I have fallen on my face with Weight Watchers numerous times. I have been feeling very upset that I can't stick with it and its rules.

Yesterday my Doc told me he isn't a believer in WW at all. Wants me to take a break and "reset" my metabolism and start counting calories. I went online to see how many I need to lose 1-2 lbs./week and it was 1826/day. I need to lose 100+ lbs. but I thought this can't be too bad so I have a couple of questions...

I live alone. Most of my family is gone, I'm turning 51 y/o in about a week so not young, not old. I look younger and my health is VERY good according to my Dr. I have no diabetes or hypertension issues but it's in my genetics so I'm in a frenzy trying to get rid of the weight only to fall off again.

My questions are this...
1-What do you think of using boxed foods or foods delivered to your door for weight reduction?

2- Fast foods...Is this an ok thing you sometimes do?

3-Do you cook and freeze or basically just make a meal, count it and move on?

4-How many calories are you eating a day and how are you spacing it out if I may ask???

1. I think using food delivery is a good start. I personally prefer to eat whole foods to reduce the amount of processed foods I'm eating, but for someone starting out I think it's ok.

2. If you work it into your calorie counts for the day I think it's ok once in a while. However working a Big Mac or Whopper into 1800 calories a day will leave little room for anything else. I recommend that you pay close attention to the calories and opt for chicken sandwiches or salads (but be careful because even those can have as many calories as a burger!).

3. I usually plan my meals ahead, count the calories in advance, then cook it and save any leftovers for the next day. I'm not big on freezing food but that's only because I live alone and it's not a big deal for me to stop at the store a couple times a week on my way home to grab food for just a couple days. I think preparing meals in advance and freezing them is a great idea, as long as you take them out early enough to defrost for dinner time.

4. I'm trying to maintain at this point and most days I stay between 1300-1600 calories. I have plenty of days where I eat whatever and don't even count everything, but I exercise a lot to counteract those days and most of the time I'm staying within my range so I think it all evens out.
I try to eat small meals/snacks every 2-3 hours.

Good luck to you!!

I have just started calorie counting in the past 3 days so I hope you dont mind me answering. In these three days I've lost 2 lbs!

1. I don't believe in the food delivery services because by the time you've hit maintanence you still don't know how to count calories because it's all been done for you.

2. It's all about the choices. If ou eat fast food you could go get a double quarter pounder with cheese, large fries, and a pepsi and probably eat around 1000 calories. Or you could go to subway and get a 6 inch turkey flatbread loaded with veggies and a water or diet pepsi and probably hit 400 calories.

3. I do both. Chicken I cook and refrigerate for the week. I freeze leftover meals.

4. I'm currently sticking between 1300 and 1600 calories a day.

To add to Tiffany's answers, I try to stay between 1300 - 1500 cal each day. I have found that I like splitting up the calories with less in the morning and save the most for dinner.
My calorie count usually looks like this:
Breakfast - 200 cal
Snack - 100 cal
Lunch - 400 cal
Snack - 200 cal
Dinner - 500 cal
Snack/Dessert - 100 cal

It seems to work for me this way and I like knowing I always have another meal/snack coming!

1-What do you think of using boxed foods or foods delivered to your door for weight reduction?
The first time I lost weight, I started out using Slimfast, so that covered 2 of my meals per day. As someone who didn't know how to cook at the time, it was nice to have less to think about, and once I saw some weight loss I was motivated to add more "real" food back in while counting calories.

2- Fast foods...Is this an ok thing you sometimes do?
I absolutely do! I probably get some sort of fast food twice a week, because I'm quite busy and I like the convenience. Most places make it really easy to count calories (Wendy's, Taco Bell, and Moe's Southwest Grill all have nice calorie calculators online).

3-Do you cook and freeze or basically just make a meal, count it and move on?
I often make extra at dinner time for my lunch the next day (I log my calories on sparkpeople, and I can just copy from dinner one day to lunch the next). And I keep some things in the freezer for quick meals (mostly soups). But otherwise I make something once and move on.

4-How many calories are you eating a day and how are you spacing it out if I may ask???
I'm eating 1300-1500 a day. How I space them out varies a lot. Here's an estimate for today, for an example:
breakfast - 6:30am - 200 calories
morning snack - 10am - 250 calories
lunch - 1pm - 300 calories
dinner - 6pm - 400 calories
evening snack - 100 calories
Extras (cream in coffee, gum, mint, crystal light packet) - 100 calories
Total: 1350 calories

I'm answering before reading responses:

1. I think boxed foods are fine at first. I used Lean Cuisines a lot because they were already calculated for me. It also helped adjust my eyeball to what a 200 calorie meal looked like.

2. Fast foods- I eat them if I have to. Sometimes we have to. When I'm faced with fast food, I look up their calorie counts online before I go and choose something within my range.

3. Cooking- I cook a meal for my family and try to keep them simple. For instance, a hunk of meat, a side of a carb and side of a veggie. I weigh the meat and I measure the carbs and veggies to equal 200 calories.

4. I am eating 1200 calories a day. I eat six mini meals of 200 calories each at approximate 6:30, 9:30, 12:30, 3:00, 6:00, and the last one is whenever.

ETA: I use my last mini meal of the day as a catch all. I eat more or less than 200 calories depending on how my calories have already been. For instance, today I nibbled on about 80 calories worth of a stupid little box of treats I have in my desk. So my evening snack will be around 120 calories tonight.

1. I think this could be a good starting point for some people, but at some point you'll need to phase into counting calories for yourself. Otherwise, maintenance will be incredibly difficult. Also, if you are on a budget, food delivery systems are typically very pricey.

2. Personally, fast foods make me feel gross after I eat them. If you don't have this problem, then by all means eat fast food occasionally. Just make sure you work it into your calorie count. Many fast food restaurants have calorie counts posted online. I wouldn't make it a daily habit, since most fast foods aren't particularly healthy. Although, there are healthier options out there.

3. I make dinner every night. I have done freeze ahead meals before, but honestly I don't have the freezer space right now. Since it's just DH and I, we take leftovers for lunch the next day.

4. I aim for 1500 calories. I break it down like this:

Breakfast 300-400
Snack 100-150
Lunch 300-400
Snack 100-150
Dinner 400-700 (depending on the rest of the day)

I hope that helps! You can do this!

1. This seems fine, although likely more expensive, as long as it's something you can commit to. If you hate cooking, don't torture yourself. I like those Michelina "Harmony" Frozen meals, especially if I want a 'treat' like fettucine alfredo. Though I find it gives me too many pimples

2. Once in a while, sure! Because cal counting is flexible, you can allot your calories wherever you want them. I'm sure it might surprise you how many calories are in fast food, though. For the same quantity, I'd rather go out for steak or dessert. Something small like a McDonalds Snack Wrap works well, though, or one of their salads (which comes with dressing on the side.) Sandwhich places like Subways are workable.

3. Cooking and freezing really helps me. I'm a way from home for all three meals sometimes. Or I just throw stuff together that I have : Omelettes made with eggwhites and leftovers (chicken, ham, groundbeef, beans...) ; harboiled eggs and ham, a throw together salad, box soup and a can of tuna... I usually freeze ham, servings of macaroni and cheese....

4. I eat when hungry. Usually thats three meals of approx. 400 calories, a snack or two of 100 calories. Everyone is different about this. I don't like ating every two or three hours because I'm always too focused on what I'm going to eat next. I prefer bigger meals.

1-What do you think of using boxed foods or foods delivered to your door for weight reduction?
I think they are very expensive, if that is a concern. I also think it's better overall to not eat that much processed food. However, if you aren't used to correct portion sizes, I think boxed foods do help with learning those. However, I think a lot of the time, you are still adding some extra fresh foods to these plans, so you'll still need to get into the habit of weighing and measuring. So I think the big difference comes down to tracking. There are lots of great online resources to track calories - Fitday and Sparkpeople are two of the more popular ones. It's pretty easy to track, as long as you are honest with yourself about what and how much you are eating.

2- Fast foods...Is this an ok thing you sometimes do?
Personally, I haven't been, although I know there are some healthier choices available at some fast food places. But for me, it goes back to wanting to limit processed foods and also, the expense. However, if this is important to you and your lifestyle, I think you can do this, as long as you plan ahead, know what you are going to eat and allocate it into your daily calorie allowance, and track it all, including extras like mayo or sauces.

3-Do you cook and freeze or basically just make a meal, count it and move on?
some of both. I try to prep and prepare ahead as much as possible (I make a big salad for lunch every day and try to have all my veggies washed and cut up, cook enough chicken for several days, etc.). I also make soups and other dishes on the weekends (crockpots are great for this!) and freeze individual portions. And some stuff, I just make as a single meal.

4-How many calories are you eating a day and how are you spacing it out if I may ask???
I'm doing about 1200-1600, averaging about 1450 a day. I don't specifically allocate amounts to each meal, but since I eat the same stuff most days, at least for breakfast and lunch, it breaks down to something like

breakfast 200
lunch 600-650
supper 300-450
snacks 100-300 depending on how hungry I am and how much else I've eaten

1-What do you think of using boxed foods or foods delivered to your door for weight reduction?

If you think this will help you get going then I say for it. Like some of the others have said you really should learn what portions are/look like. Go out and get a digital food scale and an extra set of measuring cups. Look online for portion sizes or read the back of the package and play with your food for a few days and make your own convenience bags. For example buy crackers and portion them out by weighing them and putting into snack bags do the same with nuts etc. As for meals you can always cook 3-4 chicken breast, a pound of ground meat, and some beef on a weekend day, throw in the fridge and heat up when needed. Serve with veggies and brown rice.

2- Fast foods...Is this an ok thing you sometimes do?
I lost 38lbs by eating Mcdonalds once per week I would eat Grilled Chicken or Cheeseburger with fry's every time. I just ate a lighter breakfast or dinner to still stick to my calorie count. If you want to eat fast food check out their sites jote down a couple of meals you can eat and keep a little notebook in your purse. If you want a burger order a kids meal

3-Do you cook and freeze or basically just make a meal, count it and move on?
I have family so I cook everyday!

4-How many calories are you eating a day and how are you spacing it out if I may ask???

I currently eat about 1800 per day.. Honestly I just eat whatever I feel like eating. I dont eat a snack between breakfast and lunch but here is an estimate as I do find I stick to certain calorie limits..
Breakfast- about 200-400 calories
Lunch- 4-600 calories
Snack- 150 calories
These last two depend on how many I have already eaten for the day.
Dinner- 700-900
Snack 150 calories

Thank you all so much for your honest replies.
The boxed idea I was thinking about trying was Diet to Go where the whole day is either 1200 or 1600 cals/day which has all 3 meals and snacks.

Now the online calc says I should eat 1826 cals/day so I suppose I can add 200 cals per day or just stick with all of it as is.

My weight is high. No joke, it's 286 lbs. and it has to come off so you understand the problem here. I need to get it down while I'm healthy enough to exercise and thinking if the day is already mapped out with a Program and I stick to it I should be ok.

I figured maybe a month of that Plan and see how I do. It costs less than me buying all kinds of food and cooking a whole bunch. I'm a 12 hr. worker so it would be VERY convenient too.

I think that sounds like an excellent plan! You may find down the road that you can start cooking your own foods or substitute here and there. You might not. You'll figure out what works for you. In the mean time, you're jumping in and getting started. It's great that you have a plan.

My first question (you don't have to answer here, just think about) would be what about Weight Watcher's was hard to follow?

In many ways, WW's point system and calorie counting are much alike, so for many people the advantages and disadvantages to both can be similar.

It's important to know what tripped you up in WW, so it doesn't trip you up in calorie counting.

For example, for me high carb foods trip me up. Refined carbs in particular, but even overeating good carbs (like grains and fruit) can trigger hunger and cravings. I'm much less hungry, and better able to control my appetite when I eat whole foods, and limit (not eliminate) the starchy vegetables, whole grains, and fruit.

I have to be careful with high-carb foods.

I'm not saying that's true of you, but if it is - the same pitfall will be in calorie counting as was in Weight Watcher's.


If you found the math a chore, there are online calorie counters that will do the calorie math for you.

If it was the cost or having to go to meetings, that's easy enough - no meetings or money required to calorie count.


I'm sure you'll make it work.

Like a lot of calrie counters, my days cals varies.I don't go under 1200 & try not to go over 1600. No matter if we're counting calories or not, we have to learn how to live in the real world.
Personally,cutting back also cuts my appetite....don't know why.

I have around 300 cal for brfast,400 lunch & 500 for dinner. That leaves a couple hundred for a nice snack & 1400 total cals.

Maybe keeping a notebok would help? Your thoughts, cal counts etc.I think the pre packaged meals are fine if they work for you.Good luck