Diet Meal Plans

sitastar2004
sitastar2004 Posts: 77 Member
edited November 2024 in Food and Nutrition
Good Morning everyone & Happy New Year! I have been looking into meal plans for awhile, but can't decide on which to try. I think the Nutrisystem food looks a little gross, but I could be wrong. I also thought about Jenny Craig as well, and a food delivery site that sends you all the ingredients needed proportioned. I'm a grab & go girl, so I like easy. I had been making smoothies for breakfast and lunch, which I made on Sunday's and put in the freezer. I have been off track for about 2 months with my eating and exercising. It's the new year and I'm ready to start fresh. Sorry for the babbling. Any suggestions would be Great!

Replies

  • LulaicaLoses
    LulaicaLoses Posts: 36 Member
    If you have time to cook reasonably quick meals, I'd look into the meal delivery options like Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, etc. I've been doing HF for around 6 months now and love the variety of meals each week (I get 3 meals so I have some choice in menu). Most of the meals have been filling and vary between 500 and 900 calories on average (so some I'll split into multiple meals). They're a bit pricey, but we've enjoyed it and the variety they give us.
  • crzycatlady1
    crzycatlady1 Posts: 1,930 Member
    Personally I'd avoid those type of plans because a. they're really expensive b. you don't really learn how CICO actually works with them and that's what matters for weight loss and more importantly-long term maintenance and c. the food looks ick :p

    But I totally understand wanting simple and convenient and I'd suggest doing Lean Cuisines or similar frozen entrees. I eat these every week and I'm almost 4 years into maintenance-I love the convenience of them (I'm a stay at home mom but I have 3 kids doing their schooling at home plus we're out the door constantly for my oldest daughter's orchestra practices). I also always add frozen veggies to them (usually California blend), to make them more filling and to get some nutrients in-really fast and easy to do though. For some of them I also add canned chicken-you can really make these nice meals for under 500 calories and for about 3 minutes of prep time :) You can also find them on sale frequently for around $2, so a much cheaper option than one of the programs where you spend hundreds of dollars and may have to be locked into a contract.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Store bought frozen meals will give you much more variety....Weight Watchers, Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine & even some regular meals will fit. Then round those out by adding extra veggies. These are great starters because you can weed out the meals you're not fond of. Lean Cuisines site is very helpful, you can sort meals by protein, or sodium if you want to.

    Breakfast is easy - bake a batch of eggs & freeze. Saute some veggies and add to beaten eggs. Cut into rectangles for breakfast burritos or squares for McMuffins. Lots of recipes for make ahead breakfast sandwiches.

    Batch cook on weekends. Buy some Heat'n Eat containers (even Wal-Mart sells them). Make a batch of soup one weekend and freeze a few portions, next weekend freeze something else. Before long you will have your own stash of frozen meals.

    The nice thing about learning to cook, or making time to cook - this will be a valuable tool for maintenance.

    If you plan on grab'n go forever, I'm sure that will work. But figure out a plan before you reach maintenance. Something has to change (from old habits) or you will be right back where you started (eventually). There are fast food options that will work. You just have to be a little choosy.
  • crzycatlady1
    crzycatlady1 Posts: 1,930 Member
    edited January 2017
    TeaBea wrote: »
    Store bought frozen meals will give you much more variety....Weight Watchers, Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine & even some regular meals will fit. Then round those out by adding extra veggies. These are great starters because you can weed out the meals you're not fond of. Lean Cuisines site is very helpful, you can sort meals by protein, or sodium if you want to.

    Breakfast is easy - bake a batch of eggs & freeze. Saute some veggies and add to beaten eggs. Cut into rectangles for breakfast burritos or squares for McMuffins. Lots of recipes for make ahead breakfast sandwiches.

    Batch cook on weekends. Buy some Heat'n Eat containers (even Wal-Mart sells them). Make a batch of soup one weekend and freeze a few portions, next weekend freeze something else. Before long you will have your own stash of frozen meals.

    The nice thing about learning to cook, or making time to cook - this will be a valuable tool for maintenance.

    If you plan on grab'n go forever, I'm sure that will work. But figure out a plan before you reach maintenance. Something has to change (from old habits) or you will be right back where you started (eventually). There are fast food options that will work. You just have to be a little choosy.

    Ha we were posting the same thing at the same time lol!
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    crzycatlady1 wrote: »
    TeaBea wrote: »
    Store bought frozen meals will give you much more variety....Weight Watchers, Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine & even some regular meals will fit. Then round those out by adding extra veggies. These are great starters because you can weed out the meals you're not fond of. Lean Cuisines site is very helpful, you can sort meals by protein, or sodium if you want to.

    Breakfast is easy - bake a batch of eggs & freeze. Saute some veggies and add to beaten eggs. Cut into rectangles for breakfast burritos or squares for McMuffins. Lots of recipes for make ahead breakfast sandwiches.

    Batch cook on weekends. Buy some Heat'n Eat containers (even Wal-Mart sells them). Make a batch of soup one weekend and freeze a few portions, next weekend freeze something else. Before long you will have your own stash of frozen meals.

    The nice thing about learning to cook, or making time to cook - this will be a valuable tool for maintenance.

    If you plan on grab'n go forever, I'm sure that will work. But figure out a plan before you reach maintenance. Something has to change (from old habits) or you will be right back where you started (eventually). There are fast food options that will work. You just have to be a little choosy.

    Ha we were posting the same thing at the same time lol!

    Too funny......
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    edited January 2017
    If the goal is: "error proof" eating, then the premade stuff probably seems appealing. The question becomes: do they REALLY give you the tools you need to go on into maintenance and the rest of your life? i.e. if they feed you, how does this become a lifestyle?
    If the goal is "simple" then lean cuisine etc. work just as well, but are often packed with sodium, and frankly, don't taste very good for the price.

    If the goal is: learning what a balanced diet looks like, there are options for that like South Beach Diet plan, the DASH diet for weight loss. Each of those could give you a blueprint for breakfast, lunch, dinner, either detailed or schematic: protein and veg.
    After a few weeks of following a blueprint you should be on your way.

    If the goal is simple, real food: spend some time sunday morning making things. Hubs and I often each make a crock pot type meal sunday for the week, AND we make some burritos (black bean, butternut squash, avocado with a whole grain wrap), and freeze them.

    Good luck, regardless of what you decide.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    I want simple & cheap & variety & nutrition & flexibility & taste, and real single food ingredients + home cooking gives me all that. For me, convenience food wasn't really convenient at all, after I learnt that healthy eating and cooking doesn't have to be elaborate.

    YMMV.
  • sitastar2004
    sitastar2004 Posts: 77 Member
    LulaicaLoses wrote: »
    If you have time to cook reasonably quick meals, I'd look into the meal delivery options like Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, etc. I've been doing HF for around 6 months now and love the variety of meals each week (I get 3 meals so I have some choice in menu). Most of the meals have been filling and vary between 500 and 900 calories on average (so some I'll split into multiple meals). They're a bit pricey, but we've enjoyed it and the variety they give us.
    LulaicaLoses wrote: »
    If you have time to cook reasonably quick meals, I'd look into the meal delivery options like Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, etc. I've been doing HF for around 6 months now and love the variety of meals each week (I get 3 meals so I have some choice in menu). Most of the meals have been filling and vary between 500 and 900 calories on average (so some I'll split into multiple meals). They're a bit pricey, but we've enjoyed it and the variety they give us.

  • sitastar2004
    sitastar2004 Posts: 77 Member
    Thank you everyone for your responses. They are very helpful
  • crzycatlady1
    crzycatlady1 Posts: 1,930 Member
    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    If the goal is: "error proof" eating, then the premade stuff probably seems appealing. The question becomes: do they REALLY give you the tools you need to go on into maintenance and the rest of your life? i.e. if they feed you, how does this become a lifestyle?
    If the goal is "simple" then lean cuisine etc. work just as well, but are often packed with sodium, and frankly, don't taste very good for the price.

    If the goal is: learning what a balanced diet looks like, there are options for that like South Beach Diet plan, the DASH diet for weight loss. Each of those could give you a blueprint for breakfast, lunch, dinner, either detailed or schematic: protein and veg.
    After a few weeks of following a blueprint you should be on your way.

    If the goal is simple, real food: spend some time sunday morning making things. Hubs and I often each make a crock pot type meal sunday for the week, AND we make some burritos (black bean, butternut squash, avocado with a whole grain wrap), and freeze them.

    Good luck, regardless of what you decide.


    This is subjective-I really enjoy the taste of many of the Lean Cuisine, Boston Market and Chilis frozen entrees! Op won't know if she likes them or not until she tries them for herself :)
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