Lean Cuisine

If you like them, they fill you up, and they fit into your calories for the day, then it will work. If you don't really like them, or they leave you hungry, then it will probably backfire.

I have 2 or 3 Lean Cuisines and a couple of Stouffers that I really like and are over 275 calories and have close to or over 20g of protein. I add a serving of frozen veggies and a convenient protein, like a HB egg or a tuna packet. I usually have them for 3 days, and the other 2 days I'll bring leftovers or go out. It's worked fine for me. But just a LC, especially one of the lower cal ones, would leave me hungry and I'd end up over eating later in response.

:drinker:

betsymoomoo wrote: »

The only issue I can see aside from what's already been mentioned is that they can be quite high in sodium, so definitely make sure you are getting enough water throughout the day. I find too much salt makes me thirsty as heck and I tend to confuse thirsty cues with hungry cues.

They are around 600mg or so, which is about 25% of the daily limit. So if it is replacing a whole meal, they are really not that bad on sodium.

JessicaGarrantParmeter wrote: »

Thanks guys for the help. I’ve restarted my diet now for 11 days... I try to keep my calories down to 1050 a day... lost 19 pounds so far... a lot more to go!

19 lbs in 11 days is terribly fast. I'm sure alot of that was water weight, but still. You shouldn't be eating less than 1200 calories net. And the typical recommendation is to lose no more than 1% of your body weight per week, otherwise you are risking muscle loss, messing with your hormones, fatigue, and a really strong chance of crashing and gaining a lot of it back. Please take care of yourself

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10569458/why-eating-too-little-calories-is-a-bad-idea/p1

JessicaGarrantParmeter wrote: »

I like to stay below 1100 calories a day because that’s the number where I feel will be the best for me to lose weight at. This has worked me for in the past. It’s not medically supervised.

If you'd prefer to do this in a less than healthy way, that's your choice, just do it knowingly. Under-eating to lose weight is the typical cause of yo-yo dieting. Please at least read through the links I posted, and move forward with as much knowledge as possible. I'm guessing your goal isn't just to lose weight, but to keep it off and be better off than you were before. Best of luck.

JessicaGarrantParmeter wrote: »

Yep, I’m living proof that it’s hard work. I’ve been yo-yo dieting for years! Food is an addiction, and I can admit that.

It's not as hard work if you take it slower, lose at a weight that tends to preserve more muscle mass and daily energy, and use the weight loss process as a time to experiment and learn a way of eating that will keep you at a healthy weight permanently.

Look, I'm old (63). I have various friends who have yo-yo dieted for years. (Me, I was obese for years, but mostly didn't yo-yo. Now, I've been at a healthy weight for over 4 years, after literally decades of obesity.)

For my yo-yo dieting friends, the usual picture is that they cut calories really low while dieting, to lose weight fast. Often, they added plenty of cardio exercise to make the weight drop even faster. (They rarely got solid strength exercise because back in the day, women thought it would make them "look bulky".) They focused on very low calorie foods while dieting, often lots of green salads, not enough protein, minimum carbs, insufficient healthy fats. They lost fat fast, plus an unnecessarily large amount of lean tissue alongside it (through the combination of losing too fast, not working on strength exercise, not getting adequate program).

After a while, maybe they'd lost a few pounds, but it all just became too much, and they'd "fall off the wagon". Typically, they'd stop exercise, and start eating freely, often eating lots of foods with carbs/fat (pastries, breads, pastas, deep fried things, sugar-sweetened coffee drinks or soda pop, etc.), but still often not very much protein. (For some reason, a lot of women in my generation act like they find meat "not womanly"?) What usually resulted was regain, often past the previous high weight, the regain almost entirely fat, because they dropped exercise and still didn't get enough protein.

If a person repeats that kind of cycle over and over, they are in a down-spiral: Lose fat + muscle, regain fat. Lose more fat + muscle, regain fat. Every time one does that, one's daily calorie requirement drops (poor body composition), and reduced activity (exercise and daily life) becomes more normal because of under-nutrition and poor body composition/fitness. Those changes make each subsequent round of "dieting" harder to produce results. On top of that, one gets weaker, and bones also get weaker, increasing chances of late-life osteopenia or osteoporosis, which then increases risk of health- and life-threatening bone breaks.

The usual long-term outcome of this cycle, repeated lots of times by the time a woman gets to around 60 or so, is an obese body with multiple health problems, poor muscle tone, and depressed energy level. There are more health problems, more drugs needed (with drug interaction side effects), slower recovery from more frequent diseases and surgeries, and eventually a long, slow decline into earlier-than-necessary assisted living and earlier-than-necessary death.

I'm not making this up. I hang around with two groups of people, artists and athletes (because I enjoy both activities). I love both groups of friends, and value them as people. Way too many of the artists have fallen into that yo-yo, regain, long-term obesity, ill health scenario, and it makes me very sad.

Maybe this has not happened to you, and I sincerely hope it never will. But you're increasing the risk.

You don't have to yo-yo over and over. Try to lose half a pound to a pound a week, over a long period of time, eating foods you enjoy, but trying to find a good balance of proper calorie level, satiation, nutrition, tastiness, and weight management. It will be much easier, relatively speaking. Take very occasional breaks to indulge at special events, or just to get past a period of burnout, but get back on your healthy routine as soon as practical. Learn new eating habits you can keep permanently, including how to work special treats into your eating.

If you choose, you can do this. It will be easier. It will work better than the yo-yos. It will have better long term results.

Think about it.

Best wishes! :flowerforyou:

glassyo wrote: »

JessicaGarrantParmeter wrote: »

I like to stay below 1100 calories a day because that’s the number where I feel will be the best for me to lose weight at. This has worked me for in the past. It’s not medically supervised.

Unless you're like 4'11", 112 years old, and get to lounge around all day in bed, you could probably still eat more.

Barring any medical issues....

I’m closer to 5’11” than 4’11”, almost 112 years old, and lay around in bed or on the divan a good bit of the time, and still lose weight on 1580 calories/day.

JessicaGarrantParmeter wrote: »

I’m not hearing anything I don’t already know!!! When you are sick of being obese, you will do ANYTHING to get back down to a reasonable, “NORMAL” weight.

I'm obese and I chose mfp for a reason. So that I could learn how to lose this weight for good. I wanted a method that would be safe and had no gimmicks. A calorie deficit, discipline, patience, motivation, common sense and accountability will get me to my goal.

Good luck with your journey!