Hello!

I am new-ish to the forum but not new to trying to lose weight! But here's my problem: a couple weeks ago when I decided to get back on track with diet and exercise, I went out to the store and bought a bunch of fresh produce and things to make. Being that I hate cooking and am horrible at it, most of my fruits, veggies and other things went bad before I ate them (and by most, I mean ALL).

So here is my question: has anyone had success losing weight by eating mostly frozen/canned already prepared foods and counting calories? I know it isn't ideal overall, but living alone and being busy/lazy and all that stuff is making it really hard for me to eat anything else. I mostly eat Amy's Organic meals and soups (I don't eat meat) but also really like some of the Healthy Choice newer frozen meals.

I would really like to continue eating these things and using my kitchen as little as possible! Any success stories would be appreciated!


XOXO,
Esme

I think it's healthiest to cook. But "health" isn't black or white. Imperfectly moving forward is way better than waiting 5 years (or never) until you feel up to doing it perfectly. Do whatever your heart is telling you is best for you right now! Life is all about balance

I'm almost 15 years out of my twenties, but I've done a lot of low- and no- cook dieting, especially in graduate school so might have a few ideas that can help.

I like to cook, and I do more cooking now than I ever have, but because of health issues (especially in the winter) I also need to have a lot of low- and no-cook, quick meals handy.

First and foremost, do the best you can and don't worry about the rest.

For fresh stuff - if you don't want to cook, you've got to shop more often. If that's not possible two things can help (one cheap, one not). The cheap - those "green bags" to keep fruit and veggies longer. I found them 10 bags for a dollar at the Dollar Tree. Even better a vacuum sealer device, like Seal-a-Meal (Glad or Ziploc also has a little vaccuum sealer, but I've never tried those - I've also heard of people using a straw to suck out the extra air from a ziploc bag before closing).

Grocery salad bars are great (for eating the same day), but I buy lettuce separately (it's cheaper and lasts longer). I use the grocery salad bar for the toppings, especially the proteins and the veggies I don't want to cut myself (with the lettuce you save more if you buy a head, but even the ready to serve bags of lettuce are cheaper than salad bar lettuce).


Frozen dinners (even "health food" versions) tend to be low on veggies (at least the highest fiber ones) and high on sodium. If you can avoid eating them more than once a day - great, but regardless drink extra water, and add more veggies (buy frozen mixed veggies, so you only have to microwave).

Buy fruits ready to eat. Those that can be rinsed and eaten with little or no prep (apples rather than a pineapple). For apples and pears, one of those apple corer/slicers comes in handy.

Be more aware of variety. Frozen dinners - even the healthiest are created based on mass appeal. Variety of ingredients isn't always a big priority.

A crock pot, if you're willing to use it at least once a month, it's worth it. If not, don't sweat it. If you do use it - decide when the easiest, most convenient time and day would be. In grad school - that was Friday night, right before bed. On Saturday morning, I'd remove the crock liner to cool while I dressed - and then put the cooled crock in the fridge. If you have a convenient time to use it, it's like cooking without really cooking (it takes me less time to prepare a crockpot meal than to microwave a frozen dinner, and there are tons of awesome recipes online - and most are designed not to be too time sensitive - so overcooking is less of a problem)

Consider all-natural peanut and other nut butters (I love cashew), and no-sugar fruit spreads. Whole grain breads and tortillas. You may get sick of PB&J sandwhiches eventually, but if you use different nut butters, different fruit spreads (or cut fresh fruit like bananas) and different breads - it won't seem like the same old' sandwich every day. And while cashew or almond butter seem expensive (at least two to three times as much as Skippy or Jif) - they'll be cheaper and more interesting than frozen dinners (If you consider making a sandwhich or salad to be cooking, that will limit you a bit more).

Browse the grocery and health food stores. Look for ready-to-eat foods you might not have considered. A couple weeks ago, I found a no-sugar added "tiramisu" flavored marscapone cheese. Two tablespoons of it made an awesome dip for fresh fruit.




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You can most definitely lose weight while eating prepackaged/frozen meals. However, if I might make a little suggestion? I'm really lazy with making myself fresh food, so I sometimes eat frozen meals. I try to buy ones with the lowest sodium and I try to buy organic as often as possible. Yes, it's more expensive, but I'd rather use my money on better quality food for my body than on a new handbag or a new pair of shoes. Here are some healthy ways to boost your health while still eating convenient foods: I cut up celery and separate it into single portions by cutting it up and pre-measuring it so that I can grab it whenever I want. I also have frozen grapes in the freezer that are prewashed and I'll put those in a cup to eat as a desert (one cup is only 60 calories). I also try to eat each meal with a handful of cherry tomatoes. I'll sometimes buy prewashed salad mix and throw in some alfalfa sprouts and ready made (fresh) salsa instead of dressing. I then throw some baked chicken (you can buy this ready if you don't want to make it) and that gives me a very filling, very fast and very healthy meal. I also like to buy oatmeal that can be a nice snack or breakfast. It's only 150 calories and is organic and yummy! It's probably fine to have frozen meals, but it's also a good idea to have some fresh, raw foods in there to create a bit of balance. Your body will run better if you give it higher quality fuel. I hope my advice wasn't boring or common knowledge!

you probably can, but it'd be no fun xD I was on frozen meals for a couple of weeks while our kitchen was renovated- I honestly felt really malnurished by the end of it. Cooking doesnt have to be complicated- an easy dinner idea could be steamed vegetables (frozen, put into steam lock bag, in microwave for 2 mins or so, done), grilled steak (depending on thickness and how you like it, grill for around 4 mins each side on 180 degrees C, I like to add some pepper to mine before I cook it), and some brown rice (25 mins in microwave with lots of water) or your own wedges (cut potato into wedges, toss in a jug with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper, herbs you like, bake on 180 degrees for around 20 mins i guess, until you can stick a fork in them without too much resistance).

Easy!

Oh! I forgot to tell you about yams! I like to get the skinniest smallest ones possible and I pop them in the oven and just bake them at 150 until they are soft (check with a fork). There's nothing to do but to wash it and put it into the oven. They're very healthy, filling and make the entire house smell amazing!

If it works for you, then go for it! You don't have to cook to lose weight. The best plan is one that you can stick with. I used to do Lean Cuisines but got bored w/ them, now I just make very simple meals out of frozen/canned products (tacos w/ morningstar farms soy crumbles, spaghetti w/ canned sauce, etc), I don't buy fresh veggies or fruit or anything. And it's worked fine for me. I don't have the patience to do more than open a bag or box and put the contents in a pan - cutting or chopping, forget it, lol.

Can I ask, which Healthy Choice meals do you like? I'm curious since you said you don't eat meat (I don't either at home, just every now and then out at a restaurant) and it's always so hard to find ones without meat. I'd love any suggestions.

i rarely cook and feel i have been fairly successful at weight loss without eating frozen meals all the time. for me, they dont have enough food for a meal, and little too much sodium to eat them everyday. for veggies, i like the frozen steamer veggies from green giant (taste great microwaved). i eat a lot of canned green beans, tomatoes, and corn. a sweet potato in the microwave for 6 mins is to die for. fat free cottage cheese with some canned pineapple chunks (in water, not syrup) is a great snack or dessert. and baby carrots and celery require no cooking, so if they spoil in your fridge youll know its because youre choosing not to eat them, not cooking. and dont forget eggs. i cook scrambled/poached eggs in the microwave all the time and they taste fine. only takes 2 minutes and you dont have to wash a pan.

i guess to answer your question, i dont know if you can lose weight eating lots of frozen meals, but i do know you can lose weight while minimally cooking. i hope this helps. feel free to pm me if you want more ideas

I think this is the money quote, here... I don't think you can eat healthfully at *all* by simply microwaving premade meals, mostly because they taste so bad there's practically no way to avoid going for less-disgusting bread, cake, etc... but you can definitely eat well without cooking as long as you're willing to slice a few things and prepare food. It's called salad and it's probably the most cliche diet food ever, but it works.

When I was preparing food for myself and unwilling to cook, I basically would buy all sorts of salad greens I like (for me, that's lettuce, cucumber, carrots, red onions), fruit (apples, mandarin oranges, pears), and *grocery-store premade* grilled chicken, tofu, or tuna salad. Then I'd assemble a different salad every night on the principle of a couple bland-ish veggies, a fruit, and a "protein" -- healthy and absolutely delicious. I stocked a couple of bottles of vinaigrette and have never eaten better.

Yes, the veggies will spoil... but not for lack of cooking, just for lack of eating. I used that as motivation, not as an excuse to go to premade meals. You absolutely don't need to spend more than 10 minutes on food prep, but you need to make yourself buy fresh food because, caloric intake aside, it's simply much healthier.

In regards to reheating meals, you can usually get much better results putting things in the oven than the microwave. Just as easy, just not as instant.

I lost weight at first eating those meals (specifically the Amy's Organic), but then I got sick of them.

I agree with those who have mentioned purchasing fruit and veg that you can eat without cooking. And also purchasing in small quantities, with a plan as to when you will be eating them. For instance, tonight, for dinner, I had a non-fat greek yoghurt, a cup of baby carrots with hummus, an apple (sliced) and one serving of sweet potato chips. The only thing that I had to do was slick the apple - and I bought the fruit and veg just a few days ago, and it's already gone....

Also try buying frozen veggies that you can just heat up in the microwave or the oven, next to a piece of chicken.

The combo of the natural fiber in the fruit and veg and the reduced sodium from cutting the frozen meals will lead to additional weight losses - and the fresh stuff is more filling than frozen because it has full water and fiber content!

Yep, I lost 20 pounds eating frozen meals. I ate them twice a day with salads. Do you have a salad bar near you where you can just go in and make yourself a salad to go? Subway also has good salads. Just remember--watch ingredients like croutons, nuts, cheese, tortilla strips and most especially dressings. Otherwise, I would suggest going to the market frequently and getting small bits at a time.

It's definitely possible. As a college student with no meal plan or knowledge of cooking I eat frozen meals for dinner probably 4 nights a week, the other nights I have soups, salads or bake chicken. I just make sure to drink a lot of water to counterbalance the high sodium levels.

Frozen dinners
Frozen veggies that you can nuke at your leisure or mix to make frozen dinners bigger

Canned/box soups

Prewash some lettuce and seal it ina container in the fridge - it lasts quite a while!

I'm not a fan of the frozen meals because of the sodium, but I have found that you can get frozen non-meals.

I would buy a lot of frozen veggies and ziplock microwave steamer bags and make little mixed veggie combo packs and eat that over brown rice. You can cook almost anything in those things, and veggies and rice just fills me up and was an awesome power lunch.