Is there any easy preparation or no preparation meals for weight loss?
Replies
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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 exactly, in my statement, said anything about starvation?0 -
What am I missing? I eat baked chicken and broccoli occasionally but they aren't the end-all, be-all. Exotic fruits and veggies? I'm not adventurous when it comes to flavors or textures.azulvioleta6 wrote: »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.
So you are going to eat frozen meals for the rest of your life?
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.
If you think that the flavors in frozen meals are interesting, you are missing out on an awful lot.
Yes, I can easily see myself sticking to mostly frozen meals. I eat other things as well but mostly those. I'm eating a much wider variety of foods (by eating the frozen foods) than I did when I was gaining weight. Fast foods (at least the kinds that I was eating) have much less variation and much more sodium than many frozen meals have.
Different people like different things. What works for you may or may not work for other people. What works for other people may not work for you.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.
The USDA recommends that most adults consume less than 1500 mg/day.
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"The USDA recommends that healthy adults limit their sodium intake to less than 2,400 milligrams of sodium per day. High-risk individuals, such as African Americans, those with high blood pressure, existing heart disease, diabetes or kidney disease or those over the age of 51 should limit their sodium intake even further to 1,500 milligrams per day."
http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/usda-guidelines-sodium-intake-7839.html
Erm... it says 1500 for high risk individuals, and older people, but OP hasn't stated he's either of those things0 -
Don't get me wrong though, I'm all for avoiding pre-packaged stuff.0
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I mean, if you never want to cook, super. Don't. But there's a bajillion foods that can be grabbed real quick from a grocery store and eaten raw/without any prep aside from opening a bag.
ETA:Obviously I'm referring to things like sandwich bread, the entire produce section, and like, plain granola and yogurt, not a bag of goldfish or cookies or something.0 -
Well I like to eat the steamable veggies my favorite so many choices , lean meats- esp. tuna packs or lean chicken or fish etc. Like yogurts, cottage cheese with fruits or even a smoothie. There is not much prep work in tossing almond milk, frozen fruit, little sweetner and protein powder if desired and hitting the switch on the blended.0
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You can also carry no prep foods with you if you are going to be out and about, like an apple.
You may boil a half dozen eggs at the beginning of the week.0 -
I assume you're willing to spend a little time preparing food since you said "if it takes too much time". Rotisserie chickens would be good. Steam bags of veggies or bags of salad. Rice or pasta is quick and easy as a side. Stores sell premade meat/veggie kebobs you would just have to bake or broil. Eggs/tuna are simple. Turkey/pork tenderloins just have to be thrown in the oven, and microwave a yourself a potato. There are tons of things you can do that are no fuss.0
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azulvioleta6 wrote: »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.
First of all, I don't eat frozen meals, and nowhere in my posting do I say that I eat them. I cook all my meals from scratch (I even make my own bread and my own peanut butter
).
Second of all, I never said that the flavors in frozen meals are interesting. I don't like frozen meals, but that's just me.
Thirdly, I know lots of people who have a TV dinner or frozen meal as their main meal, and some of those people are elderly and can't cook, or don't want to cook, and they do just fine.
Finally, I was addressing the fact that your wording indicates that preservatives in frozen meals are somehow bad, which is untrue. They're neither good nor bad, they're just....preservatives. You also state that frozen meals have almost an entire serving of salt in one meal which, with probably a few exceptions, is also not true.
However, as I said in my initial response to you, it's fine if you don't like frozen meals, but there is nothing wrong with them.
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azulvioleta6 wrote: »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.
The USDA recommends that most adults consume less than 1500 mg/day.
That is not what I found from the USDA website, which quoted the following source:
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002415.htm
Healthy adults should limit sodium intake to 2,300 mg per day. Adults with high blood pressure should have no more than 1,500 mg per day. Those with congestive heart failure, liver cirrhosis, and kidney disease may need much lower amounts.
There are no specific recommended amounts of sodium for infants, children, and teens. Eating habits and attitudes about food that are formed during childhood are likely to influence eating habits for life. For this reason, it is a good idea for children to avoid eating too much salt.
Please let me know if I have misinterpreted.0 -
So back to the question....I often buy a rotisserie chicken at the market and use that for various meals. I also use the potato AND something method. Eggs are another easy choice0
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Also, OP, the crockpot could be your friend. Drop stuff in and leave it until it's done. You can find a ton of easy recipe ideas online.0
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Also, OP, the crockpot could be your friend. Drop stuff in and leave it until it's done. You can find a ton of easy recipe ideas online.
So true! I love my crock pot (which is on its last legs, so it will soon be replaced with a slow cooker). I will often throw a chuck roast in there with some baby red potatoes and carrots, and this will be my evening meals for the week.0 -
If you don't want to cook, then buy frozen and boxed dinners and do a lot of eating out. Just count your calories and you'll lose weight.
If you start preparing foods, though, you can make things that taste the way YOU like them to taste. You can prepare much healthier stuff on your own than you can generally buy. It will also allow you to eat more. Being able to cook is a skill worth acquiring for so many reasons.
But do as you please! You can lose weight eating frozen stuff and restaurant meals. Of course you can! 0 -
Tell us specifically what you eat if you want helpful advice: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.
Perhaps weighed / carefully measured cereal with milk or yogurt, sandwich meat with bread or skip the bread and eat store brought cut up veggies from the produce department, canned soups with fresh fruit and raw veggies like cucumbers or broccoli, small frozen thin crust pizza, large Wendy's chili, McDonald's cheese burger with fruit and raw vegetables from the grocery store, prepared California rolls from the grocery store, canned tuna with a tiny bit of mayo over cucumbers or canned salmon over a baked potato.
Cottage cheese with sliced almonds or frozen blueberries. Taco Bell (check the calories on line for the fast food).
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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.
I hate cooking too but little by little I learned to make simple things. I now cook my meals in advance for the whole week so that I can just do it all at once and get it over with. Like you when I am tired or busy I wont have patience to prep anything and will get take out.
I do the following:
For protein: grilled chicken and if I get bored of it, I use different marinades or dressing. A batch of stir fry beef. Canned tuna and eggs.
For carbs: batch of rice, or macaroni, quinoa, etc.
Potatoes or yam are easy to prep, just microwave when I need it
For veggies:
I keep a bunch of frozen veggies in freezer which is really easy to make. If you like avocados those are very easy to prep when you need them, and then you can save the other half for the next day.
You dont want to rely on frozen meals or take out for the rest of your life. Yes its all about calories in and calories out but making your own food makes it easier to control how many calories your meals are and it's healthier. Save frozen meals and take out for special occasions or once in a while.0 -
By the way regarding frozen meals. There was a recent report about how cold cuts, bacon, etc are linked to higher risk of cancer. The link is due to the perservative and processing of the meat. So not all perservatives are ok. I can understand that some people dont have a choice and need to rely on frozen meals, but it is not an ideal solution. I keep frozen meals in my fridge as a backup just in case I dont have time or whatever.0
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LastingChanges wrote: »By the way regarding frozen meals. There was a recent report about how cold cuts, bacon, etc are linked to higher risk of cancer. The link is due to the perservative and processing of the meat. So not all perservatives are ok. I can understand that some people dont have a choice and need to rely on frozen meals, but it is not an ideal solution. I keep frozen meals in my fridge as a backup just in case I dont have time or whatever.
I would love to see more info about this because I know many people who eat frozen meals and are healthy.0 -
LastingChanges wrote: »By the way regarding frozen meals. There was a recent report about how cold cuts, bacon, etc are linked to higher risk of cancer. The link is due to the perservative and processing of the meat. So not all perservatives are ok. I can understand that some people dont have a choice and need to rely on frozen meals, but it is not an ideal solution. I keep frozen meals in my fridge as a backup just in case I dont have time or whatever.
I would love to see more info about this because I know many people who eat frozen meals and are healthy.
It was all over the news, google it you will find a lot of articles. They linked processed meats (which contain perservatives) with cancer and other health conditions.
The thing about health is that it doesnt always happen gradually. People dont always get a heads up that their health/life might be at risk tomorrow. Some get lucky and never have problems, then theres some things you cant control and in my opinion I rather not risk it and take control of the things I can.0 -
http://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2015/10/26/processed-meat-and-cancer-what-you-need-to-know/
@SLLRunner Lasting change didn't provide sources, so I dug this up for us. It looks like yes, cured meats like bacon and hot dogs have indeed been linked to cancer, but it seems like it's a small portion of overall cancers, and while it's listed in the same category as smoking, the IARC, who put out the report, has stated repeatedly that their categories are not defined by risk assessment(how dangerous it is) but by "does or does not have sufficient evidence linking to cancer". From what I read on this and other news sites, it's pretty much the same as any other situation: extreme over eaters of this stuff are in danger, but practising moderation is king. The link specifies what is moderation, and just from my own diet and those I can view of my friends, I think we're probably okay. This cancer thing seems to be pretty limited to the extremes of eating red meat every day and bacon every morning, not a steak once a week or a BLT here or there throughout the month. It's the car exhaust argument rehashed: Breathing car exhaust long enough and often enough will absolutely cause cancer, except we all breathe car exhaust and we don't all get cancer. Same deal here.
I'd like to know who's making enough dough to AFFORD to eat bacon and steak all the time. I'm in COLORADO, we have cows everywhere and it's still godawful expensive.0 -
Many of the Lean Cuisine meals have No Preservatives on the front of the box if that's a concern for you and you'd like to eat some frozen meals.0
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clgaram720 wrote: »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...
I mean I don't belive in starving yourself to lose weight ( a.k.a eating 1200 cal and thinking it is ok or getting so obsessed that you need to weight your salad).0 -
I have a Foreman grill and a microwave. Most dinners take a maximum of 10 minutes (probably less because I'm forever overcooking my meat). Protein (frozen or not) goes in the grill, a veggie goes in the microwave (or two) on automatic timer. Poof. Dinner. A cookie or frozen fruit bar for dessert (or whatever is left in my daily count.
Breakfast - usually a scrambled egg or oatmeal (5 minute kind, but you could use the instant)
Lunch is usually out.0 -
The oven and microwave are your friends! I usually buy frozen stuff like different kinds of fish and chicken, bang 'em in the oven for 20/30 mins and make a quick salad to go with them 0
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My slow cooker and soup maker are currently my go to kitchen appliances.
Slower cooker for chicken and other meats, as well as making stock. I just chuck the meat in and cook for 8 hours, beautiful and tender. Use the juices and bones to make stock for soup
Soup maker for veg soups...to stock I add already diced packet veges from the veg section of the supermarker, 1/2 bag of frozen broccoli, when cooked I add one or two cans of chick peas and soaked chia seeds and I blend. I mix up the soup flavours by adding different spices and herbs each time.
I serve up the meat with the veg soup. Lasts me quite a few days.
Breakfast is a smoothie, lunch and dinner is veg soup and meat.0 -
LastingChanges wrote: »By the way regarding frozen meals. There was a recent report about how cold cuts, bacon, etc are linked to higher risk of cancer. The link is due to the perservative and processing of the meat. So not all perservatives are ok. I can understand that some people dont have a choice and need to rely on frozen meals, but it is not an ideal solution. I keep frozen meals in my fridge as a backup just in case I dont have time or whatever.
I would love to see more info about this because I know many people who eat frozen meals and are healthy.
Although I think this study of studies has been overblown a bit since it contains nothing everyone hasn't known for years (well, anyone who cared to know or had been informed, anyway), knowing people who do something and are currently healthy doesn't mean what they're doing is healthy, you know.
I'm sure you know people who smoke and are healthy, too.0 -
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.
I don't prep much at all but keep smart choices in the house. I personally don't suggest lean quinine types IMO - too processed - sodium as stated and I'm still hungry all the time after it. Not worth it. I make sure to fill up on veggies as much as possible and protein first, then carbs if I'm still hungry... Or ideally anyways.
Usually what I'll prepare ahead is my lunch -meat and veggies , chicken sausage from a package, trader joes or grocery store brand, and frozen veggies is fast, or I'll prepare turkey meatballs ahead of time and it will last me about a week. Then I eat dinner with hubby. We eat out a lot too. One thing I do too, say at outback or Carrabas - did you know you don't have to get the soup/ salad? I will get chicken or steak and either 2 veggies or veg and sweet potato. Soup and salad not worthy of my calorie lol
Smart choices!0 -
Yes! Love rotisserie chickens!!! Genius of stores to do that for usI assume you're willing to spend a little time preparing food since you said "if it takes too much time". Rotisserie chickens would be good. Steam bags of veggies or bags of salad. Rice or pasta is quick and easy as a side. Stores sell premade meat/veggie kebobs you would just have to bake or broil. Eggs/tuna are simple. Turkey/pork tenderloins just have to be thrown in the oven, and microwave a yourself a potato. There are tons of things you can do that are no fuss.0 -
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.
Diet chef is the answer, all meals are prepared, you only need to add your vegetables and fruit, an it is not expensive at all. Diet chef is currently running a offer for an 8 week program for £150, go for it!!! so easy to follow and stick to, and best of all it works.
https://www.dietchef.co.uk/latest-offers/?gclid=COja_bja8cgCFRSeGwodz7IPeg
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