Healthy Choice and Smart ones

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Katie_Y89
Katie_Y89 Posts: 330 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Before I even start, I aks that no one be judging or rude in anyway. I know my body and what works for me.
So I am trying desperately to lose this baby weight (my daughter will by 6 months on the 15th) and its not budging. A few years ago when I was working out and dieting, for dinner my primary meal was the frozen healthy choice dinners or a smart ones. Now that I have to cook for my bf, I don't eat them and have been trying portion control with very little success. I want to go back to eating the frozen meals, but bf thinks it's a waste of money to cook for one person. I want to go back to what I know works for me and what it familiar.
Any suggestions on what to do or advice on portion control?

Replies

  • yesimpson
    yesimpson Posts: 1,372 Member
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    When you say portion control has been unsuccessful for you so far, what do you mean exactly? Do you mean you struggle to keep to a smaller portion size, or that you feel you have been doing that, but haven't yet lost weight?
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,573 Member
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    Weigh your foods so you know exactly how much you are eating.

    What do you cook for your bf?

    Lean Cuisines and the like are handy for a quick meal but they get very expensive over time. And if you lose the weight, then what? You'll just end up gaining it back if you stop eating the frozen dinners.

    Learn to log everything, weigh your food, stick to your daily calorie goals. It takes a little more thought than popping a dinner in the microwave for 5 mins, but it's not impossible.
  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
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    I eat a healthy choice steamers for lunch every day because I just can't seem to find the time to pack lunch and I refuse to eat the same thing every day. The HC steamers are by far my favorite of all the leaner tv dinners. The biggest down side with them is that you really have to look at the calories. Some are ridiculously low. Like the beef merlot one I had the other day was 180 calories. Why the hell didn't they just put more food in? I usually supplement mine with an apple and some carrot sticks as I need about 400 calories for lunch to make it to dinner without starving.
  • Justthisgirl1994
    Justthisgirl1994 Posts: 226 Member
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    Are you tracking and weighing your food? If you are then you know that you're not at a calorie deficit, and thus not losing weight shouldn't be a surprise. Weigh and log everything before you eat it. This will give you the chance to see if you can afford the calories. If you find that eating one more thing will take you over your calorie limit, then don't eat it. It's honestly that simple.
    Also make sure you're tracking your macros. I tend to plan out my meals the day before, so I'll be able to meet all my macros and nutrient goals with just 1200 calories.

    Btw I'm sure you can find healthier choices than frozen meals lol. I avoid those!
  • ercaface
    ercaface Posts: 45 Member
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    I use healthy choice and lean cuisine for my meals at lunchtime. they are convenient and keep me from going out to lunch or grabbing fast food. I cook in the evenings.

    Is your main issue that cooking correct portions for 2 people is difficult? When I cook, I find a lot of things are packaged for 4 people. I have a hard time not eating 2 potions, so I cook a recipe for 4 people and make 3 plates of food. One with 2 potions for the boy, one with a single portion for myself and one with a single potion for reheating the next day for lunch. I have to make all the plates before I eat and put the reheating one in the refrigerator or else I will eat it.

    One thing that might help is on eatingwell.com they have a category for meals for 2. It helps me not overcook.
  • pdank311
    pdank311 Posts: 137 Member
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    I like quality food. I don't feel it's quality food. Any time I've eaten that stuff, it works in a fix but it doesn't satisfy me.

    I'd learn portions, and weighing and cook. It allows far more freedom and creativity. But the creative end is what I enjoy the most about cooking. But after a while you know what 4oz (whatever meat) costs from a cal prospective and you start building dinners in your head and adjust accordingly. I build my meals off of my protein (meat). Depending on how high cal it is, I build my sides around it to fit within whatever number I'm wanting to allot for said meal.
    Once your database is set up and you have a working knowledge of what everything is cal wise, it's actually less constrictive then you'd think. You can make things and eat guilt free because you know it fits in your day.
  • KrysGettinFit
    KrysGettinFit Posts: 131 Member
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    I did that once, it really messed with my sodium because there's quite a bit of salt in . They get really expensive after awhile unless you can get deals. My suggestion would be pretty simple, take what you have for you and your Boyfriend and portion it out before you eat it. Then BEFORE you eat take whatever is leftover and pack it up for lunch the next day, whatever. Are you weighing your meals? Measuring? That'll be a big help to you as well. or Pre log your day so you're ahead of it before you even start cooking.
  • cindyangotti
    cindyangotti Posts: 294 Member
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    If it's too expensive for you budget you will have to find a way to adjust and learn portion control. If you have a kitchen scale and measuring cups you can do it. Plus it will be healthier for you.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    Katie_Y89 wrote: »
    Before I even start, I aks that no one be judging or rude in anyway. I know my body and what works for me.
    So I am trying desperately to lose this baby weight (my daughter will by 6 months on the 15th) and its not budging. A few years ago when I was working out and dieting, for dinner my primary meal was the frozen healthy choice dinners or a smart ones. Now that I have to cook for my bf, I don't eat them and have been trying portion control with very little success. I want to go back to eating the frozen meals, but bf thinks it's a waste of money to cook for one person. I want to go back to what I know works for me and what it familiar.
    Any suggestions on what to do or advice on portion control?

    I understand your frustration. The best way to learn portion control is to spend extra prep time weighing and measuring the ingredients before cooking. Is he a big eater? Then weigh out 4 oz of meat for yourself and 6-8 oz for him and cook it up. Just make sure he gets the biggest serving when you eat. If you buy a package of chicken breasts, you don't have to cook them all in a recipe. Portion them out for a meal and put the remainder in the freezer. Label it with the date and the weight so you know what you can use for what dish at a later date.

    It sounds like you are one of those who doesn't like having little bits of leftovers (I am that way too). The only way to deal with it is to make sure it doesn't happen. If you cook only enough for a small portion for you and a larger portion for him, you both can eat up your entire meal without guilt.

  • Katie_Y89
    Katie_Y89 Posts: 330 Member
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    Thank you everyone for input.
    No, I do not weigh the food. I go online and find recipes (allrecipes.com) and use them. They have a caloric chart at the bottom of the recipe, but not sure how accurate it is. We eat alot of pasta, so I measure out a cup for myself when we do and give him whatever he wants. I measure out all my portions (we use frozen veggies cause they are cheaper) and we have a salad with dinner, still no results. Not sure what it is I am doing wrong. It is probably the recipes are just too high in fat a d such, but he doesn't like the "low cal crap" so i cook what he likes and will eat.
  • ManiacalLaugh
    ManiacalLaugh Posts: 1,048 Member
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    I eat Lean Cuisines for lunch and then cook dinner. Yes, they get expensive, are super processed, and sometimes hide more salt and/or sugar than one can expect. Even my dietician recommends against them.

    However, they're easy and predictable. If I know exactly what I'm eating for breakfast and lunch, I feel a lot less panicky about counting everything super accurately for dinner. Plus, some Lean Cuisines are super light (Roasted Turkey and Green Beans is only 190 calories), so if I know I'm going to have a heavy dinner, I can make a selection that saves a few calories to compensate.

    Do what works for you. Lean Cuisines might not help us learn to portion control and cook healthy, but it seems like you get plenty of practice with that anyway. And in real life, the convenience can be a real life saver.

    (And BTW - I've lost 80 lbs eating Lean Cuisines every day during the work week.)
  • mistikal13
    mistikal13 Posts: 1,457 Member
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    I never feel satisfied after one of those meals, even if I add extra veggies or have a salad on the side. I say cook something healthy and portion it out.
  • khearron26
    khearron26 Posts: 171 Member
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    I would get an inexpensive food scale and try weighing instead of measuring with cups. Do you think anything else you are eating during the day is affecting your weight loss at all, and not just dinner? Are you drinking plenty of water?
  • chandramiller68
    chandramiller68 Posts: 189 Member
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    Katie_Y89 wrote: »
    Thank you everyone for input.
    No, I do not weigh the food. I go online and find recipes (allrecipes.com) and use them. They have a caloric chart at the bottom of the recipe, but not sure how accurate it is. We eat alot of pasta, so I measure out a cup for myself when we do and give him whatever he wants. I measure out all my portions (we use frozen veggies cause they are cheaper) and we have a salad with dinner, still no results. Not sure what it is I am doing wrong. It is probably the recipes are just too high in fat a d such, but he doesn't like the "low cal crap" so i cook what he likes and will eat.

    I use MFP's Recipe Importer a lot. It's so easy to use. You can import the recipe into MFP from Allrecipes (and other sites) and there is an option to find alternate choices for ingredients. Here you can tweak the recipe to make it less calories. For example, if it calls for ground beef, use like 10% or 7% lean beef. This is what I do to make it somewhat healthier where I can. If something calls for heavy cream, see if you can use half and half or 2% milk. Most of the time you can tweak recipes to make them less calories. Also, try Cooking Light website for finding recipes.
  • whmscll
    whmscll Posts: 2,254 Member
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    Katie_Y89 wrote: »
    Thank you everyone for input.
    No, I do not weigh the food. I go online and find recipes (allrecipes.com) and use them. They have a caloric chart at the bottom of the recipe, but not sure how accurate it is. We eat alot of pasta, so I measure out a cup for myself when we do and give him whatever he wants. I measure out all my portions (we use frozen veggies cause they are cheaper) and we have a salad with dinner, still no results. Not sure what it is I am doing wrong. It is probably the recipes are just too high in fat a d such, but he doesn't like the "low cal crap" so i cook what he likes and will eat.

    Are you measuring your salad dressing? That's a big source is added calories. Usually one serving is 2 tablespoons, and it's really easy to eat a lot more than that. Also, what do you put in your salad? Stuff like avocados, nuts, dried fruits need to be weighed or measured because they are very calorie dense.

    I would suggest you eat less pasta and bigger salads. Just tweak your portion sizes of these two foods. Also, weighing is much more accurate than simply measuring, unless it is a liquid.
  • jessicapk
    jessicapk Posts: 574 Member
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    Me and my boyfriend are like that sometimes in the sense that he doesn't like the lower calorie foods and I'm not into some of the junk he eats, though we do get along most days. However, why do you HAVE to cook for him? He's a big boy. Let him fix his own meals how he likes them. Eat what you like. I have done the Lean Cuisines and Healthy Choices, since they are quick easy lunches and cheap if you buy the ones on sale. However, at dinner time, I like a real meal and sometimes it's not what he wants. He's been fine with fixing things for himself and the money is no better or worse.
  • beemerphile1
    beemerphile1 Posts: 1,710 Member
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    I eat a Hormel frozen dinner every day for lunch. The two mentioned by the OP are overpriced since I can buy 2.5 Hormel dinners for the price of a 'Smart One'.

    My only concern is the high sodium content of all of them. Eat the dinner combined with some other fruits and veggies.
  • Katie_Y89
    Katie_Y89 Posts: 330 Member
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    I try to drink as much water as I can. I don't do pop unless I have an upset stomach. I do have a food scale snd I measure in grams and oz almost everything. I do eat a lot of salads, that's typically my lunch everyday. I do measureout the dressing, never any cheese. The only issue with the recipes I do is that there are the number of servings in the whole meal, but not how much a serving is (ie: 1 cup, certain weight, ect.) So I typically just do 1 cup of whatever it is and call it a serving then have a salad, and a majority of the veggies.

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