Eating out most of the time can I still lose weight?

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singasongNatasha
singasongNatasha Posts: 5
in Health and Weight Loss
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
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Replies

  • Miamiuu
    Miamiuu Posts: 262 Member
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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.
  • lamps1303
    lamps1303 Posts: 432 Member
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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 time
  • misskarne
    misskarne Posts: 1,765 Member
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    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)
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    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...
  • algwynt
    algwynt Posts: 76 Member
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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
  • trisH_7183
    trisH_7183 Posts: 1,486 Member
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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.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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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.
  • kbmnurse
    kbmnurse Posts: 2,484 Member
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    Excuses!
  • singasongNatasha
    singasongNatasha Posts: 5
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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 :)
  • Lives2Travel
    Lives2Travel Posts: 682 Member
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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!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    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.
  • singasongNatasha
    singasongNatasha Posts: 5
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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.
  • lamps1303
    lamps1303 Posts: 432 Member
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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 :)
  • JazmineYoli
    JazmineYoli Posts: 547 Member
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    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,
  • mrsredcat
    mrsredcat Posts: 3
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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 :)
    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!
  • Train4Foodz
    Train4Foodz Posts: 4,298 Member
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    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)
  • FabianRodriguez94
    FabianRodriguez94 Posts: 221 Member
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    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 careful
  • singasongNatasha
    singasongNatasha Posts: 5
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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?
  • kezzola
    kezzola Posts: 65 Member
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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.
  • Eoghann
    Eoghann Posts: 130 Member
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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.

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