Cheap and Easy Diet Plan

[rockundergirl]

I want to drop 20lbs! The diets that i have followed in the past require insane amounts of cooking that i just don't have the time to do, and it seems like the pre-cooked food plans are expensive .. Any ideas of inexpensive and easy meal plans for weight loss?

 

[Starbrite]

I'm looking forward to hear some great ideas too!!

 

[KKB]

move more, eat less
Not trying to be condescending. I just know I gotta workout 6 days a week and REALLY watch what I eat to move those pounds!
Write down EVERYTHING you eat--and be sure you measured it!
Personally when I virtually eliminate carbs and just stick with fruits, veggies, lean protiens & low fat dairy is the only thing that really works these days! Honestly I DO NOT buy anything that I tend to crave/overindulge in, so that I am not tempted at home. I try to buy healthy snacks for the kids that they like but I don't care much for.
Another tip...do not eat too little, and do not go more than 3 or 4 hours w/o food. I find if I do either of these things I am ravenous and tend to over eat.
Typical day for me (at least ideally...)
Breakfast--2 hardboiled eggs / cottage cheese; OR
Slimfast drink OR ZONE bar OR Fiber 1 bar (for days I run late0
Snack--string cheese & fruit OR handful of nuts & dried fruit
Lunch--yogurt, fruit, veggies, lunchmeat
Snack--see above or Fiber 1 or ZONE bar
Dinner--meat, salad, veggies
Snack--Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich or some other frozen treat
Keep meals to around 300 cals & snacks to 200 cals for 1500 cals/day.
Walk at least 30 min 6 days/week. (not too leisurely)
Likely drop 5 lbs. the first week, 2 lbs/weed after--IF you stay on track.
GOOD LUCK!~

 

[englishteacha]

Have you checked out Sparkpeople.com? It's a great weight loss/healthy living community, and it's free! Sparkpeople lets you track what you eat, how much you exercise, set goals, join teams, blog, etc. I'm EnglishTeacha, there, too.

I don't like cooking much either, but when we eat out a lot I gain weight. Some of the frozen dinners like Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice are really quite good, and I've found that almost anything cooked at home will have fewer calories than its restaurant equivalent!

 

[MarcyIn Florida]

move more, eat less
Not trying to be condescending. I just know I gotta workout 6 days a week and REALLY watch what I eat to move those pounds!
Write down EVERYTHING you eat--and be sure you measured it!
Personally when I virtually eliminate carbs and just stick with fruits, veggies, lean protiens & low fat dairy is the only thing that really works these days! Honestly I DO NOT buy anything that I tend to crave/overindulge in, so that I am not tempted at home. I try to buy healthy snacks for the kids that they like but I don't care much for.
Another tip...do not eat too little, and do not go more than 3 or 4 hours w/o food. I find if I do either of these things I am ravenous and tend to over eat.
Typical day for me (at least ideally...)
Breakfast--2 hardboiled eggs / cottage cheese; OR
Slimfast drink OR ZONE bar OR Fiber 1 bar (for days I run late0
Snack--string cheese & fruit OR handful of nuts & dried fruit
Lunch--yogurt, fruit, veggies, lunchmeat
Snack--see above or Fiber 1 or ZONE bar
Dinner--meat, salad, veggies
Snack--Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich or some other frozen treat
Keep meals to around 300 cals & snacks to 200 cals for 1500 cals/day.
Walk at least 30 min 6 days/week. (not too leisurely)
Likely drop 5 lbs. the first week, 2 lbs/weed after--IF you stay on track.
GOOD LUCK!~

KKB said it all, so I'm quoting her to say it again.

The only thing I would add is that eliminating eating out (or brining it down to 1x a week) will virtually guarantee that you'll lose weight and get healthier. Plus, you can buy the freshest ingredients in the groery store and still spend less than you would eating out.

I'm not sure what insane amounts of cooking is, but what I do is grill up a lot of chicken on the weekends so I have it for the entire week to put on salads. I also keep my work fridge stocked with healthy foods so that I don't have an excuse -- I always have fat free yogurt, carrots, grapes, and blueberries (or other seasonal fruits) on hand for snacks, and I have an entire desk drawer at work filled with instant oatmeal, Fiber One cereal (to put in my yogurt), and Zone bars. I also make at least one dish in a slow cooker during the week and double the recipe so that we (family of 4) have two meals out of it.

I'm also a huge fan of Morningstar frozen meatless burgers and always keep them on hand if I'm craving a sandwich. If you also keep frozen vegetables on hand that you can steam in the microwave, you have a very filling meal for about 300 calories.

What do you *like* to eat? I keep on hand the things that I really enjoy and make me feel good which, surprisingly, was not what I was eating before. I happen to love breakfast foods, so I have many evenings when I have an egg beater omelet with salsa. I also make a lot of vegetable soups in the crock pot and find that a bowl of soup before a meal makes a huge difference. It takes me about a half hour to chop everything up, but I end up with 6 quarts of really good low sodium high fiber soup that you can't buy in a can.

 

[jeffsamber]

As I'm reading through this I'm thinking, "Thank you for the reality check!" Sometimes I start feeling overwhelmed by the amount I have to lose and it's really just as simple as "move more, eat less". I need to be reminded of that sometimes!

 

[Ms.Mouse]

I have a friend who got injured and because she was so overweight (100+ lbs), she went for dietary help... She drinks Special K drink for breakfast and lunch and has a "sensible" dinner.... Protein, Veggies, Fruits, and she has lost almost 70 lbs and looks great!!! I was thinking of doing this plan myself since most diet drinks are yucky and she claims the Special K ones are great!

Best wishes on your weight loss plans.

 

[ohMom]

healthy grocery shopping is expensive too! i watch the grocery ads for reasonable priced produce and meat. This is a great time of year for local farmer's markets too, at least here in Ohio. Do you have an Aldi store in your area? Their Fit and Active brand foods are often duplicates of name brand healthier foods

 

[Seahunt]

she claims the Special K ones are great!

I just wanted to agree with this

I bought mine in 4 packs at Publix and have tried both the chocolate and strawberry flavors. I usually like anything chocolate, but I actually like the strawberry flavor better in these. The very best thing about these to me though, is that they are so filling. They actually end my cravings, and that's a very,very hard thing to do sometimes.

I think I saw them on sale this week in the CVS circular (or maybe it was Walgreens?). I'll have to look again.