Had a bit of a setback today
 

My husband and I were out doing errands a little while ago, and I got hungry and was so bored with the lean meats/veggies combo I've been doing for dinner that I convinced my hubby to stop and get us some burgers, even though I'd had my splurge meal for the week. :(

The good news is that I seem to have gotten somewhat used to eating lower fat/salt; the burger tasted so greasy that I only ate a few bites and a few french fries before throwing it out. I'm still hungry so I'm going to have the lean pork chop I should have had in the first place, plus maybe some greek yogurt. (Hubby is too full to split a bag of veggies with me.)

I DID go to the gym today and I ate reasonably the rest of the day. I'll go back to the gym tomorrow. I guess I am posting about this for advice so that it doesn't become a pattern for me. I do have some healthy cookbooks on hand but tbh I haven't even looked at them. I despise cooking. It really hurts to be on my feet that long and my family is seldom very happy with the results. Plus, I am a little nervous about serving proper portions---so I stick to the lean meats/veggies combo.

Do you own a crockpot? There's a lot of healthy/ low calorie meals you can make in them that taste good and take very little time to make. Casseroles also might be a good option. With both of those options you can usually freeze leftovers to have later as well.

I also try to keep cans of soup on hand that I can make quickly if I'm too tired to cook.

Besides that I use skinnytaste.com, Cooking Light, and Spark Recipes to find new ideas when I'm getting tired of the same old thing. Each of those have multiple recipes that are quick and easy.

ETA: If you're worried about portions get a food scale and some measuring cups. Portion size won't be that big of problem once you've been measuring for awhile.

I do own a crockpot, and I certainly used it before this latest attempt at weight loss. Thanks for the reminder; I'll see what I can find online recipe-wise.

If it really was just a few bites and a few fries, forget it and move on.

No biggie. You did well.

Roses i know the feeling of wanting something different when i go out. My strategy is to plan for it and decide what you are going to eat when you go out ahead of time.

Believe it or not there are foods you can when out that are not problematic. the absolute most healthy and least problematic you could choose is a salad sandwich on wholegrain bread. It can have tomato lettuce, carrots, onions if you like them, capsicum, and avocado for flavour. These sandwiches are really substantial and should deal with your appetite. As a meat eater you could also have it with any meat of your choice just make sure it has all those vegetables on it and maybe leave out the avocado because those sandwich meats are already high in fat. and don't go slathering it up with mayonnaise and crap sauces though a little bit now and then won't hurt either.

Apart from that, you could have an vietnamese spring rolls which are usually filled with salad vegies and some meat.

Or you could go korean - its my current favourite.

Or Japanese

Or french

Probably even a mexican restaurant could be ok.

Just avoid the large size servings and all the piles of goup that tend to be served in some restaurants.

As for the boringness of your food at home. You need to deal with that now if you want this program to last a lifetime.

Learn how to make some casseroles, big salads (have you tried seen my recipe for bean or lentil salad.)

Make mexican beans yourself and serve it with salad vegies and a bit of natural yoghurt.

Try some vegetable bakes

Try roast vegetables.

these things are what i eat even without meat.

If you are eating vegies and getting tired of eating them plain, put some yoghurt on them. Or a little butter. You don't need much.

What about some indian style meat dishes and bean dishes. My god they can do some wonderful things and it doesn't have to be rich and oily. I wish i was a meat eater when i think about indian curries.

But i think the french and mediterraneans people have the best food and so i take my inspiration for my cooking mostly from them.

YOu can make any recipe suitable for a diet. If its a high calorie recipe, keep the serving size modest and have a big fresh salad on the side with a nice dressing you've made yourself.

Since it seems you don't want to cook everyday then I would suggest prepping in advance. Cook 10 chicken breasts on Sunday and use for salads, add a veggie, heck sometimes I just eat em cold. I get turkey burgers I can toss on the foreman grill for 10 mins add some toppings and dinner is served. Finding healthy pre cooked meats can be good. I do lots of stirfry's too. The key is planning planning planning! I try to make things that can be done in 1/2 hr or less. I plan out most meals so that fast food doesn't become the default. Now I did slip up at lunch the other day. I had to go to the bank and stopped at a taco place for a burrito and 3 tacos! Uhhhh but it was because I left the office hungry and it's the worst when you are driving hungry because drive thrus are everywhere! Stress + hunger + drive thru +taco craving = bad combination !

Over in the Maintainer's forum, we actually have a "sticky" thread at the top with Maintainer's Favorite Recipes. Some very good stuff and links there.

Sassyblonde, today I went to Walmart with my hubby (after I went to the gym, yay) and now my kitchen is stocked with all sorts of healthy options. I'm still doing just the lean meats/veggies combo for dinners, but as soon as I use up what I have I will try some crock pot options (and some turkey burgers! I do have a Foreman grill.)

I never thought turkey burgers would be my thing, but I tried one on my splurge meal this week and actually liked them.

I am so proud that I got out of Walmart without all the fattening, salty and sweet foods that were calling me. :)

Sounds like you're doing really well! You even identified what triggered your setback and are adjusting accordingly. Nicely done. :)

My usual dinner when I was in weight loss mode was also a protein and a veg, so I understand getting tired of preparing and eating that. Something I'd sometimes do to mix things up was spend a week buying different prepared meats/fish at my supermarket. It would already be prepped and would just need to be cooked. Doing that let me get a different variety of flavors and try proteins I didn't normally prep myself. My supermarket conveniently lists the calorie count on the package. That was pricey though, but it really helped me fall back in love with my woe and also introduced me to new flavor combos that I could then later mimic.

I think that you did great. Both times. Just eating a bit of the burger and fries and having the strength to toss the rest. And moving past that to get out of Walmart despite all the naughty foods trying to control you. Congrats!

Just remember that most prepared foods even from a supermarket deli may have fillers (to make things cheaper for the producer ) and extra salt and more seductive to you.

I don't usually buy such things but the other day i bought a bbq chicken from the supermarket. It was sooo very salty and sooo very fatty. I didn't think it was particularly good but i know people who eat like that all the time would love it.

I am a Pinterest addict. Lol. Some of the recipes on there of mine SHOULD go in the Pinterest fail file. But. I did find a yummy chilli crockpot recipe that is wonderful! It's made with Turkey mince not hamburger. I wasn't sure I would like the turkey part but it's really good. Hubby and teenage son ate seconds and even left overs. Just giving a suggestion. :D