Is there any easy preparation or no preparation meals for weight loss?
swu726
Posts: 1 Member
I don't like to prepare food. I will eat out easily if I need to spend too much time to prepare food. I need to lose 65lbs from 218.2 lbs. Please help. 
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Replies
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By no prep, can you at least re-heat things in a microwave?
Honestly, you don't need to change WHAT you're eating to lose weight. You just need to make sure you're eating fewer calories than your body uses in a day. In theory, you could eat twinkies all day and still lose weight as long as you were still averaging a calorie deficit.
I don't cook all that much, really. You can buy pre-cut veggies and little containers of something to dip them in if you didn't want to be bothered dolloping peanut butter in a little cup or cutting up carrots. I eat my share of sandwiches. Again, you have to make them, but it's not like there's cooking. Snack cheese in individual packages. Yogurt in individual packages.... really you can be as non-prep as you want and still lose. It's all about accurately tracking the calories, in my opinion.0 -
Find Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, etc., meals that you like. Buy steam-in-bag frozen veggies. Buy the things that WBB55 listed.0
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I have an irrational love of the jacket potato so I ate loads when I was losing weight. Bung in the oven, add beans/tuna/whatever filling you like, eat. Next to no washing up and dead simple. Go easy on butter and mayo and you can get a decent dinner for under 500 calories. I usually have salad with mine too.
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Find Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, etc., meals that you like. Buy steam-in-bag frozen veggies. Buy the things that WBB55 listed.
I definitely agree that Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice meals are great for when you don't want to prep food! They tend to be around the amount of calories that I want to eat for dinner, which is what it really comes down to for weight loss. I especially like that I don't have to portion anything - if I'm feeling tired, I just put it in the microwave for a few minutes and then dinner is ready! OP, you can choose whatever foods you want to eat, as long as they are within your calorie goal.0 -
You can buy already cooked meats at the grocery store like fish (they'll often cook it for you while you shop) or chicken breast. add a bagged salad and you're set.
If you want great options when you are eating out, Panera has a good amount of low-cal options (with calorie content next to each item). Otherwise, check a restaurant's website before you go to plan it out.
I tend to avoid the frozen meals, too much salt and preservatives.0 -
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How much prep is too much? We had a great meal the other night. I opened and reheated frozen diced chicken. I opened and rinsed off a can of corn and a can of black beans. I heated an Uncle Ben's rice pouch. I opened a bag of lettuce. I did exert myself and chop some fresh tomatoes, LOL. You make up a yummy salad with all of the above, drizzle a bit of Southwest Ranch on top and you're good to go. (If sodium is a concern, both the beans and corn should be available in low sodium or no salt added versions. The rice if you get just the plain rice, not any of the flavored ones, has almost no sodium.)0
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I've been doing pretty well lately without cooking. I like to cook -- but just haven't had the time. A normal day for me is:
Breakfast: hard boiled egg or a cheese stick and piece of fruit
Lunch: take-out salad. Be careful to look up the calories of the salad AND the dressing -- they can really vary.
Mid-afternoon snack - a granola bar with nuts in it or small quantity of trail mix
Supper - can of soup, low sodium if possible
If I want an extra snack I have a can of tuna or some sliced turkey from the deli counter or some cut up veggies with low-cal dressing.
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I am huge fan of rice/quinoa bowls made with things I can microwave. I buy frozen rice or quinoa, steamfresh veggies and canned red beans. I cook everything except the beans, split into three tupperware containers and leave in the fridge to bring to work. For added flavor I often bring salsa and sour cream as well.. All together about 300 easy microwavable calories.0
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I am right there with you, not into cooking or preparing food at all. 117lbs lost so far, quick easy meals that are tasty and sustainable for me are key!
My go to meal is always the same. I buy the multi grain pocket pitas in the bread aisle (100 calories), stuff with half a slice of cheese (35 cals), and 2 oz of whatever deli meat I want.. usually Turkey or Ham (50 cals) and stick it in the toaster oven for 5 mins. Ooey gooey melty cheesy yummy sandwich. I weigh everything out for accuracy, and always eat it with .8 oz of Sunchips (112 cals). Perfect no cook meal for me. If you want to watch the sodium you can sub out the deli meat for chicken breast (bake in the oven, cut it up, store in baggies). Meal under 300 calories. You can sub the chips for veggies.. but I don't!
You can use different flavors of cheese, meats, add extra stuff in if you want sauce whatever. Always mix it up, but its an easy quick meal that takes me about 5-7 min to prepare including heat up time.
I recommend provolone and pepperoni, nom nom nom!
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sodium levels aren't really too big of an issue unless your a competitive body builder, who only has 5% body fat, microwave meals are often a much better choice than take away. my fav easy to make meals is simply Uncle Bens's rice and some tuna! GREAT! macros, literally take 2 min to make and clean up, and leaves you feeling full and satisfied!0
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I don't like to prepare food. I will eat out easily if I need to spend too much time to prepare food. I need to lose 65lbs from 218.2 lbs. Please help.
You can prepear oats with yogurt, honey and banana for breakfast.Soups are pretty easy to make for dinner (30-60 min) , you can also make rice or pasta with tomato sause.0 -
To lose weight, one needs to be in a deficit. You can eat what you only do, only less. BUT....
, If you take a bit of time on the weekend, you can grill or bake chicken breast for the week and I cook rice in bulk, for the same. Veggies I like to cut up fresh, or grab the bags already done for you. 0 -
Liftng4Lis wrote: »To lose weight, one needs to be in a deficit. You can eat what you only do, only less. BUT.... , If you take a bit of time on the weekend, you can grill or bake chicken breast for the week and I cook rice in bulk, for the same. Veggies I like to cut up fresh, or grab the bags already done for you.
I don't belive in starvation. I eat a lot of food mostly home made by myself but I also workout a lot. The important thing is that food should be less processed and more natural and your meals be more simple.0 -
There's nothing wrong with processing. Processed foods are fast, convenient, and easy to obtain. Some are more nutritionally rounded than others but that's true of any food.KaterinaDokuzova94 wrote: »The important thing is that food should be less processed and more natural and your meals be more simple.
If the OP is trying to avoid fast food by having fast, easy choices at home, frozen dinners and other processed foods are a workable options.0 -
I like to have easy meal ideas in mind and on hand for the days that I work late. My favorites are tacos w/carb smart wheat tortillas, salmon and frozen veggies, steak and frozen brussels sprouts, fajitas, turkey burgers with sweet potato fries, homemade pizza on whole wheat crust, chicken stir fry with brown rice... all very fast meals with very little prep.0
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Also, on those days that I don't have the time/energy/supplies to prepare dinner, I have a back-up plan. I have acceptable meals picked out from surrounding restaurants. My husband and I cut out fast food completely so that we are not tempted to eat outside of our healthy life style.0
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I am right there with you, not into cooking or preparing food at all. 117lbs lost so far, quick easy meals that are tasty and sustainable for me are key!
My go to meal is always the same. I buy the multi grain pocket pitas in the bread aisle (100 calories), stuff with half a slice of cheese (35 cals), and 2 oz of whatever deli meat I want.. usually Turkey or Ham (50 cals) and stick it in the toaster oven for 5 mins. Ooey gooey melty cheesy yummy sandwich. I weigh everything out for accuracy, and always eat it with .8 oz of Sunchips (112 cals). Perfect no cook meal for me. If you want to watch the sodium you can sub out the deli meat for chicken breast (bake in the oven, cut it up, store in baggies). Meal under 300 calories. You can sub the chips for veggies.. but I don't!
You can use different flavors of cheese, meats, add extra stuff in if you want sauce whatever. Always mix it up, but its an easy quick meal that takes me about 5-7 min to prepare including heat up time.
I recommend provolone and pepperoni, nom nom nom!
Yup, I will be stealing that. Yum0 -
How much prep is too much? We had a great meal the other night. I opened and reheated frozen diced chicken. I opened and rinsed off a can of corn and a can of black beans. I heated an Uncle Ben's rice pouch. I opened a bag of lettuce. I did exert myself and chop some fresh tomatoes, LOL. You make up a yummy salad with all of the above, drizzle a bit of Southwest Ranch on top and you're good to go. (If sodium is a concern, both the beans and corn should be available in low sodium or no salt added versions. The rice if you get just the plain rice, not any of the flavored ones, has almost no sodium.)
Yummy, that will fill my tummy!0 -
There's nothing wrong with processing. Processed foods are fast, convenient, and easy to obtain. Some are more nutritionally rounded than others but that's true of any food.KaterinaDokuzova94 wrote: »The important thing is that food should be less processed and more natural and your meals be more simple.
If the OP is trying to avoid fast food by having fast, easy choices at home, frozen dinners and other processed foods are a workable options.
Riiiight...except for all of unnecessary chemical preservatives/flavor enhancers and the bucketloads of salt. Many commercial frozen meals have a full day's worth of salt in one serving.
There are lots of easy meals that require minimal prep. Cottage cheese + fruit; yogurt smoothie; green salad + meat, turkey burger + yam/sweet potato, veggie sandwich on whole-grain bread, etc.
You can also make your own soups and freeze them ahead of time for easy, healthy, re-heatable meals.
Buying pre-prepped/chopped veggies at the grocery store might be useful too.
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KaterinaDokuzova94 wrote: »Liftng4Lis wrote: »To lose weight, one needs to be in a deficit. You can eat what you only do, only less. BUT.... , If you take a bit of time on the weekend, you can grill or bake chicken breast for the week and I cook rice in bulk, for the same. Veggies I like to cut up fresh, or grab the bags already done for you.
I don't belive in starvation. I eat a lot of food mostly home made by myself but I also workout a lot. The important thing is that food should be less processed and more natural and your meals be more simple.
What does what she said have to do with starvation?0 -
What, exactly, is wrong with chemical preservatives/flavor? What makes them bad? They aren't poisonous or toxic or anything like that. Preservatives have revolutionized food storage. Flavors make foods more interesting.azulvioleta6 wrote: »
There's nothing wrong with processing. Processed foods are fast, convenient, and easy to obtain. Some are more nutritionally rounded than others but that's true of any food.KaterinaDokuzova94 wrote: »The important thing is that food should be less processed and more natural and your meals be more simple.
If the OP is trying to avoid fast food by having fast, easy choices at home, frozen dinners and other processed foods are a workable options.
Riiiight...except for all of unnecessary chemical preservatives/flavor enhancers and the bucketloads of salt. Many commercial frozen meals have a full day's worth of salt in one serving.
There are lots of easy meals that require minimal prep. Cottage cheese + fruit; yogurt smoothie; green salad + meat, turkey burger + yam/sweet potato, veggie sandwich on whole-grain bread, etc.
You can also make your own soups and freeze them ahead of time for easy, healthy, re-heatable meals.
Buying pre-prepped/chopped veggies at the grocery store might be useful too.
Many prepared foods don't have a full day's worth of salt. I actually eat much less salt in a day now than I did before I started eating more frozen dinners because MFP lets me see how much sodium I'm consuming and I can track it more easily.
Frozen dinners come pre-portioned. That's a huge benefit for easy calorie counting.
Frozen dinners have a time benefit. I decide I'm hungry and I'm eating 6 minutes later. Since there's no long lead-in time, I can eat when I'm actually hungry rather than trying to decide if I'm going to be hungry at some future point or snacking while I cook because I'm hungry right now.
If you want to avoid preservatives, artificial flavors, whatever, that's great. Whatever works for you. However, that eating method doesn't work for everyone. If I had to eat like that, I wouldn't be able to stick to calorie counting because that's so far away from my normal eating method.
People need to find what works for themselves long-term. I only make changes that I can see myself doing on a continuing basis, even after I've lost my weight and am maintaining.0 -
azulvioleta6 wrote: »
There's nothing wrong with processing. Processed foods are fast, convenient, and easy to obtain. Some are more nutritionally rounded than others but that's true of any food.KaterinaDokuzova94 wrote: »The important thing is that food should be less processed and more natural and your meals be more simple.
If the OP is trying to avoid fast food by having fast, easy choices at home, frozen dinners and other processed foods are a workable options.
Riiiight...except for all of unnecessary chemical preservatives/flavor enhancers and the bucketloads of salt. Many commercial frozen meals have a full day's worth of salt in one serving.
There are lots of easy meals that require minimal prep. Cottage cheese + fruit; yogurt smoothie; green salad + meat, turkey burger + yam/sweet potato, veggie sandwich on whole-grain bread, etc.
You can also make your own soups and freeze them ahead of time for easy, healthy, re-heatable meals.
Buying pre-prepped/chopped veggies at the grocery store might be useful too.
It's fine if frozen dinners don't work for you, but there is nothing wrong with them. By the way, it would be a rare frozen meal that would have the recommended 2300 grams of sodium.
Of couse any of us can cook the meals you say and freeze them, but the OP does not cook.0 -
KaterinaDokuzova94 wrote: »Liftng4Lis wrote: »To lose weight, one needs to be in a deficit. You can eat what you only do, only less. BUT.... , If you take a bit of time on the weekend, you can grill or bake chicken breast for the week and I cook rice in bulk, for the same. Veggies I like to cut up fresh, or grab the bags already done for you.
I don't belive in starvation. I eat a lot of food mostly home made by myself but I also workout a lot. The important thing is that food should be less processed and more natural and your meals be more simple.
Since when is eating at a deficit "starvation"? Or did you mean you don't believe in starvation any more than say, the tooth fairy? Cause I assure you it exists, and has nothing at all to do with a safe and healthy caloric deficit maintained to achieve desired weight loss...0 -
Get over it and start liking it. Or success is not in your future. I don't like to go to work everyday but, I do.0
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I bake chicken breast with salt and pepper in a sheet of tin foil..20 minutes at 400 degree..pretty damn easy
Most of the rest of my staple food is then microwaved or from a jar/bottle0 -
You might also consider checking out the Paleo groups. I won't get into whether that entire diet is for you, but no one knows how to do little to no food prep like a Paleo-eater.0
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What is stopping someone from doing this successfully? The store isn't going anywhere. It's a reliable way of losing weight and maintaining that loss. Cooking is not required.queenliz99 wrote: »
Many people regain weight because they go back to the way they used to eat after they lose weight. If you lose weight by doing things basically the same way you've always done them, it's easier to keep that up forever. It's big changes that have trouble sticking.0 -
azulvioleta6 wrote: »
There's nothing wrong with processing. Processed foods are fast, convenient, and easy to obtain. Some are more nutritionally rounded than others but that's true of any food.KaterinaDokuzova94 wrote: »The important thing is that food should be less processed and more natural and your meals be more simple.
If the OP is trying to avoid fast food by having fast, easy choices at home, frozen dinners and other processed foods are a workable options.
Riiiight...except for all of unnecessary chemical preservatives/flavor enhancers and the bucketloads of salt. Many commercial frozen meals have a full day's worth of salt in one serving.
There are lots of easy meals that require minimal prep. Cottage cheese + fruit; yogurt smoothie; green salad + meat, turkey burger + yam/sweet potato, veggie sandwich on whole-grain bread, etc.
You can also make your own soups and freeze them ahead of time for easy, healthy, re-heatable meals.
Buying pre-prepped/chopped veggies at the grocery store might be useful too.
It's fine if frozen dinners don't work for you, but there is nothing wrong with them. By the way, it would be a rare frozen meal that would have the recommended 2300 grams of sodium.
Of couse any of us can cook the meals you say and freeze them, but the OP does not cook.
What, exactly, is wrong with chemical preservatives/flavor? What makes them bad? They aren't poisonous or toxic or anything like that. Preservatives have revolutionized food storage. Flavors make foods more interesting.azulvioleta6 wrote: »
There's nothing wrong with processing. Processed foods are fast, convenient, and easy to obtain. Some are more nutritionally rounded than others but that's true of any food.KaterinaDokuzova94 wrote: »The important thing is that food should be less processed and more natural and your meals be more simple.
If the OP is trying to avoid fast food by having fast, easy choices at home, frozen dinners and other processed foods are a workable options.
Riiiight...except for all of unnecessary chemical preservatives/flavor enhancers and the bucketloads of salt. Many commercial frozen meals have a full day's worth of salt in one serving.
There are lots of easy meals that require minimal prep. Cottage cheese + fruit; yogurt smoothie; green salad + meat, turkey burger + yam/sweet potato, veggie sandwich on whole-grain bread, etc.
You can also make your own soups and freeze them ahead of time for easy, healthy, re-heatable meals.
Buying pre-prepped/chopped veggies at the grocery store might be useful too.
Many prepared foods don't have a full day's worth of salt. I actually eat much less salt in a day now than I did before I started eating more frozen dinners because MFP lets me see how much sodium I'm consuming and I can track it more easily.
Frozen dinners come pre-portioned. That's a huge benefit for easy calorie counting.
Frozen dinners have a time benefit. I decide I'm hungry and I'm eating 6 minutes later. Since there's no long lead-in time, I can eat when I'm actually hungry rather than trying to decide if I'm going to be hungry at some future point or snacking while I cook because I'm hungry right now.
If you want to avoid preservatives, artificial flavors, whatever, that's great. Whatever works for you. However, that eating method doesn't work for everyone. If I had to eat like that, I wouldn't be able to stick to calorie counting because that's so far away from my normal eating method.
People need to find what works for themselves long-term. I only make changes that I can see myself doing on a continuing basis, even after I've lost my weight and am maintaining.
So you are going to eat frozen meals for the rest of your life?
If you think that the flavors in frozen meals are interesting, you are missing out on an awful lot.
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