I was eating lean cusines and 100c. packs and different kinds of desserts. I was keeping my calories in check and losing each week. Then I tryed to do a more healthier approach with eating veggies and chicken. And every since I couldnt stick with it, switching from atkins and different kinds of diets to try to eat healthy food. I just cant do it right now. I hate to cook, and I love pre-packaged frozen dinners. There so many different varietys. I just pop them in the microwave and its done.

Ive been maintaining my weight for a while even though Ill try a new diet, it will fail, then I stay on a binge for a week, then try something new. I cant keep going on like that. Should I just stay to what was working for me even though it might not be the healthiest way?

As long as the lean cuisines have protein and veggies and you are not just eating the mac and cheese or pasta lean cuisines it's not such a bad thing. I eat them on occassion. I don't mind cooking though, so I do a lot of that.

Personally, no.

For me, it is more important what I eat than the weight I lose. I also couldn't stay on a diet plan that I thought was unhealthy for me. If you eat healthier foods, it can be easier to lose weight but you may need to learn a few tricks.

Preportion out snacks and meals. Weigh and measure stuff. I know it is a little extra work but it is worth it. I have a food scale which I use to help me keep myself on track.

Have you tried cooking stuff ahead of time? I often cook enough food for multiple days. You could also look for some of the healthier frozen meals if you do really like them.

Same here.

Part of that is that my motivation for losing weight is to be healthier. Diabetes runs in my family. Cancer runs in my family. Heart disease and stroke run in my family. (I'm a walking time bomb here.)

Eating a bunch of processed crap isn't going to help that, no matter how skinny I wind up being.

.

Ditto on the last two posts. (Did I just say 'Ditto'? Oh, my.).

Health is more than weight loss or maintaining and it is more important to me.

My personal thought is that if you are getting veggies in the lean cuisines... than It is probably OK to stick with that... for now. (You have to start with what works) Until you get used to eating less, etc. Then maybe you could try swapping out one of your dessert snacks for a piece of fruit? You know... slowly ease yourself into SMALL changes.

Country
When I started this journey I was eating lean cuisines and adding fruits, veggies and dairy. I did that for a couple of months. Really helped me see what a portion size should be. Then I went to adding more and more regular foods. Now I have a lean cuisine now and then when the family is having something i don't like or really want. I have to say fit day is the reason it worked for me. I use fit day to make sure I am getting all the required amounts of the four basic food groups in and staying within the calories, fats, and carbs I allow myself. Sometimes it isn't easy. I have to see what I can fit in to stay within those amounts. Usually, since I have been doing this about 10 months. I find it very easy to do.

There is nothing unhealthy ( ok they are not whole foods and those are best for you ) about lean cuisines. Even the beef and mac one gives you a meat group and a bread and cereal group. All four food groups are needed for a healthy diet unless of course you are a veggie and then you find ways to get the diary and meat somewhere else. You must make sure you add your fruits and veggies and diary. You can eat them three times a day and still be under the sodium amounts allowed for a healthy person. Heart association says 2400 lung association says 3300. My doc said, since I have no health problems to make me need a lower sodium diet I can have up to 3300 and it isn't going to hurt me a bit.

Thanks for all the responses!!
A typical day for me would be
1 or 2 smart ones or lean cuisines
1 or 2 Turkey wraps, whole wheat tortillas on pre-packaged ultra thin turkey breast
1 or 2 Side Salads w/ olive oil, and a teaspoon of fat free dressing
Protein Shake that containes 1/4 c of milk, and half a banana.
I eat breakfast at night and that usually contains 2 kashi waffles, or 2 eggs on a mini- whole wheat bagel
1 100c. of some sort of pre-packaged junk food

I dont know how bad that really is.

I searched online for ingredients and this was the first one that came up. There are just so many unnecessary ingredients in these things. Hydrogenated oil? Come on. Others had 3 or more sweeteners and most have 3 or more thickeners too.

http://www.leancuisine.com/Products/...roductID=10562

Ingredients:

Blanched whole wheat spaghetti (water, whole wheat durum flour), skim milk, cooked chicken tenderloins (chicken tenderloins, water, isolated soy protein, modified rice starch, canola oil, seasoning (flavors, yeast extract, salt, dehydrated garlic, citric acid), salt, sugar, sodium phosphates), snap peas, peanut butter (peanuts, sugar, salt, hydrogenated vegetable oil (rapeseed, cottonseed and soybean oils), molasses, mono- and diglycerides), carrots, water chestnuts, water, soybean oil, soy sauce (water, wheat, soybeans, salt), modified cornstarch, sugar, salt, apple cider vinegar, chicken flavor (maltodextrin, salt, natural flavor, chicken fat, chicken broth, yeast extract, sesame oil, canola lecithin), lime juice concentrate, garlic concentrate (garlic, salt, natural flavors, sesame oil, canola oil, citric acid), caramel color, spices, lactic acid, calcium lactate.

I was making my last post when you were making this one, apparently, so I just wanted you to know it wasn't a response to this.

It looks like you are eating some fresh foods, vegetables and a tiny bit of fruit. I know how hard it is when we are busy and it's obvious you are putting thought and care into your plan!

I agree with Nelie that planning ahead and cooking a lot at once helps.

CC18, I think you should challenge yourself and try to find a way of maintaining your weight without relying on frozen/fast food. Part of the struggle is learning how to prepare food for yourself, how to feed yourself and others properly. It really is more than just losing the weight, it's maintaining a healthy lifestyle. We all got overweight in the first place by not knowing how to take care of ourselves

I am a big believer in doing what works for YOU, as long as it is a well-considered plan and not some fad.

I do not do well with cooking, and I do not do well with portions. So, I had to find a way to curb my portion sizes and not have to be cooking all the time. Yes, I suppose it is nobler as well as healthier to eat only organic, free-range, home cooked meals, but I found I was not going to be able to lose weight if I had to do that--I would just never get there. I owe my weight loss to Lean Cuisines.

Now, that said, I also supplement them with fresh salads and extra vegetables, and I also take a multivitamin and mineral supplement, with extra calcium. I don't eat them for breakfast--my breakfasts are shakes made with brown eggs from free-range, organically fed hens, 1% milk with no hormones or additives, and fresh fruits; or, granola or shredded wheat with 1% milk and fresh fruit. I also like whole grain bread with organic Smucker's all natural peanut butter with no hydrogenated oils.

I know exactly what is in Lean Cuisines, and they have no preservatives and no trans fats. That's good enough for me. I'm not interested in micromanaging ingredients--most of those ingredients are present in only trace amounts by the time you package one dinner.

CountryGirl18, the test is whether you are losing and whether you feel OK (not too tired, not hungry all the time). If you stop losing, then you'll need to reevaluate, perhaps.

Good luck!

Jay

That is often simply not true.

Not all varieties are preservative-free (the company says you need to look for the "no preservatives" flag on specially marked entrées for which ones are).

Anything that has partially hydrogenated oil by definition does contain trans fat.

Due to ridiculous laws, a company can have up to 0.5 grams of trans fats and call it "trans fat free". So, if one is eating multiple products of this sort, it can add up.

This link explains it a bit more.

http://lowfatcooking.about.com/od/fa...drogenated.htm

Some people genuinely don't care about eating/avoiding partially hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, multiple sweeteners and thickening agents, so these are good choices for them.

Whatever works, right?

It's wonderful that some people can lose weight eating all healthy, unprocessed, good-for-you stuff. I was not one of those people. I lost 110 pounds eating Lean Cuisines, 100 calorie packs, fat-free fudgsicles, and all the other stuff many people on 3FC would turn up their noses at. I don't fault them for turning up their noses, certainly, but I had to do what I knew I would stick to. I'm simply NOT going to cook a lot, and I'm simply NOT going to eat only whole foods. I know this about myself, and I've fought it many times. When I decided to stop fighting it and do what would work for me without feeling guilty about it, I lost 110 pounds. Am I healthier now than I never was? You bet I am. For me it was all about ridding myself of the problem of obesity FIRST, and I did that. Along the way, I did begin to incorporate healthier foods into my diet, and I'm sure you will too. The key for me (and it sounds like it will be the key for you too) is allowing yourself to do it the way that works for YOU without feeling guilty because someone else is doing it "cleaner." Concentrate on portion control first (and that's what Lean Cuisines and 100 calorie packs are about, after all) -- the rest can fall into place later.

I know my view is unpopular, but it's one that I always feel it's necessary to share, because if I hadn't let go of the notion that I had to do it perfectly, I'd still weigh 275 pounds and I wouldn't have been able to get pregnant!

Lisa, I'm standing up and cheering for your post. You created a food (and exercise) plan that YOU can comfortably live with for the rest of your life. And that's what it's all about for each of us -- finding our own, unique Plan For Life. You have, I have, all of our other fabulous maintainers have, and all the plans look different. But ... one of the great things about 3FC is that, even though we're all losing weight differently, we can all come together and share ideas and support.

Lisa, you're fit, you're healthy, you're gorgeous ... and now you're going to have a baby! We're all so proud of you!