Does anyone else not enjoy cooking as much as I do?
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You can eat meat and potatoes and lose weight. Do yours baked and put a tsp of olive oil and a little salt on yours. Your family can put on other higher calorie toppings. Grill your meat and weigh out your portion. Fix vegetables as a side for yourself. I cook for a family of 5--4 of them are men, and I eat less and leaner than they do. I've been doing this for years. I make pasta for lunch for them, and have a little--or not, depends if I've been to the pool or gym that morning, and then I have a salad or veggies, and a fruit. For dinner I make a protein--meat or fish or eggs with a cooked vegetable. They eat bread and desert to round out their calories, I sometimes do if I've got calories left for the day.0
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Have you tried any of the food delivery services like HelloFresh or Blue Apron? They provide fresh ingredients, detailed instructions, nutrition information, portion control, and rotating menus each week so you don't get tired of eating the same things.
You still have to spend 30-40 minutes cooking, but it sounds like planning and skills is part of what's stressing you out. If your budget allows, you might want to give them a shot or order one every few weeks to get some ideas.0 -
gratefulgb wrote: »Thanks for all the replies! Still frustrated. After cooking for almost 30 years I'm just out of ideas of what to even try. No one in my family likes salads for dinner. My husband does manual labor and works outside a lot so he's starving when he comes home. Also, my daughter is special needs and unfortunately we are always trying to get her to GAIN weight! UGH! A crock pot works maybe once a week and no one eats leftovers. We both come from old-fashioned meat and potatoes families. I don't think either one of our mothers were especially good cooks either.
so eat meat and potatoes and throw in some other veg and eat an appropriate serving of said meat and potatoes.
there's nothing unhealthy about that and really, it comes down more to portion control than anything. I lost 40 Lbs and I eat a salad like maybe once every 1 or 2 months...you don't have to just sit there and eat rabbit food to lose weight.
Particularly this time of year, I throw some kind of meat, poultry, or fish on the grill and saute or roast some veggies and make either a grain or starch for the side...if my wife is trying to lose weight she'll skip the grain or starch or take a very small portion and double up on the veggies.
Cooking doesn't have to be some big, elaborate ordeal...throw some *kitten* on the grill.1 -
I guess it must be portion control. How many calories should I really be eating? I seem to always go over what this site figured I should be eating.
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gratefulgb wrote: »I guess it must be portion control. How many calories should I really be eating? I seem to always go over what this site figured I should be eating.
If you gave MFP all the correct information your calorie goal should be correct--it's a mathematical formula. However, if you gave MFP the request to lose 2 lb a week then it gives you a lot fewer calories. You might think about plugging in a 1 lb a week weight loss and see if that's doable for you. You will still lose, but slower.0 -
I've been doing this for a few weeks and I haven't lost anything, as usual. I've actually gained which is what happens when I exercise. So frustrating! I know I shouldn't always go by the scale but still....0
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That must be frustrating!
I suggest you start doing some research. Pinterest, cooking shoes, YouTube, cookbooks, blogs, etc. You might be surprised what you find!0 -
I hate cooking with a passion!! Even thinking about it makes me angry. So you are not alone. I do force myself to cook my own lunches (soups most of the time), and thankfully my husband adores cooking and he does it to relax after work.1
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gratefulgb wrote: »Thanks for all the replies! Still frustrated. After cooking for almost 30 years I'm just out of ideas of what to even try. No one in my family likes salads for dinner. My husband does manual labor and works outside a lot so he's starving when he comes home. Also, my daughter is special needs and unfortunately we are always trying to get her to GAIN weight! UGH! A crock pot works maybe once a week and no one eats leftovers. We both come from old-fashioned meat and potatoes families. I don't think either one of our mothers were especially good cooks either.
Tell us some of the dishes that you made that have been meh and some that have been disasters. Also, what is your best dish?
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Or try making a batch of ground beef for a couple of days and do the first night spaghetti with ground beef, the next night tacos, then one after throw it in a casserole dish with some eggs and sweet potato and now u have a frittata you could left over spaghetti in that too.
This is similar to what I do. I brown lean ground beef and use it for tacos one night and spaghetti or lasagna another night (both just fine as leftovers and I'm not usually a leftover eater). I also make a roast w/veggies in the crockpot once a week/every other week and eat it different ways - as a roast with meat, veggies then meat as a sandwich then over bread or potatoes, then add more veggies and beef stock and as a stew. I'm also a fan of breakfast casseroles and using my George Foreman grill for marinated chicken and add steamed veggies and rice/potato as a side.
I'm a single parent to 3 kids and once I get home from work cooking isn't what I want to do, but I plan ahead and do the above to make it easier on myself.
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gratefulgb wrote: »I've been doing this for a few weeks and I haven't lost anything, as usual. I've actually gained which is what happens when I exercise. So frustrating! I know I shouldn't always go by the scale but still....
That is frustrating. If you just started or increased exercise, you may have some water retention that can mask weight loss for a few weeks. Also, exercise can make people hungrier and they eat more without thinking about it. If you feel like you can't stick to the calories, you may want to use a smaller deficit or stick to lighter exercise for a while. You don't have to overhaul everything at once!
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I will cook if something sounds good but to cook means to me dirty dishes and clean up kitchen....YUCK! Spent years cooking for family so now that everyone is grown and gone why dirty the kitchen?!
Instant pot is a dream appliance!
5 ingredient recipes can work.
But....give me toast with mashed avocado or a bowl of cheerios.....no clean up...Woo Hoo!0
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