I have lost over 50 pounds over the course of 14 months, and the last 8 of those have been with eating Lean Cuisine for two meals a day four days a week. Mind you, I make a healthy breakfast and I eat two snack/meals with that averaging 1300-1500 calories a day, but I have not seen any ill effects from "Too much sodium" or found that they are all "carbs and sodium" or "nutritionally devoid."
I present the one I ate today: Chicken with Basil Cream Sauce:
Calories: 250
Total Fat: 9g
Sodium: 420mg
Carbs: 31g / 2g fiber
Protein: 19g
Now, it does have a long and heavily processed ingredient list and it is not whole foods or nearly as good as fresh fruit or veggies. but it is also only about 1/3 of the daily recommended max intake for diabetics/high blood pressure of 1,500 mg, so if I don't have HBP or diabetes, I am definitely OK with two of these a day. Now YMMV and if you are sodium sensitive these may not be your first choice, but one a day is still not going to kill your efforts by a long shot. Nor is it entirely carbs, the meat is processed but it still has protein. It has some fat. I don't think that claim of "all carbs" is holding up too well. The "spa cuisine" line contains lots more veggies too.
I work in an office which I cannot leave to get food, I am forced to bring something or starve for 10 hour days. I also work 10 hour days and don't want to spend all of my precious few hours off work or on the weekends prepping for the week. Thus microwaveable food that tastes decent is a big part of what I eat during the work week and I succeeded in my loss with Lean Cuisine. I don't want to live on them forever, but I also don't think they are incredibly evil. I hope the OP found this informative and useful.
I don't plan on eating them for my three meals, just as a lunch for work and when I'm at home, since its really easy and yummy!
I would ideally like a more clean eating habit, but Im too afraid my body wont like the change and I quite, as it usually happens this way, so im trying to break off my bad eating habits slowly.
I do not think that Lean Cuisines are the healthiest however, I usually eat one a day and it helps me to avoid eating high quantities of really bad food. It is not the best but it is better than what I was eating before. I like them because they are delicious and low-calorie.
Absolutely! I've lost 29 pounds in 11 weeks and I eat some type of lean cuisine/smart one as one of my meals almost every day. Calorie deficit= weight loss.
I don't eat more than one thing like this a day because of the sodium content though. Not necessarily for the bloating-although too much will-but because too much sodium causes other health problems I want to avoid.
I've been entering my foods into livestrong lately just to keep an eye on my percentages, and I am always just a smidge over the recommendation for my calories, but I do eat other processed foods...and it is in everything.
As long as it doesn't cause you to crash or binge I would eat a lean cuisine when I wanted one. I do see how others see them as unhealthy, just because it is a processed food with chemicals and preservatives...they don't exactly grow out of the ground-but that is true of a large percentage of other foods we eat too. They aren't ultimate evil or anything. I just consider them another convenience food to incorporate into my plan and try to be mindful to make other healthy, more natural choices alongside it
I take them for work lunches a couple of times a week and I supplement with a big salad. I've been eating some sort of frozen meal like this for lunch for YEARS, whether I was dieting or not. They're convenient and definitely better than running out to McDonald's.
I am cringing at this particular description. *shudder* When I first started my journey to losing weight I ate a few of those chicken LC dinners. Blah!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Suzanne 3FC
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
Healthy Choice does their line of Cafe Steamers - those are pretty tasty. I used to bring them to work everyday. I would also get those Ziplock Zip 'n' Steam bags and add veggies. Easy Peasy. After a while, I was able to start bringin in my own homemade meals.
It is all about developing BETTER habits. You don't have to be BEST and PERFECT at everything. Frozen meals are convenient and get you heading in the right direction.
Of course you can lose on LC, if you are counting calories, they are listed right on the package. I eat them maybe twice a week, I always keep some kind of frozen meal,(LC or Healthy Choice) in my freezer when I am short on groceries I have something low calorie on hand.
Absolutely! I've lost 29 pounds in 11 weeks and I eat some type of lean cuisine/smart one as one of my meals almost every day. Calorie deficit= weight loss.
I don't want to hijack this thread, but holy cow!!!! dragonlady, I believe I saw in another thread that you're doing WW, with just a little exercise due to a health issue. Can I ask how low your daily calorie goal is? Please, please tell us your secret! a magic wand? a secret spell? I am seriously impressed and would love to hear a hint or two.
As far as LC goes, I also use them from time to time. I try to keep low sodium, so they're not the best choice for me. What I try to do is make some extra of whatever I cook at home and then freeze lunch sized portions in tupperware. That way, I have the convenience of frozen food, but have some control over what's in there.
I just bought about 15 of them today at Wal Mart No, they are not the healthiest and no, they are not really fantastic in the long-term, but for many people the battle of weight loss begins with the concept of portion control and while I've maintained for 7 years and I KNOW that I should make chicken/broccoli/rice for lunch, I don't have a kitchen right now so it's the easiest solution and better than going out for lunch So I think they have their place. If you can afford it, Amy's Kitchen and especially Kashi make excellent alternative frozen meals *although you will want to be sure to double-check the content of Amy's meals as they are organic but not necessarily lower calorie or lower fat. All excellent though!
My thoughts on Lean Cuisine is that they will work temporarily. I used them years ago and did lose weight, but the problem is you cannot eat like that and maintain. Unfortunately I gained it all back.97 Day Challenger
Maintenance is like losing with a few more calories thrown in. I have to disagree that eating Lean Cuisine was the cause of your gaining the weight back. No one gains the weight back because of the plan they followed to lose it. A person gains the weight back because they quit trying...they give up. They start going off plan and don't get back to it. They tend to deny/forget or don't realize that if plan A doesn't work for them anymore, than that it is okay to try plan B. It has nothing to do with the weight loss and everything to do with perseverance.
I don't want to hijack this thread, but holy cow!!!! dragonlady, I believe I saw in another thread that you're doing WW, with just a little exercise due to a health issue. Can I ask how low your daily calorie goal is? Please, please tell us your secret! a magic wand? a secret spell? I am seriously impressed and would love to hear a hint or two.
I'm not dragonlady, but I too am doing WW, and I've lost 15 pounds in six weeks. There's no secret or magic wand. I'm learning how to eat to sustain my body's need, and I've learned just how delusional I was about what I was consuming (both quality and quantity) before WW. I'm exercising for 30 minutes at a time between 4 - 6 days a week, and I'm FINALLY taking proper care of myself.
I feel like an idiot now because it really is THAT simple!
Lean Cuisine meals aren't healthy or filling, but they have exact calories and the calories are quite low, so yes you would lose weight, but you shouldn't be eating Lean Cuisine meals all the time.
Thanks Lisa and congrats on your accomplishment! I'm doing pretty well with calorie counting (and of course working out), but I wonder if I'd do better with WW. Something to consider I guess . . .
