Thoughts on Lean Cuisine, Weight watcher meals etc

They have a TON of sodium so even though they're low cal, i've kinda cut them out of my diet
makes me sad bc I have my favorites, but i've replaced them with lower sodium options. broiling chicken breasts and making my own enchiladas and things.

OTOH - drinking LOTS of water helps balance .... so i think it's more about how you want to fit it in to your daily menus.

For me, they are actually too low in calories. Aside from the sodium issue which is very true, in order for me to get all the calories that I needed for my daily goal I had to eat more food with it or an extra snack. I didn't realize it, but some of them are under 200 calories. I need to eat at least 1500 a day because I burn over 600 when I workout.

On the other hand, when you are short on time, they are a better choice that fast food hands down! I work third shift, and the only places open to eat when I am working are Jack in the Box and Burger King. I was under on calories one day, so I checked the BK nutrition stuff online and didn't find anything at all worth trying. Even the salads were high in fat and calories! At that point, I would have gladly had a Lean Cuisine meal.

Well, all I can say is that I wouldn't have lost the weight I have so far without Lite and Easy (and Lean Cuisine/Choices every few weeks for variety). I just buy lunces and dinners and have them, with the occasional home cooked meal.

The biggest issue I had was that I am very busy, I would come home from and be heading out somwhere else. So, the temptation was always the convenience take away, like MacDonalds or KFC.

It makes it easy to control portions (I am a big eater), and the variety is pretty good.

So, my thoughts on them are pretty positive. :-)

Saw a colleague microwave a WW smart one. Pasta with vodka sauce worth 6 point but it look ugly. I ate lean cousine for about 14 days for lunch because i helped me avoid having to decide what to eat for lunch. I lost weight but grew tired of the taste and they are rally sodium rich as mentioned earlier. I now cook my lunch as we prepare dinner and bring it to work, white meat and green veggies. No pasta or rice (which is what the majority of LC and WW use) and I dont crash after lunch. Try the them both, perhaps you will love them and they are a good tool to prevent you from making poor choices.

Yeah like everyone else has been saying, they are good for on-the-go meals. Obviously eat a Lean Cuisine over grabbing McDonalds on your way to wherever you're going! The new "Market Creations" line doesn't have as much sodium and they steam in the bag so the stuff tates pretty good. I have one or two a week for lunch or dinner and I have continued to lose weight.

There is a place for them...but as usual eating a CLEAN, NATURAL meal is way better any day

I have them at least once during the weekend. They're kind of a treat for me--a great-tasting meal that I didn't have to take the time and effort to prepare. I like adding tofu or extra veggies to the ones that have fewer calories. After I find one that I really like, I try to figure out how to make something like it myself from scratch, and I've been able to come pretty close on some. With the homemade versions, you can control the amount of calories, fat, and sodium. And if you make enough, you can freeze the leftovers for a quick meal later.

So, I think they're great every once in awhile, but I don't think it would be a good idea to eat them for every meal.

I LOVE THEM!!!!! I was in the habit of eating lunch out too much during the work day. I now sometimes bring them to work but most of the time I go home for lunch and pop them in the microwave. My personal favorites are Healthy Choice and Lean Cuisine. I love Healthy Choice lemon pepper fish. But I don't care for the Lean Cuisine salmon. They may have some sodium but they are way better for you than going to a fast food restaurant!

These light healthy meals really help me loose weight that i gained from fast food restaurants. True, they may not fill you up. So what better way to compliment meat, whole wheat pasta, veggies with yogurt, skim milk, fruit to compliment.

There are coupons you can get to do your own trial and error. Check the grocery store adds for sales like 2 for $4,

I used to eat these daily. They were my main food source. And I lost a lot of weight doing it. There are some good things about them. They're portion controlled, easy to make, and lower in calories than most foods in the "too lazy/busy to cook" category. However, they're also heavily processed, full of salt and empty carbohydrates, and they really don't have much of any nutritional value. They also don't teach you much about how to eat. All that weight I lost eating them? Guess what? I gained more than half of it back.

Focus instead on real food and micronutrients. Eat fresh food, and eat as many colors as possible. Eat vegetables, fruits, healthy meat (the cow that eats grass and roams a pasture is a lot better for you than the cow that eats corn and stagnates in a feed lot), some starch, and skip the rest. You'll feel a whole lot better, and it'll be a whole lot easier to change your habits to lose weight and keep it off. That's what really matters. I'm back down to my low weight which I reached eating frozen dinners, but this time, I don't feel like I'm on a diet, and I don't have any desire to go back to eating heavily processed foods.

By the way, my fridge at work is still ready for emergencies. I keep a bucket of lettuce (those big 1 pound containers of baby greens - I can finish one off in about a week), a couple salad dressings, an assortment of vegetables, and hard boiled eggs in the fridge. In my desk, I keep a few cans of tuna, almonds, cashews, walnuts, and dried fruits (and sometimes homemade beef jerky, but I can never keep that around for very long). Guess what? I feel good, and those people who are microwaving their frozen meals tend to be pretty jealous of my lunch. (I do offer to share!) If you shop local and seasonal (farmers markets!), you also will spend about the same amount of money. Which would you rather eat?

sodium fail. go for the seasonal fresh stuff if you can.

I try to avoid them, but I do keep a couple of frozen meals in my freezer at work, for those days when my morning just goes wrong & I don't bring anything with me. I try to stay away from brands like Lean Cuisine and Weight Watchers. There are some smaller name brands that are just healthier. Amy's (organic & vegetarian) has some really good options that are low sodium. It's still a bit too high in sodium, but it is significantly lower than others.

I often work 10-12 hour shifts, so it's better for me to eat one of these meals than nothing at all. It's only once in a while.

High amounts of sodium. Not worth it. Sodium keeps you from burning fat. Also makes everything you do harder on your heart. I personally do not eat them because of that and other reasons but that one alone is enough.

I love the Smart Ones(weight watchers). I eat them probably more than I should. It's just easier for me to measure what I eat that way. I have started to make my own meals and learning to be creative with "real" food but I do still probably eat a frozen dinner about 5 times a week. I think they are great for people trying to get started with portion control and dieting.

I know they're not great but I eat one a day. I do it more for convenience sake. It's easier to grab a frozen dinner for lunch than to take the time to make my lunch. I did lose weight eating them but as everyone says, they're loaded with sodium.

Once a month, the kids have Pizza from Papa Johns. I will head to the grocery store to buy one of the box o' pizzas. My reason is because I know exactly the amount of calories and sodium I'm eating. Don't get me wrong, it's not near as "fun" as Papa Johns.
But typically I do not eat them because I try to stay away from packaged food.

I sadly eat them for my lunches at work because of the convenience. I know I should do other stuff instead. Maybe I'll start do ing sandwiches or salads with chicken/beef for lunch again.