Pre-made Meals

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valrien08
valrien08 Posts: 15
in Food and Nutrition
Is anyone else using the smart ones meals or anything like that to help in their weight loss? If so, what are your thoughts? Both pro's and con's.

Replies

  • Chunkabutt83
    Chunkabutt83 Posts: 461
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    i usually end up eating at least one a day, to make excuses, im just busy with a baby and my hubby works on the road 2 weeks at a time so i grab one for lunch a lot. I find the portion control is great but you have to amp up your water intake to flush out the sodium in them. Now im waiting to get groceries when the hubby is home this weekend and thats what im going to have to eat today and tomorrow as im out of everything else lol.
  • PalmettoparkGuy
    PalmettoparkGuy Posts: 212 Member
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    Amy's has great frozen meals. They're organic, vegatarian and vegan. Regular and light varieties.
  • ranewell
    ranewell Posts: 621 Member
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    I do for work and such. Smart ones is my personal choice, they have more choices, better tasting and the portion size and calories are great. Big downside is sodium and preservatives.
  • HoopFire5602
    HoopFire5602 Posts: 423 Member
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    Cons
    sodium sodium sodium. Water retention bad.
    Processed food. Eat cleaner for faster/better results.

    What I do:
    Eat packet of tuna (starkist pouches) and green giant valley fresh steamer vegetables. Less sodium more nutrition and vitamins.
    I add cheese when I feel frisky. lol
  • OnWisconsin84
    OnWisconsin84 Posts: 409 Member
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    Pro: very convenient, especially if you're not into cooking (like me)
    Con: usually very high in sodium & not very satisfying

    I agree with the Amy's comment. There are some really great, filling low-sodium options available. They are pricier than traditional frozen meals, but it's your health...you're worth it :)
  • Tuffjourney
    Tuffjourney Posts: 971
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    I have used them on occasion. I use Lean Cuisines usually. But, I prefer not too. Just because they do have a lot of sodium.
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    Since I started here I've been against most processed food. For the last 6 weeks I was living in a hotel and didn't have any other option. We just moved into our house and still don't have all of our appliances so we're still relying on frozen foods. I hate it. Not only do I actually enjoy cooking my own food, the nutrition content of frozen foods is appalling. My dinner tonight has 1600mg of sodium! Processed foods, even diet foods, rely on sodium to enhance flavor rather than herbs and spices. Microwaves generally obliterate most, if not all actual nutrition in food. You're much better off making your own foods. You can easily make a casserole, pasta, soup, salad or sandwich to take for lunch, especially if it's dinner leftovers. Cooking is fun and it's pretty easy. You'll be controlling everything that goes into your food, you'll be avoiding all kinds of unnecessary chemical ingredients and preservatives, excess sodium and unknown fillers. Cooking is one of the best ways to take charge of your overall health.
  • OnWisconsin84
    OnWisconsin84 Posts: 409 Member
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    Cons
    sodium sodium sodium. Water retention bad.
    Processed food. Eat cleaner for faster/better results.

    What I do:
    Eat packet of tuna (starkist pouches) and green giant valley fresh steamer vegetables. Less sodium more nutrition and vitamins.
    I add cheese when I feel frisky. lol

    Agree. I usually grill a package of boneless skinless chicken breasts on Sunday so I've got my lunch / dinner covered for the week. I've been on a grilled chicken & edamame (Seapoint Farms has a 90 calorie / pouch pack in the frozen section at Walmart) kick lately which has been helping me shed weight quicker. This is a good way to get around all the sodium in frozen stuff, and it's very quick & easy.
  • SharaLynnG
    SharaLynnG Posts: 10 Member
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    In my opinion, it's hard to find premade meals that don't taste like cardboard. I got one of those "steamers" deals (I think it's Smart Ones, not sure) and it was absolutely terrible... I think the box would have been more tasty. I just try to find low calorie recipes online and make my own food. Also...workout a lot and burn a ton of calories so I don't have to eat gross food ;-)
    And on sodium..*Sigh...that's my weakness. Does it actually physically HURT you to have a lot of salt, or does it just make you carry a couple of extra lbs that you wouldn't be otherwise?
    I salt almost everything... even if it already has salt on it.
  • Angelamu77
    Angelamu77 Posts: 39
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    I use too but then I found that when I just cooked and freezed stuff myself it tasted better and less sodium and I also could eat more.

    I think they are great to grab and go in a pinch but over all cooking yourself ahead of time is what I think is better over all.

    I will say that my weight loss picked up when I stopped eating those meals all the time.
  • LChabot86
    LChabot86 Posts: 12 Member
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    I use smart ones for lunch & dinner. There salt content is pretty high but i dont eat alot of salt otherwise so im not usually over 1800 mg. I love how convieniet they are and I dont have time to cook 2 meals a night so they come in handy for me. Love them!
  • valrien08
    valrien08 Posts: 15
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    Thank you everyone who has responded so far and well so fast! I love to cook and do quite often. With a family of six and sometimes feeding up to 12 people a day, I sometimes have to have my own food different from theirs. Some of the meals I do like and initially when I started all of this I had lost 7 lbs , but then stumbled. Thank you again everyone!
  • diane423
    diane423 Posts: 48
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    I dont use them the sodium content is way to high for me. They also dont have enough food for me.. I can load up on veggies and fruit and be full..
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    IMO, the biggest benefit to those premade meals is portion control. Yea, sometimes the calorie content (both amount and type) is better, but they are quick and easy ways to get portion size under control. Assuming you only eat 1.

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