchen because his mother only thought his sister needed to be taught how to cook (seriously!!) but can now he can and does cook good food, nothing fancy but its healthy and nice to eat. My sons could both cook a proper meal by the age of 10 so I'm sure you can. You may have a few disasters but so what, just learn from them and move on.

    I bet you couldn't drive the first time you got in a car, or swim the first time you got in the water but they're both life skills worth learning and so is cooking.

    This. Right here.
  • sunsnstatheart
    sunsnstatheart Posts: 2,544 Member
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    In regards to eating out, some people still can't let go of fast food. The closest you are really going to get to "healthy" is Chick-Fil-A, protein and calorie-wise anyway.

    There's no excuse for recommending this terrible company to anyone, for any reason.

    Meh, the food is pretty good for fast food.

    OP - eat less of whatever you're already eating. Calories in vs. calories out. It's all pretty simple really.
  • indygal76
    indygal76 Posts: 283 Member
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    Learn to cook! Because if you don't, you will just be filling your body with processed foods. The key to weight loss is eat less and move!! Get outside and walk (it's free). And Fitnessblender.com has a wide variety of exercise videos online that are free!
  • monty619
    monty619 Posts: 1,308 Member
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    haha cheap weight loss diet?.. since u cant afford food ul eat less of it LOL
  • ApexLeader
    ApexLeader Posts: 580 Member
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    cheapest way is to eat fewer calories than you use
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    I started cooking by following recipes in magazines like Cosmo or Glamour. What I liked about them is that it was usually just a two person meal... so you don't need to cook a huge amount of food or spend a ton on ingredients, and they were usually interesting and flavorful.

    Most of what I cook is boneless skinless chicken breast, some kind of frozen mixed vegetables, with some kind of sauce or marinade, and pasta or rice. Sometimes it's all cooked in one big skillet.
  • reala728
    reala728 Posts: 31
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    To be clear, my comment below is not out of judgment but curiosity:

    What are you trying to be safe from? Making a mess? Wasting money on groceries?

    Don't be afraid to learn to cook. Embrace the challenge. As others have already mentioned, you WILL save money. You will also feel great pride in making something good and yummy for yourself. And don't be afraid to ask those who know how to cook for help.

    :flowerforyou:
    well i started out trying a few things, like chicken breast for instance and totally burnt the outside and the inside was still frozen solid. cooking longer or trying to eat it anyways would have been a health risk plus it was a total waste.

    on the other hand, i've been "successful" at other things (not really, but it was edible), since i used oil i put the leftover in a cup by the sink to prevent clogging. i guess over the weeks enough oil from my dishes got in the sink enough to clog it up. i dont know how to fix it and im an unemployed post-grad, so i tried a few things but ultimately gave up for a while, which resulted in a massive roach problem that lasted for months.

    and thats only two examples of many...
  • wswilliams67
    wswilliams67 Posts: 938 Member
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    Watch out for anything in a box or a bag. The sodium content wil be through the roof!

    Essential cooking stuff:

    George Foreman grill (any size will do)
    Microwaveable egg/omelette tray
    Microwavable rice pot
    Measuring cups/spoons
    Digital food scale
    Quality kitchen knife

    You can cook ANYTHING on a foreman grill and unless you fall asleep, it's near impossible to burn anything. Grill up some chicken breasts, cut it into bite size pieces, throw it in a tupperware container for the next few days for quick meals. Same with some brown rice/whole grain pasta. Fruits/Veggies cut fresh as needed. Use any of the hundreds of recipe sites on the interwebz. Cooking is easy and fun.
  • sunsnstatheart
    sunsnstatheart Posts: 2,544 Member
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    To be clear, my comment below is not out of judgment but curiosity:

    What are you trying to be safe from? Making a mess? Wasting money on groceries?

    Don't be afraid to learn to cook. Embrace the challenge. As others have already mentioned, you WILL save money. You will also feel great pride in making something good and yummy for yourself. And don't be afraid to ask those who know how to cook for help.

    :flowerforyou:
    well i started out trying a few things, like chicken breast for instance and totally burnt the outside and the inside was still frozen solid. cooking longer or trying to eat it anyways would have been a health risk plus it was a total waste.

    on the other hand, i've been "successful" at other things (not really, but it was edible), since i used oil i put the leftover in a cup by the sink to prevent clogging. i guess over the weeks enough oil from my dishes got in the sink enough to clog it up. i dont know how to fix it and im an unemployed post-grad, so i tried a few things but ultimately gave up for a while, which resulted in a massive roach problem that lasted for months.

    and thats only two examples of many...

    Dude! Go buy a traditional cookbook like Joy of Cooking or a basic how to cook manual and read it. You never cook frozen food directly without thawing it first. Learn some basic rules and life gets a heck of lot more delicious. Or date and marry someone who knows how to cook and enjoys it. Either works really.
  • seeled
    seeled Posts: 93
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    It's almost impossible to overcook/burn stuff in the slow cooker..it's amazing.

    It isn't impossible... just a lot harder! I will agree though, it is amazing and harder to burn stuff in it. Like it would take hours to burn something.
  • lioness803
    lioness803 Posts: 325 Member
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    bagged stir-fry vegtables only have to be microwaved, add canned chicken, soy sauce and chili paste and you have a very easy, very healthy meal. And oh yeah, smoothies. Try to mafe a smoothie with frozen fruit, whey protien and fat free milk or maybe vr fusion. Just a couple of very easy options.

    Love the stir fry idea...I was going to suggest frozen veggies as well. So many of them you can steam right in the bags now too-may not be the cheapest option, but it's definitely easy. Frozen veggies would also be great for soup-throw whatever variety you like into vegetable or chicken stock, maybe a can of tomato sauce and ta-da! Veggie Soup! Sandwiches or wraps should be easy too :)
    Good luck!
  • MorgueBabe
    MorgueBabe Posts: 1,188 Member
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    Just learn to cook.
  • karendee4
    karendee4 Posts: 558 Member
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    I think learning to cook will help you a lot. It is not that hard, just give it a try.

    Any food you cook at home is usually a lot cheaper than a commercial diet with prepackaged foods.

    The bagged steamed veggies are good. They even have brown rice in the freezer you just microwave. Then put a piece of chicken in the oven and bake.

    I wish I knew a cheap food plan, but sometimes if you want cheap you might get bad foods!
  • CarmenSRT
    CarmenSRT Posts: 843 Member
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    Hi. Trying to think of some very easy things you can start with, one of the first items that comes to mind is a microwave "baked" potato.

    1) Buy potato, either one that is already packaged to micronuke in a plastic wrapper that says that's what it's for (they keep them in the potato area of the produce section and look like they're saran wrapped with a label on them).

    2) If the potato is loose and not wrapped, wash it under running water and use your hands to rub any remaining dirt off.

    3) Poke it with a fork a few times, all over the potato.

    4) Put it in your microwave on a plate. Cook it for 4 minutes on high (that's for a potato about the size of two tennis balls)

    5) Let it sit for a couple of minutes.

    6) Using something to protect your hand, squeeze the potato. If it feels soft, and squishes, it's done. Add some jarred or canned gravy you heated up or some sour cream or light butter. If it doesn't squish yet, nuke it for another minute, let it rest and squish test it again.

    Now you have a side dish. :happy:
  • eliseofthejungle
    eliseofthejungle Posts: 113 Member
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    Search for "The (Reluctant, Nervous, Lazy, Broke, Busy, Confused) College Student's Cookbook". This is a great beginner's cookbook that starts with the very basics and moves on to simple meals. It's awesome for anyone intimidated by the kitchen.

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