Frozen dinners and losing the weight.

mwood1234 · May 2018

So I am on a 1200 calorie diet and just eating low calorie frozen dinners and I have lost 8 pounds in 3 weeks. My goal was and still is one pound a week but I'm losing it faster than I thought I would which is great! I don't exercise and I do eat clean sometimes but mostly just frozen dinners and lots of frozen veggies it's easier to count that way. I'm 5'2" started at 150 lbs now I'm 142lbs. My goal is 125.

jgnatca · May 2018

Congrats! Are you keeping to 1200 calories a day at least?

malibu927 · May 2018

It’s normal to lose quickly in your first week or two. If that rate of loss continues this week, then you may want to change your activity level as you’re probably more active than you thought.

mywayroche · May 2018

Initially your body is holding onto extra water in the form of glycine stores. As your diet depletes glycine, you drop the water weight. The weight loss will slow down because you'll be burning fat soon. Manage your expectations now and you'll avoid disappointment and relapse. Best of luck

mwood1234 · May 2018

Yes I'm keeping to the 1200 cal. But sometimes I do go over cuz I'm hungry alot. I take a medication that has a side effect of increasing appetite, so I deal with it with lots of water and watermelon. Haha

xOlaf · May 2018

Frozen dinners are also a staple in my diet, even though they're not ideal. It's just so much easier/faster to pop something in the microwave for a few mins and get an entire meal from it! Any particular kind you recommend?

Momepro · May 2018

As long as it makes your life easier, and you are hitting all your nutrient goals, yay you!
I eat alot of McDonalds and Jack in the box eggs and chicken during tbe week vecause it's easy and I know it fits my goals.

elisa123gal · May 2018

for years i would eat lean cuisines ..plop a pile of frozen vegetables on top of them..pop in the oven or microwave and be done. i loved how tasty they were, and easy to count calories.
But, for me..i never ultimately achieved my weight loss goals. i'd lose 10-15 pounds..then regain.

i have recently achieved my weight loss goal ... i now eat whole foods..no processed foods at all..and i don't count calories. i feel the processed nature of the frozen meals kept me hungry and stalled my metabolism and is part of the reason i never was successful.

Noreenmarie1234 · May 2018

mywayroche wrote: »

Initially your body is holding onto extra water in the form of glycine stores. As your diet depletes glycine, you drop the water weight. The weight loss will slow down because you'll be burning fat soon. Manage your expectations now and you'll avoid disappointment and relapse. Best of luck

glycine eh?

callsitlikeiseeit · May 2018

i mean, if it works for you, i guess. remember, a lot of that weight is water weight and normal when beginning.

the thing you need to keep in mind however, is are you going to eat that crap for the rest of your life to maintain any weight loss you have? I couldnt eat more than one of those a month, but thats me. You may lose weight eating prepackaged things, but will you be able to KEEP it off when you STOP. You havent learned portion sizes, calorie counts of things, what macro combination keeps you satiated, etc. Knowing all of that, helps you maintain your weight once you get to that point.

ChelzFit · May 2018

I eat one for lunch daily with added veggies and avocado, mainly because they are quick and easy to throw in my lunch bag the night before. With two kids, working full time, going back to school, and a husband who doesn't get home till 9 it helps me out. My breakfast and dinner are both homemade. I don't mind them at all, but I am also not afraid to mix it up when needed.

WinoGelato · May 2018

I started with similar stats to you and also found that I could eat more and still lose weight (most people can). Are you exercising? Are you eating back exercise cals as MFP is designed to do, so that your goal is a NET goal? I went from 153 to now 118 in maintenance and I ate between 1600-1900 cals while losing, I’m fairly active though.

I also have no aversion to using frozen meals or other convenience foods, I often add extra protein or veggies or throw in some hummus and crackers for my lunch. I enjoy cooking but as a busy working mom I often rely on frozen meals for my own lunch or quick skillet meals for dinner.

Good luck!

kimny72 · May 2018

Plenty of people eat frozen ready-meals several times a week as a part of their regular diet. I find some of the Lean Cuisines, Healthy Choice, and Amys meals are tasty and fill me up just fine when bulked up with some frozen veggies. If you don't see yourself eating only ready meals for the long haul, I'd suggest finding some other meals you can put together yourself every once and awhile so you have a realistic plan for maintenance. Many people have problems keeping it off because they don't know how to eat to maintain.

Your initial loss probably included some water weight, but if you continue to lose that fast please consider eating more. You don't have much to lose and losing more than 1 lb per week consistently would most likely be losing far more muscle than you'd want to.

TheOnyxStar · May 2018

I've been trying to decide if I should do this. I did Nutrisystem back when I first started this journey and it worked really well for me. It's too expensive now but I'm going to try to do at least a few 'real' meals during the week as well. I know people worry about sodium but as long as I balance I should be good right?

My go-to's are Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice, those taste the best to me.

jgnatca · May 2018

I’m recovering from a broken ankle and suddenly my hubby has been thrown in to the job of chief cook and bottle washer.

We are eating a lot more ready made meals.

He warmed up some Michelinas spaghetti dinners and they were so sad. No meat. And considering how easy it would have been to boil up the pasta...but I digress. I encouraged him to add a few home made frozen meatballs and the meal was SO improved.

The bottom line is that your method is working so go forward with no fear.

CarvedTones · May 2018

They are in the mix for me, but not a primary component of my diet. They do try to balance out macros and give you a reasonable amount of protein for a light meal. I worry most about protein in my entrees as I will get carbs and some fat from snacks.

seska422 · May 2018

I've eaten frozen dinners as the mainstay of most meals for the whole time I lost weight on MFP (~145 pounds) and now in maintenance.

I balance my sodium by choosing lower-sodium frozen meals and low/no sodium items for the other things I eat. Frozen foods have nutrition just like other foods do. Processing doesn't make food bad.

I've learned plenty about portion control. I use a food scale. I know that I control my portions and that serving size suggestions are just that: suggestions. I'll eat 3 servings of some things and 1/9th of a serving of other things to adjust my calories and macros for the day. Using pre-portioned frozen (and unfrozen, for that matter) foods for most things doesn't mean that you don't learn along the way and can use that knowledge to prepare for maintenance. For me, maintenance has been the same as the weight loss phase but with a slightly bigger calorie budget.

You have to figure out a way of eating that controls your calories and that you'll be comfortable following for the long haul. As long as you get adequate nutrition and at least the minimum amount of necessary calories, there's no wrong way to do this.

mwood1234 · May 2018

Thanks everyone great advice! :-)

stanmann571 · May 2018

callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »

i mean, if it works for you, i guess. remember, a lot of that weight is water weight and normal when beginning.

the thing you need to keep in mind however, is are you going to eat that crap for the rest of your life to maintain any weight loss you have? I couldnt eat more than one of those a month, but thats me. You may lose weight eating prepackaged things, but will you be able to KEEP it off when you STOP. You havent learned portion sizes, calorie counts of things, what macro combination keeps you satiated, etc. Knowing all of that, helps you maintain your weight once you get to that point.

It depends.

A portion for me is a single serve bag of the frozen Green giant/birdseye veggies. For meat it's 6 or 8 meatballs or 2 burger patties. Seems pretty sustainable to me.

Frozen dinners and losing the weight.

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