Eating out most of the time can I still lose weight?
singasongNatasha
Posts: 5
Hi everyone,
I know I will be told off by a lot of you guys on here but I just don't have that much time to cook. I will normally cook around twice a week, then have a ready meal once a week and the rest of the time it is eating out or take aways. I still try to stick to them being as healthy as possible and always limit my portions. Could I lose weight this way? I am not being lazy but I work two jobs and just never get round to being in the kitchen. Every time I commit to planning and cooking at home I fail and then I dive in to really unhealthy foods because I "failed". Have any of you lost weight succesfully by eating out but watching what kinds of food you eat? For example if I get indian I always get a chicken jalfrezi and eat hardly any of the tomato based sauce, and half a portion of rice. I also sometimes get a chicken shish but order rice instead of pitta. Other takeaways I might get are a chicken chow mein... can i Succeed? I have 80 pounds to lose
I know I will be told off by a lot of you guys on here but I just don't have that much time to cook. I will normally cook around twice a week, then have a ready meal once a week and the rest of the time it is eating out or take aways. I still try to stick to them being as healthy as possible and always limit my portions. Could I lose weight this way? I am not being lazy but I work two jobs and just never get round to being in the kitchen. Every time I commit to planning and cooking at home I fail and then I dive in to really unhealthy foods because I "failed". Have any of you lost weight succesfully by eating out but watching what kinds of food you eat? For example if I get indian I always get a chicken jalfrezi and eat hardly any of the tomato based sauce, and half a portion of rice. I also sometimes get a chicken shish but order rice instead of pitta. Other takeaways I might get are a chicken chow mein... can i Succeed? I have 80 pounds to lose
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Replies
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It would be better if you went to restaurants that had their nutritional info available. You can lose weight on fast food. just depends on creating a defecit with that food.0
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Potentially, but will require a shed load of willpower. If you go somewhere where there is no nutritional information available you cannot be sure exactly what youre eating. Takeaway of any kind isn't great as most are cooked in a load of oil with added salt and sugar.
If you're able to cook twice a week, make enough food to last the week. Cook 3 or 4 meals and freeze them.
Everyone is 'too busy' but make the time0 -
You say you have no time to cook - so where do you plan on fitting in the exercise?
I know how it is to be short of time. But what's wrong with spending, say, part of your Saturday cooking several healthy meals and freezing them? (I do this all the time - and my friend has a whole freezerful of meals, to the point she could go without grocery shopping for two months if she wanted)0 -
you lose weight by being in a deficet...if you can stay in a deficet eating out all the time than yes you will lose weight.
@misskarne I didn't see mention of exercise...exercise is not required to lose weight...0 -
sorry to say this but youve got no chance.guessing how many calories you eat is doomed to failure.have a re-thing.takeaway food in the devil.i wish you well0
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Maybe mix a salad,buying your ingredients from the grocery/deli.Most of them sell chopped lettuce,shredded cabbage,diced carrot,celery,any veggie you like. Mix & cover,keep in fridge.Each day or eve before add protein,.....boiled egg,cooked chicken tenders,well drained canned beans etc to your portion.Can add chopped broccoli/cauliflower.Carry salad dressing & you are good.0
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sorry to say this but youve got no chance.guessing how many calories you eat is doomed to failure.have a re-thing.takeaway food in the devil.i wish you well
Nonsense
Given my job I end up eating out several nights a week. It's just a question of setting expectation, making reasonable food choices and doing a fair amount of training to assure a defecit.
It's entirely possible.0 -
Excuses!0
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Wow. ..I didn't expect such negative responce... I actually work 7 days a week so I don't have saturdays or sundays off.
i guess I will just have to prove everyone wrong 
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Wow. ..I didn't expect such negative responce... I actually work 7 days a week so I don't have saturdays or sundays off. i guess I will just have to prove everyone wrong
How about going to the grocery store and finding some prepared meals that include calorie counts on them? I have plenty of time to cook, but I don't want to. I'm over it after cooking for my family for 30 years. So off to Trader Joe's I go where I can find prepared meals for 2 that just require microwaving. I add a green salad or a steamed veggie and that's dinner. We also eat out a couple times a week. Rarely do we go to a restaurant that has a website with calories posted. I stick to things like sushi, grilled fish, salads and veggies. I've been doing this for almost 11 months and have lost 105 pounds. I'm old (56), female and post menopausal. Cooking from scratch is not necessary for weight loss. Figuring out how you can create a calorie deficit within the confines of your lifestyle is. You can do it!0 -
I don't get it. It takes as long to microwave some veggies and grill some chicken breasts than to wait for the take out to be ready.0
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Lives2travel yep I do that with the ready meals I always look on the calorie content of everything. Franc127 I order the takeout when I am about to leave my first job, it is normally ready by the time i get in the car, collect it on my way home, and eat before I start my second job in the evening. If I cooked from scratch it means I would have to go home and spend the next 15-20 minutes cooking and then 15 minutes eating that is almost an hour instead of 15 minutes. That is why I do it but I get why some people won't understand and I respect your advice nonetheless. I feel like if I am careful what I eat even if it is already prepared then I can still lose weight. For example I always measure the rice from takeout and work out the calories on myfitnesspal and if i am having a chicken shish i always weigh the chicken. So I think it can be done. I cannot cook every day for the rest of my life at the stage that I am now as I prefer to spend the hour and a half between work relaxing rather than standing in my kitchen, especially since my day job is standing for most of the day.0
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Do either of your jobs have facilities where you can prepare food? Even if it's just a microwave? You could always prepare meals beforehand and eat at work just before/after your shift? Or, again, you could prepare meals that you can eat cold - salad, pasta, quinoa, chicken, salmon,...you can just put your food in a cooler bag if there is no fridge at work. If you want to get takeaway once or twice a week, then do, but it's worth looking at other options (and there are options!), both for your health and your wallet! Have you ever worked out how much you spend on takeaway?? You may be able to quit one job with the money you save!
Just some suggestions 0 -
I don't have an answer to your main question except to say try and make good choices. Remember restaurant food tends to use a lot of butter and salt to add flavor. If you don't have a sensitivity to salt then you should be good there.
*Best thing when you don't have time to cook is a pulled meats (or beans) meal. I make pulled pork, pulled chicken, or shredded beef, whatever (with a little BBQ sauce). You can quickly make a wrap, throw some in a salad, add it with some pasta. It's very versatile and easy to do. I buy 5 lbs of meat, and that will last me all week. Take it to work and throw it in the microwave,0 -
Good luck - of course you can loose weight and eat out, but you have to make sensible choices and know what's in what you are eating. Jacket potatoes with no butter, choose fish, chicken and salad, avoid cheese and greasy indian or chinese takeaways with fried rice!Wow. ..I didn't expect such negative responce... I actually work 7 days a week so I don't have saturdays or sundays off. i guess I will just have to prove everyone wrong 0 -
Sorry but Im in agreement with most of the negatives.
I work LONG hours every week, mostly night shifts travelling between 7 different hotels.
Quite often working 7 days with very small breaks.
I still manage to prepare my food and go to the gym on a daily basis..
Willpower is all that matters...
(You're not gonna get many people replying encouraging a fast food and eat-out diet. It would be counter productive and against site TOS to encourage an unhealthy diet)0 -
Yes you can, I've lost 25 pounds while eating Panda Express almost EVERY day. However I don't go over my calorie goal by eating the healthier choices and calculating the calories from their website. I kept my favorite fast food joint in my diet, just have to be extra careful0
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I am taking everyone's advice on board and will definitely try the pulled meat and beans advice! Do any of you have recommendations of meals that are quick to prepare that i could microwave at work? I do make a lot of sandwiches for lunch so maybe i could try eating more of those with brown bread and lean meats?0
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Why not just buy some Weight Watchers or Lean Cuisine meals. They only take a few minutes to microwave and the calorie counts are on their boxes. I eat lots of them and have lost weight and am healthier than I've been for a long time.0
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Yes you can, but it does make it a little harder for a few reasons:
1) Most restaurants tend to serve large portions
2) Fast food (and many restaurants) serve high calorie foods
3) Many smaller restaurants don't provide nutrition information
4) You're going to be tempted because...yummy food on display!
One of the things you can do however is scout the menus in advance and for the various places you like to eat identify 2-3 items that will be within your calorie goals. Knowing in advance helps with the whole will power problem.
Another thing that will help is to make sure you are snacking on lower calorie stuff throughout the day which will stop you feeling starved when you go to a restaurant to eat and again helps with will power.
I eat out probably about a quarter of my meals each week and I'm still losing weight.0 -
Whenever I cook a meal for my family, I prepare one extra serving and freeze it to pack in my lunches. I let it thaw in my lunchbox so it takes less time to microwave. That way, I've already input the recipe into MFP, so logging takes less time as well. Helpful hint:be sure to label everything unless you like surprises!
Another idea is to make several days worth of salads. put the dressing on the bottom, then layer meat, cheese, hard boiled egg, then chopped veg like broccoli and carrots, then the lettuce on the top so it stays fresh. When it's time to eat, just turn it over and shake it, ready to go!
Eating takeout won't hurt your weight loss, as long as you plan ahead and make choices that fit into your goals. When I first started, it was easier to eat out as so many restaurants have their info already in the database!
Good luck!0 -
Do yo have a crockpot? That's another great option and the food is already mostly done by the time you get home! I will say, though, that I went out to eat several times a week when I was losing weight. MFP was so handy for times like that because I could plan my meal out before I went, and that deterred me from ordering a burger and fries or something like that. As long as you get enough to be satisfied without overloading on the calories, it should be doable.0
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I am taking everyone's advice on board and will definitely try the pulled meat and beans advice! Do any of you have recommendations of meals that are quick to prepare that i could microwave at work? I do make a lot of sandwiches for lunch so maybe i could try eating more of those with brown bread and lean meats?
Lean Cuisine meals at your local Walmart/Kroger, or a similar product are good microwave meals if you can budget the calories.0 -
You can lose weight eating out. It will be harder, especially if you do not have nutritional information available to you or any way of accurately measuring portions. Even restaurants with complete nutritional information online are only a guess for most foods. Restaurants usually use scoops to determine how much cheese, meat, etc goes into a dish. My local restaurant may have a food prep person who fills the scoop all the way, while corporate may have only accounted for 5 oz. It can be tricky.
If you're struggling (I feel like you wouldn't be asking us unless you were?), I recommend keeping fresh, no-prep product and snacks in the house so that you can stretch the takeaway to multiple days and fill up on fresh veggies.
I also second the wonders of the crockpot. I also really like the Bird's Eye vegetable steamers. You have to watch some of them-- some have heavy sauces and say serving size is 1/2 the bag. When I'm lazy for work, I'll bring a microwavable fake chicken veggie burger and cut it up over a bag of steamed veggies.0 -
It's possible. The first time I lost weight, I lost 60 pounds over a six month period when my job required me to travel all the time.
A few practical pointers:
1. Eat a high fiber cereal for breakfast. Assembling a bowl of cereal isn't really preparing food. It'll take less time than running out and grabbing something, I guarantee it.
2. For lunch, I got used to eating monotonously. I'd have a subway sandwich every lunch. This was back in their "Jared" days, and not in their current "Frito Pie Sandwich" days, but you get the point. The same effect can be found eating Chicken Nuggets from Chick-Fil-A. I agree with the earlier statement that you need to know the calorie count of what you're eating. That'll make it much easier.
3. For dinner, I'd usually go out and get a salad, with some kind of vinaigrette dressing on the side.
And exercise. I wouldn't have lost that 60 while eating out without also exercising sufficiently.
One other thing to try is to try to measure the time it takes to pick something up at the restaurant and bring it back. You might actually surprise yourself with how long it actually takes to drive out, order, wait for your food, and bring the food back to the house. In many situations, you can save more time by simply throwing a chicken breast into the oven.
Some time-saving options might also include one of my personal favorites, which is to buy a warm rotisserie chicken at the supermarket, and break it into four equally sized portions, throw them in plastic bags and put them in the fridge. Boom. Four meals ready to go, cheaper than eating out, and more time saving than eating out.
Also, the Weight Watchers or Smart Ones meals are a great option. Takes all of three minutes to prepare, and the calorie count is very well known.
Just a few ideas to help you, but you CAN lose weight and eat out all the time. I know because I've done it.0 -
Sorry but Im in agreement with most of the negatives.
I work LONG hours every week, mostly night shifts travelling between 7 different hotels.
Quite often working 7 days with very small breaks.
I still manage to prepare my food and go to the gym on a daily basis..
Willpower is all that matters...
(You're not gonna get many people replying encouraging a fast food and eat-out diet. It would be counter productive and against site TOS to encourage an unhealthy diet)
fast food and eat out diets are not counter productive and against ToS ...if it were there would be a lot of us in trouble all the time.
It is against the ToS to encourage VLCD...and who says you can't eat healthy eating out...
Chicken and a salad is healthy...ie DQ chicken strips and side salad, or grilled chicken salad or wendy's tuscan grilled chicken with a salad...
ETA: there was a teacher who ate at McDonalds everyday and I believe for every meal, exercised and lost weight over 30 days along with bettering his health markers through blood work...0 -
Sorry but Im in agreement with most of the negatives.
I work LONG hours every week, mostly night shifts travelling between 7 different hotels.
Quite often working 7 days with very small breaks.
I still manage to prepare my food and go to the gym on a daily basis..
Willpower is all that matters...
(You're not gonna get many people replying encouraging a fast food and eat-out diet. It would be counter productive and against site TOS to encourage an unhealthy diet)
fast food and eat out diets are not counter productive and against ToS ...if it were there would be a lot of us in trouble all the time.
It is against the ToS to encourage VLCD...and who says you can't eat healthy eating out...
Chicken and a salad is healthy...ie DQ chicken strips and side salad, or grilled chicken salad or wendy's tuscan grilled chicken with a salad...
ETA: there was a teacher who ate at McDonalds everyday and I believe for every meal, exercised and lost weight over 30 days along with bettering his health markers through blood work...
We shall have to agree to disagree.
If yiu honestly think that a fast food and eat-out diet is healthy then all the best to you but I for one will never feel comfortable posting to encourage it.
Please check the TOS carefully, promoting a takeaway diet would be classed as promoting unhealthy heating patterns, seeing ad OP stated curry as one of the takeaways and no other real references to which kind of takeaway, it doesnt look brilliant.0 -
Sorry but Im in agreement with most of the negatives.
I work LONG hours every week, mostly night shifts travelling between 7 different hotels.
Quite often working 7 days with very small breaks.
I still manage to prepare my food and go to the gym on a daily basis..
Willpower is all that matters...
(You're not gonna get many people replying encouraging a fast food and eat-out diet. It would be counter productive and against site TOS to encourage an unhealthy diet)
fast food and eat out diets are not counter productive and against ToS ...if it were there would be a lot of us in trouble all the time.
It is against the ToS to encourage VLCD...and who says you can't eat healthy eating out...
Chicken and a salad is healthy...ie DQ chicken strips and side salad, or grilled chicken salad or wendy's tuscan grilled chicken with a salad...
ETA: there was a teacher who ate at McDonalds everyday and I believe for every meal, exercised and lost weight over 30 days along with bettering his health markers through blood work...
We shall have to agree to disagree.
If yiu honestly think that a fast food and eat-out diet is healthy then all the best to you but I for one will never feel comfortable posting to encourage it.
Please check the TOS carefully, promoting a takeaway diet would be classed as promoting unhealthy heating patterns, seeing ad OP stated curry as one of the takeaways and no other real references to which kind of takeaway, it doesnt look brilliant.
yes we will have to agree to disagree on this as I have frequently mentioned I eat what I want when I want as long as I stay in my calorie goal including take out every week and have yet to have an MFP employee or MOD send me a note telling me to stop it.
Along with plenty of others...even some who have tickers promoting taco bell, wendys etc...
Regardless of how you feel about it that is a personal thing but does not contravene ToS3. No Promotion of Unsafe Weight-Loss Techniques or Eating Disorders
a) Posts intended to promote potentially unsafe or controversial weight loss products or procedures, including non-medically prescribed supplements or MLM products will be removed without warning.
b) Profiles, groups, messages, posts, or wall comments that encourage anorexia, bulimia, or very low calorie diets of any kind will be removed, and may be grounds for account deletion. This includes positive references to ana/mia, purging, or self-starving. Our goal is to provide users with the tools to achieve their weight management goals at a steady, sustainable rate. Use of the site to promote, glamorize, or achieve dangerously low levels of eating is not permitted.
c) Photos intended to glamorize extreme thinness will be deleted.
d) Those seeking support in their recovery from eating disorders are welcome at MyFitnessPal.0 -
fast food and eat out diets are not counter productive and against ToS ...if it were there would be a lot of us in trouble all the time.
It is against the ToS to encourage VLCD...and who says you can't eat healthy eating out...
Chicken and a salad is healthy...ie DQ chicken strips and side salad, or grilled chicken salad or wendy's tuscan grilled chicken with a salad...
ETA: there was a teacher who ate at McDonalds everyday and I believe for every meal, exercised and lost weight over 30 days along with bettering his health markers through blood work...
We shall have to agree to disagree.
If yiu honestly think that a fast food and eat-out diet is healthy then all the best to you but I for one will never feel comfortable posting to encourage it.
Please check the TOS carefully, promoting a takeaway diet would be classed as promoting unhealthy heating patterns, seeing ad OP stated curry as one of the takeaways and no other real references to which kind of takeaway, it doesnt look brilliant.
I am in the "TOS" (you mean the community guidelines, right?), and there is nothing about takeaway, fast food, and the like. I take it this is what you are referencing:
3. No Promotion of Unsafe Weight-Loss Techniques or Eating Disorders
a) Posts intended to promote potentially unsafe or controversial weight loss products or procedures, including non-medically prescribed supplements or MLM products will be removed without warning.
b) Profiles, groups, messages, posts, or wall comments that encourage anorexia, bulimia, or very low calorie diets of any kind will be removed, and may be grounds for account deletion. This includes positive references to ana/mia, purging, or self-starving. Our goal is to provide users with the tools to achieve their weight management goals at a steady, sustainable rate. Use of the site to promote, glamorize, or achieve dangerously low levels of eating is not permitted.
c) Photos intended to glamorize extreme thinness will be deleted.
She is not asking about supplements, MLM, anorexia, bulimia, low calorie diets, unsustainably fast weight loss, or extreme thinness.
There is nothing inherently unhealthy in eating out. I am going to Panera for lunch today. I am fitting it into my daily calories. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I could eat it every day for lunch and be just as healthy as I am now. I wouldn't eat it every day because it's harder to fit into my daily calories, not because it is counter productive to weight loss or breaking the MFP ToS.
So that I am not posting all of this without talking to the OP... here's a delicious crock pot side (I sometimes eat it as a main) that I've made a few times and I loveeee. It will make your kitchen smell like cinnamon and heaven: http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/213042/savory-slow-cooker-squash-and-apple-dish?evt19=1 (sorry it's the mobile version of the site).0 -
Hi everyone,
I know I will be told off by a lot of you guys on here but I just don't have that much time to cook. I will normally cook around twice a week, then have a ready meal once a week and the rest of the time it is eating out or take aways. I still try to stick to them being as healthy as possible and always limit my portions. Could I lose weight this way? I am not being lazy but I work two jobs and just never get round to being in the kitchen. Every time I commit to planning and cooking at home I fail and then I dive in to really unhealthy foods because I "failed". Have any of you lost weight succesfully by eating out but watching what kinds of food you eat? For example if I get indian I always get a chicken jalfrezi and eat hardly any of the tomato based sauce, and half a portion of rice. I also sometimes get a chicken shish but order rice instead of pitta. Other takeaways I might get are a chicken chow mein... can i Succeed? I have 80 pounds to lose
Dude, in about 2min, I can have an entire Indian dish plated and served...
Drop 3 boneless/skinless chicken breasts and a jar of Tikka Masala sauce in a crockpot (30seconds) set to low, go away for 8hrs
When ready to eat, heat up a 90sec microwave rice with a serving of frozen peas.
Boom dinner done.
If you got time to take a shower, hit the drive thru, wait in a line for food, be on the internet, flip channels, etc, you got time to cook for yourself.
But yes, you can lose weight eating out all the time. It's going to come with a lot of frustration though. You will be spending a lot of money, retaining a lot of water, and not getting a lot of food for the calories. Your call.0
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