Hey all!
Just curious if there was such a thing as the 'Lean Cuisine Diet'? I just want a little boost to get going and I LOVE the meals so I was curious if anyone has ever dropped weight eating the stuff? Nice to meet you all! WE CAN DO IT!
Sure you can lose weight eating Lean Cuisine meals, it's all about portion control after all. To me it's comparative to the meals used by Jenny Craig or Nutrisystem, only you buy them on your own instead of through a center. (I've done both programs previously). I use LC meals when I'm in a rush or when I just don't feel like cooking. I always try to supplement the meals with a green salad or some serving or two of steamed veggies. Oh, and don't forget to drink lots of water...the meals, while pretty tasty are pretty high in sodium so if you rely on these solely as your main source of nutrition, drink lots of water.
I can't attribute my weight loss so far to any one thing, since I've been doing portion control, exercising, drinking more water, etc. But I have been buying the lo-cal frozen dinners almost weekly, depending on what's been on sale, so I have been eating Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice and Smart Ones, I would say an average of 5 times a week...and I only have them for dinner, I don't eat them three times a day. I think it's definitely played a role in my weight loss. I agree with meleka that it's basically about the portion control, and that it does help when you have this meal laid out for you and know how many cals it is.
You sound a little bit like what I decided to do when I decided this new year's to take this weight off. The lo-cal frozen dinners became my substitutes for some of what I was eating before and it worked well for me because I liked them and because I knew how much I was getting with them. I think you've got the right idea in that you're thinking about lower-calorie options you could be eating that you know you would still enjoy. Makes the journey a little easier when you actually like what you're doing and can adapt to the changes.
Check calories on other frozen meals. Just because something is labeled Lean or Diet doesn't mean that it's actually all that low in calories, or that it's lower in calories (or sodium) than a similar item from another brand that's not labeled Diet/Lean.
While I wouldn't say I am on the "Lean Cuisine diet", I eat them on a regular basis (at least twice a week); it's by far my favorite of the three major "light" brands (SmartOnes & HealthyChoice being the other two). While the sodium can be worrisome, it's fast, easy, tasty and the portions & calories are right (though sometimes, I need supplement with a salad or a steamed cup of veggies ~ or some fruit or yogurt afterwards to feel satisfied.)
Right now I'm really diggin their new SpaCuisines (two servings of veggies, butternut squash ravioli being my fave) as well as their panini & flatbread pizza lines.
But I agree with others, it's basically about watching your intake & controlling portions--you don't necessarily have to do that with LC meals ~ though that may help give you a good idea of what a serving is.
Most of the Lean Cuisine meals I've seen are 300 calories or less, so I have no doubt that you could lose weight by swapping out a "normal" meal or two with an LC. But I wouldn't do it long-term or get carried away; if you're eating two LCs at 300 calories each & your breakfast is 400 or even 500 calories, that's a very, very low calorie count. I agree with the advice to add a salad or steamed veggies to them, that'll help both with calories & nutrition.
I do the occasional frozen diet meal as well. In fact, when I started out, one of the first changes I made was swapping out a lean cuisine for a hungry man dinner that I used to have for lunch everyday at work (I've now graduated to living off turkey sammiches on Sara Lee Delightful bread now). I am certain this played a big part in my eariler success.
Look into the kashi line as well. I love their mango/black bean entree. It's a slightly higher calorie count, but full of good things and pretty darned satisfing as well. Their other offerings as good as well.
I ate Lean Cuisine and Smart Ones almost exclusively while doing Weight Watchers the last time I did it because I didn't have time due to work and other activities to spend the time cooking. I had no problem at first losing the weight, HOWEVER, I did plateau quickly and I have no doubt that it's due to the sodium content. Especially if you eat mainly these pre-packaged meals. If you use them just make sure you're drinking LOTS of water to flush out the salt from your system and just monitor your progress. Some people have a really hard time with salt and sodium (like me) and others don't find it to be that hard on their metabolism.
This way of eating has really worked wonders for me. I have eaten one for lunch and one for dinner (adding a side salad or green veggie and fruit for dessert) for several months and am down over 35 pounds.. I have to say it is a boring way to eat... but it is working for me and NOTHING else has..
they are high in sodium.. so I don't drink diet sodas with them, or tea, only water.. and MORE water in between..
I eat Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, the new Spa Cuisine and I LOVE Amy's organic frozen entrees also.. several are under 400 calories (my cut off for frozen meals).. sometimes my hubbie and I split three if they are under 250 each.. and have a fairly large dinner.. quite filling...
I compared the price (and many ingredient lists) for both these and Jenny Craig.. and was VERY suprised to find High Fructose Corn Syrup in several of the Jenny Craig entrees... the cost is less and MUCH less if you buy them in quantity, on sale..
Last edited by Runundefined; 04-09-2007 at 06:44 PM.
I have an average of 1 Lean Cuisine a day (at least during the week--i bring them to eat at work). Yes, it's high in sodium, but nothing else in my diet is as high in sodium, so it evens out for me. I've recently started only buying the spa line (the light blue ones) because they use only 100% whole grain pastas and rice as opposed to the stripped white rice and noodles in the other varieties, and they tend to have more veggies. For this reason, I also do not eat Healthy Choice or SmartOnes anymore--if I'm going to eat a prepackaged entree, I'm going to try to get the most nutritional bang for my buck.
Slight tangent: It only took one Healthy Choice frozen dinner for me to swear off that brand forever. I really didn't know mashed potatoes could taste that bad.
Yeah, I've found the Healthy Choice for the most part pretty bland. I basically like the Barbecue Chicken one the best. I find Smart Ones even less appealing and Lean Cuisine the most appealing of the three, so I am kinda glad when it's the LCs that are on sale. I also started eating Lean Pockets...never had them until the last couple of months. I like the Bacon, Egg and Cheese ones for breakfast. Two of them comes to 300 cals and hold me pretty well til lunch, and I eat lunch late, like 1:30-2:00. Sometimes I'll have a Lean Pocket pizza for lunch or dinner. I'm a "small meal but frequent" eater type.
As noted before, LeanCuisine is my fave overall -- Healthy Choice is kind of a hit and miss for me, and I've never tasted a SmartOne I liked so I don't even go there.
And even though I'm not on SouthBeach, I do enjoy Kraft's SouthBeach line, which is pretty generous on portions and healthful--but it's relatively new and almost never on sale so I rarely buy them.
I also do LeanPockets too (the new Sub pockets are really good, even tho it's white bread & refined carbs up the wazoo), though generally I know I am getting less food for my calories with those and absolutely must supplement it with some veggies/fruit/yogurt/cottage cheese.
Last edited by AquaWarlock; 04-10-2007 at 01:31 AM.
Lean Cusine Diet?
I really didn't know mashed potatoes could taste that bad.
I also started eating Lean Pockets...never had them until the last couple of months. I like the Bacon, Egg and Cheese ones for breakfast. Two of them comes to 300 cals and hold me pretty well til lunch, and I eat lunch late, like 1:30-2:00. Sometimes I'll have a Lean Pocket pizza for lunch or dinner. I'm a "small meal but frequent" eater type.
