Pre portioned meals?

Most of those prepared frozen meals provide very little food, and lots of sodium, for the number of calories they provide. If you prepare meals yourself, you will find you can eat a lot more, it will be more nutritious, and it will taste a hell of a lot better.

Of course, it takes some learning and experience to know what to prepare, and how, and how much, and if starting with those prepared foods as you learn to integrate home cooking into your life helps...then by all means use them as a tool to get where you need to go.

I have a girl friend that went that path and now she is on High Blood Pressure medication all processed food is loaded with sodium she did lose weight but traded one problem for another. Why not make your own portion controlled meals. you can cook a meat add a starch and a vegetable. put them in containers in the fridge and control your sodium.

Do you have health insurance? If so, check if they offer free sessions w/ a nutritionist. I suspect most major ones would provide some. That can help you get started.

Chicken, Pork, Beef in moderation, veggies, fruits. Here's a link about portion sizes, http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthtool-portion-size-plate.

Thanks guys! It wouldn't be a permanent thing, just to get me on the right path. Also, how do you get your slider thing on your comments? Sorry if that's a stupid question.

Hold on a min I dont remember lol let me look at my profile and let you know

When I started out, I ate a lot of these meals! I've never had a problem with high blood pressure as mine is usually low-normal, and I don't usually like salty foods, so I didn't see sodium as a big problem. It was helpful in the beginning to get portion control, but one issue is that the portions are quite small, so you may feel deprived. I used to dislike most vegetables, so the small portions of vegetables helped me get used to them, but now I find that there are never enough veggies, which are so low-calorie! Now that I know how to cook, I never keep frozen meals around because I'll get lazy and eat them instead. Also, I never find them as satisfying as a home-cooked meal with whole grains, lean protein, and lots of veggies!

Also, you may not be a good cook now, but you can learn to be one! I taught myself when I was a senior in high school, mostly just by using cookbooks (and asking my mom a lot of dumb questions). Also, if your family won't be into the foods you want to cook, just make some for yourself! I cook for myself all the time, especially when I lived in a dorm last year. You could even make extra and freeze or refrigerate the leftovers for future meals! However, if you're going to do that, I recommend you portion it into separate containers before eating.

Pre-portioned meals that are frozen can be done if you track all the nutrition, the database here is pretty good. You might want to look at pre-portioned meals from better stores, I did nutrisystem (pre-packaged meals) a while back and they left me hungry and the results were not that great.

Portion sizes should be weighed if your cooking yourself. Rule of thumb is a portion is what will fit in your palm.

Get a food scale (20-30 dollars) and track what your eating now on MFP for a week, be deligent in your entries. You can the see what might be the items that may be holding you back.

I know alot of people do that, but I don't think it would work that well for me, I'm not a good cook and my family is all about the comfort foods!

You can eat anything within your calorie goal and lose weight (hence the twinkie diet). If you can't cook and your family makes food that you don't want to eat, then frozen meals may be a good alternative for you. You may want to supplement with other salads and vegetables of whatever if you're still hungry and they don't fill you up. If they really don't keep you satiated, then they may not be the best option for you. I always felt hungry after eating a lean cuisine.

Definitely check out the nutrition values on the different options and find what fits in your calorie goals. You could also try eating what your family eats, but in smaller portions. If it's a huge meal full of calories, eat half of what they eat and make yourself a salad too. There are plenty of ways to cut calories.

The one thing that does really concern me is the sodium content. I have normal to slightly higher BP normally, and at times it will skyrocket and I end up with a nose bleed (ex. Panic attacks, crying, etc.) But then again I have always been raised somewhat Paula Deen style... As in, if it doesn't have a stick of butter and a cup of salt, it isn't worth eating! Lol I'm not to keen on alot of salt, butter, or oil on things tbh, bc I have Aspergers and that comes along with sensory problems. I'm pretty picky with what I eat. If the texture of gross, I won't eat it. So I feel like that might help me. And no, I don't really get much choice in what gets bought at the grocery store. Hoping to move out in the next year or two, so that I CAN be in control.. But until then? Eh.

Can you bring your mom and/or dad to a doctors appointment? With that knowledge of how being overweight can hurt your body --- and a gentle asking, I'm sure they would let you come grocery shopping and get the whole family more healthy.

What is your parents weight like? Are they overweight too? This could be a change in the right direction for your entire family!

> Cook your own food
> Use the recipe tab to track its calories and number of portions
> Freeze and defrost when needed

Saves money, and gives more control over what I'm eating. Also, freezer bags are really pretty inexpensive (at least where I am)!

Hey, so I'm new here. And honestly I'm not sure how this works. But anyways, I have at least 100 pounds to lose... Aiming to lose 50 by July. I need to start working on portion control and making healthy choices, so I guess my question is will things like lean cuisine, healthy choice, green giant steamers, etc. help me get portions and stuff
Under control and help me lose weight? I'll also be walking a three mile path 2-3 times a week and/or taking my dogs to a park and walking them there. And help would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!! Thanks guys!
Also, for anyone curious; I'm 6'1.5 and problem areas are my stomach, back, arms and face.

You can actually eat what i you want, stay within a calorie deficit, and still lose weight, even on those prepackaged meals. However, keep in mind that they have limited nutrient value and are loaded with sodium. They can actually cause you to retain water, which can look like it's slowing your weight loss down.

I suggest you portion your own meals by using a food scale for solids and measuring cup for liquids.