So, i was on the phone with my friend and I was telling her about all the lean cuisine meals I have bought to take to work with me and eat, since they are better then the alternative.

well she tells me that they aren't really good for you, and Im not going to lose any weight if I eat them
I thought that I could, but now Im wondering if she may be right. I mean I know they are lower in calorie but I was wondering can I still lose weight and eat this as a lunch option?

has anyone really lost any weight eating these? my main problem in my tummy and my friend says if I want to lose my tummy eating these meals are no better then eating something bad for me.

any advice would be helpful. thanks!

I've lost, and ate one for lunch almost every day for a year. They probably aren't fantastic for you, though.

Four years ago I lost about 15lbs eating 3 of those meals a day. I didn't keep it off of course. The problem with them is they aren't really a lot of bang for your buck. They are usually loaded with carbs and sodium and they obviously aren't that big. If you eat a meal of whole foods that is the same calorie amount as one of those meals you'll get a lot more volume and more volume is definitely a good thing with helping you stay full.

I think they're good for a once a day meal if you need convinence and you enjoy them enough, but I don't think for most people it's possible to lose weight and keep it off if you use them as your main source of food.

It's all about the calorie balance - in that sense, if you are eating lean cuisines and those help you create a calorie deficit, you WILL lose weight barring a metabolic condition.

That said, they are very salty and nutritionally devoid, compared the same number of calories of a lean meat and steamed vegetable. The more processed the food, the less nutritious it tends to be, with only a spare few exceptions. If you like Lean Cuisines there is NO reason why they cannot be part of a healthy diet. But they are not the most nutritional bang for the buck, they tend to be expensive, and you may find they cause you to retain water due to the it saltiness.

In the end, Lean Cuisines or not, you need to be taking in less calories than you're burning to lose weight. Whether you eat them or not is entirely up to you, and they don't have some magical ingredient that prevents OR catalyses weight loss.

I hope that helps

I just can''t eat those b/c I am never satisfied from them so I keep eating...

I'm the same way, they don't keep me full. When I calculated the WW points in them I was shocked! My Marie Calendars fish meal had only 2 more points than the little lean cuisine and my Amy's Indian meals (which only use whole grains, veggies, tofu etc) were the same amount of point but much more filling. I didn't see that one coming

eta: this could have a lot to do with the fact that I hate beef. I've noticed the beef meals appear to have less points

I lost a lot of weight eating Lean Cuisine meals many years ago. I had them at least once a day. I stopped eating them when I started paying attention to the ingredients, especially after someone emailed me that worked in the factory and told me how the chicken was made. "extruded snot-like matter" sticks in my mind

That said, frozen meals have helped a lot of people stick to plan and you can lose weight. Personally I'd choose an all natural brand like Amy's Kitchen.

I have strong regrets about all of the "diet food" I used to eat and the long term impact it had on my overall health. But that's another thread

I think a big problem with those is that they are so high in sodium so they cause your tummy to bloat. I found low carb and high protein the best for losing my tummy weight

You don't have to be perfect. If a Lean Cuisine and a can of soup keep you from having fast food for lunch, fine. In a while, when you feel more confident, you can certainly start packing a different kind of lunch. It won't hurt you and plenty of people have lost weight on various packaged meal plans. I know a lot of people gain it back, but you can say that of anything. If you stop eating Lean Cuisines and go back to fast food and regain your weight, you can hardly blame the frozen meal.

I think a lot of people, and I include myself at the front of this line, get paralyzed by trying to be too perfect and trying to get everything just right. It seems totally overwhelming and impossible. If packaged foods help you out in the beginning, why not? Everyone is a diet expert these days and everyone has an opinion. Just pick a plan and run with it. Don't get sidetracked by the thinking that there is only one perfect way to lose weight.

Good luck!

This!

I completely agree! I used them at the beginning more regularly as I got used to calorie counting. I eventually mostly weeded them out in favour of other foods, but I still use them occasionally.

"Bad for you" is a phrase I generally reserve for things like a hot cup of strychnine or chili that's been left out at room temperature overnight. Food--even processed food--is unlikely to be downright awful for you as your friend claims, although it might not be the absolute best choice nutritionally speaking.

But nutrition is only part of why we eat. We also eat for taste, convenience, variety, habit, and half a dozen other considerations. A Lean Cuisine meal that isn't the best nutritional choice may give you the ideal combination of low calories, convenience, flavor, and variety that'll let you stay on your plan. If that's the case, then it's absolutely fine.

I eat them occasionally myself, but as others have mentioned, I don't find them very filling even though I like the convenience. To make up for that, I generally eat them with a sizeable vegetable side dish. They make a chicken artichoke panini that is remarkably tasty, but at 300-ish calories, it's pretty small; round it out with a salad or some sauteed snow peas and you'll push it to 350-400 calories or so, but you'll be plenty full and will have a better nutritional balance in your meal.

They are high in sodium too, but if you aren't salt-sensitive, that shouldn't affect your overall health (though it could cause bloating).

I keep a few LC's and WW Smart ones in the freezer in case of emergency. LIke oversleeping. They are great to grab in a hurry. However, I prefer to cook my own. I prefer to have separate ingredients, that I know what is in them.
Fresh is best. I got a compliment from the produce lady at Wal-Mart the other day for having so much fresh produce in my cart.

I spend a little time on Sunday afternoon, chopping, slicing, dicing, whatever, so I can be ready for the week. It makes things so much easier to take an hour or 2 and plan, rather than wing it. Plus, you can add in what I call ghost veggies, that are low cal, good for you, and take up space!

you can lose weight on them and they can help give you an idea of what a portion looks like, or atleast get you used to smaller portions. although I now think they put in more rice and pasta than protein and veggies to make the meals cheaper (for them), and it's mostly white rice and pasta.

"Ghost veggies!" I love that term and I will shamelessly steal it for daily conversation!

I agree that cooking and portioning your own food is preferable to LC stuff. It's also a good stretch cheaper. Still, variety is nice, so having the occasional pre-packaged frozen meal can keep you from becoming bored if you're not fond of cooking or just crave a particular flavor every once in a while.