Hello banders-

Heres the deal...I got banded back in January of 2011. I have lost 40lbs...without doing anything. I seriously did not even change the way I eat-still mcdonadls, hot dogs, brats, fried chicken, etc. Which.. was pretty awesome, to be honest. I loved being able to go to the places i wanted to... and still lose weight... however, that has all ended now! LOL

I am stuck. Which, I am taking full responsibility for, I guess that now I need to start actual watching what I eat. I am also starting an exercise program.

with that in mind, I can take care of the Snacks, fruits, etc...however, I need some suggestions for I guess dinner food?

Thing is, my husband is NOT A healthy eater. Infact, if it was up to him he would eat frozen pizza or hot dogs every night. Which, he's perfectly healthy. Little bastard is actually considered at the PERFECT weight, if not a LITTLE under for his height. And being in the air force he does PT every other day. with that being said, I obviously can no longer eat pizza and hot dogs. At the same time.. with the income we DON'T have i also can't buy us each two meals and make them. So I need some input on some frozen dinners that are good.

I've seen lean cuisine...but is it any good?

And what about the weight watchers meals?!

input on both would be awesome, or another recommendation!!!

thanks!

Hello banders-

Heres the deal...I got banded back in January of 2011. I have lost 40lbs...without doing anything. I seriously did not even change the way I eat-still mcdonadls, hot dogs, brats, fried chicken, etc. Which.. was pretty awesome, to be honest. I loved being able to go to the places i wanted to... and still lose weight... however, that has all ended now! LOL

I am stuck. Which, I am taking full responsibility for, I guess that now I need to start actual watching what I eat. I am also starting an exercise program.

with that in mind, I can take care of the Snacks, fruits, etc...however, I need some suggestions for I guess dinner food?

Thing is, my husband is NOT A healthy eater. Infact, if it was up to him he would eat frozen pizza or hot dogs every night. Which, he's perfectly healthy. Little bastard is actually considered at the PERFECT weight, if not a LITTLE under for his height. And being in the air force he does PT every other day. with that being said, I obviously can no longer eat pizza and hot dogs. At the same time.. with the income we DON'T have i also can't buy us each two meals and make them. So I need some input on some frozen dinners that are good.

I've seen lean cuisine...but is it any good?

And what about the weight watchers meals?!

input on both would be awesome, or another recommendation!!!

thanks!

Hello:

Glad you have thought about doing it the right way now. I have always been an eater of Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice meals for lunch when I was working. They are quite good, both of them. The sweet and sour chicken is especially good, the glazed chicken, actually any of their meals I have found to be quite edible and filling. On those rare occasions when I was extra hungry, I have eaten two of them. However, with our smaller stomachs, I don't think that will be a problem for you. Also I was wondering if you had had a fill since you were banded/ Maybe that's the problem, you are too loose and you should be tighter. Just a thought.

k

Hello:

Glad you have thought about doing it the right way now. I have always been an eater of Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice meals for lunch when I was working. They are quite good, both of them. The sweet and sour chicken is especially good, the glazed chicken, actually any of their meals I have found to be quite edible and filling. On those rare occasions when I was extra hungry, I have eaten two of them. However, with our smaller stomachs, I don't think that will be a problem for you. Also I was wondering if you had had a fill since you were banded/ Maybe that's the problem, you are too loose and you should be tighter. Just a thought.

k

yeah, I had a fill back a while ago, and it got WAY too tight, I was SUPER sick.. so I've been scared to get one since the dr took some Fluid out. He had it at 8cc, which is when it was too tight it's at like 5 now.

yeah, I had a fill back a while ago, and it got WAY too tight, I was SUPER sick.. so I've been scared to get one since the dr took some Fluid out. He had it at 8cc, which is when it was too tight it's at like 5 now.

OK, so maybe you should try 6 and work up to 6.5 maybe. I don't know how they increase in increments, but it would seem that you do need a little more restriction. just my 2cents worth.

I used to eat the lean cuisine, healthy choice and smart ones all the time. Once I was banded I decided to try and eat only real food rather than all that processed food. Although I still haven't gotten good at cooking and eat the same things all the time.

The frozen meals aren't really that good for you. The sodium especially in them is quite high

I am a paramedic.. and with being on the run alot i have to eat these types of frozen meals.. I love lean cuisine meals... Love the chicken spring rolls.

I'm not a big fan of the Lean Cuisine/Healthy Choice meals, especially "Smart Ones" (have yet to find one that wasn't revolting). Most of the time the food just comes out really rubbery, which of course increases the odds of getting stuck.

One group of frozen meals I have enjoyed though are various brands of frozen burritos in the organic section of my super-market. I don't recall the brand, but they were actually pretty good. So if your market has an organic section, you may want to experiment with their frozen foods.

Healthy Choice (the steamer bags) are a good option when in a pinch. I also dont mind the smart ones as they are perfect calorie and portion wise. I would second the organic frozen meals. You pay a little more but it isnt as processed and tends to be a better flavor and quality. Also, i dont do frozen meals that often because of the salt/sodium in them. When i eat processed food i tend to bloat horrible and retain Water like a sponge.

If you are looking for fast and easy there are a lot of crock pot recipes and casseroles that you can make in advance and eat off for weeks. If you arent a good cook it is super hard to mess up a crock pot or casserole recipe. You just dump everything in and let it cook. My husband wasnt on the healthy eating plan but since i started cooking healthy but yummy foods he has jumped on the band wagon. He is in the military too and since switching to less processed his energy has gone up.

Some easy recipes are Salsa chicken with canned nacho cheese Soup and black Beans, venison or turkey meat balls, mexican casserole, red beans and sausage, scrambled egg and sausage mufins. All these can be cooked on a weekend and put in containers and frozen. The best containers are the ones the mexican restraunts use (the round metal ones) becaue you can dole out portions and just pop them in the oven.

Good luck!

If you CAN eat more than about 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of something like meat which can be hard to chew and is never a slider...you need a fill. I try to only eat regular food but I do like some of the Smart Ones meals....I dont eat meat so the santa fe beans and rice is my fave...it doesnt seem diet at all.

PS: If your husband is living on junk food, even if he is at a normal weight and cholesterol...he's actually not doing himself any favor in the long term! Pizza and hot dogs is basically a diet asking for cancer...(I don't mean to offend,,,just sayin')

how about cooking?

if you're lazy like me... or on the run a lot... you can either cook in large batches and then freeze (not much different than frozen tv dinners), or you can do what I do and prep many types of ingredients at once.

FOR EXAMPLE!

I love and have always loved egg omelets. Back when I was healthy, I used to crack 10 eggs EVERYDAY, split them so i get 8 whites and 2 whole eggs, then dice some onions, green peppers, and bacon bits and make a good omelet.

Now this takes a little bit of time... so nowadays, i'll buy a couple onions, green (or various color) peppers and I'll dice them all at once. I'll mix them in a BIG tupperware and put it straight in the fridge. Instead of cracking eggs, I buy 'break-free' eggs in milk cartons that you can just pour out. I checked out the Nutritional Facts and they seem better then real eggs. For more texture, I'd get half a pound of ground turkey breast and then just go ahead and cook them up and store them in the fridge.

Each morning, I'll just scoop out a couple big spoonfuls of the diced veges and grilled them until the onions get well caramelized... then i'll scoop a little ground turkey and then pour the eggs. I'll make it big enough to get two portions... I'll eat half for Breakfast...save the other half and eat for lunch/dinner.

You just need to get creative with your food choices.

I normally take dinner leftovers for lunch. That said, when there are no leftovers, I have a Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice or Lean Pocket for lunch.

I eat Smart ones a lot. Although, I have never tried the others.

Amys frozen dinners are really good. They are organic and they dont have too much sodium in them. I only like the ravioli but its really good for a frozen dinner.

I will eat the low-cal frozen dinners in a pinch. It seems like the Weight Watchers is all Pasta and starchy foods and Healthy Choice is pretty good but most of my favorite meals just have too much food for me. I usually go for the Lean Cuisine meat and veggie options, they are not like my own home cooking but they are not awful either.

Not to be preachy but I agree with others that although there may not be any visible problems from your hubby's current diet, all that processed chemical laden food is likely causing problems you can't see just yet. If it were me, I would try and start making fresh meals and encouraging him to eat healthier which will benefit both of you in the long run. It is cheaper too!