How do I get away from boxed food?

[benjaminsweet]

I saw something interesting today. It said that one reason you may not be losing stomach fat is because "most of the food you eat is boxed".

My freezer is chock full of boxed food. I don't cook. I microwave stuff and throw things in the oven.

Not everything in my freezer is terrible. Some of it is boxed frozen vegetables. But a lot of it is taquitos, pizza, lean cuisine, etc.

How do I move away from the boxed food (without getting into cooking)? Going with pre-made grocery store meals doesn't seem like it'd be a better option.

[IsaLifer]

Hi Benjaminsweet,

It can be hard to change from Boxed foods to Healthy Nutritional Foods.

Maybe Try Some of These Recipes to start ..

Everyone Deserves to be able to Eat Well Even if you do not Cook..

GOOD LUCK !! 

https://greatist.com/eat/no-cook-recipes

[Alazio]

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How do I move away from the boxed food (without getting into cooking)? Going with pre-made grocery store meals doesn't seem like it'd be a better option.

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Hmmm...here are some options I can think of...

1. Are you motivated by making "challenges" for yourself? If so, you could try this challenge for a few weeks: Shop only the perimeter of the grocery store...fresh produce, meats, dairy. No dry goods aisles, no frozen aisles. And see what you can do with it. There are lots of fresh foods you can enjoy without cooking. 

2. You could try a food delivery service. IF you want to wade into a little cooking, you could try one of the ones that sends you ingredients and instructions. If that's too much, you could try bistroMD, which sends boxed frozen meals without all of the salt/preservatives/etc...they are meals made fresh then flash frozen, I believe. I ordered from them for a while. I was impressed with the quality given that they were frozen food. Personally, I do like to cook and quickly tire of reheated food, so it wasn't a good fit for me.

Good luck to you!

[andelong]

I cook but I'm struggling to log what I cook into my food log on the app. I created a meal but can't figure out how to enter a portion, rather than the whole meal. For instance, I just made Quinoa with green beans & red pepper but I won't eat the whole thing at once. How do I enter a portion of an item I've cooked/created?

[ftzygote]

I eat massive amounts of fresh vegetables in salads.  Two a day.  All you need to do is buy stuff you like, chop it up, add spices to taste and some Walden Farms 0-0 Dressing or olive oil and apple cider vinegar, lots of lettuce and/or cabbage, and you have a meal.  Throw on some Hillshire Farms deli turkey slices and you have your protein.  Or you can go with tilapia loins or chicken breasts broiled in the oven.  They don't require much prep other than to thaw them.

[SherriRD]

I can help you. I"m a registered dietitian. leave me your email and I"m happy to give you some recommendations 

[SunsetRunner]

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@benjaminsweetwrote:

I saw something interesting today. It said that one reason you may not be losing stomach fat is because "most of the food you eat is boxed".

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Something along the lines of 60% of any fitness program is diet.  If you are serious about losing stomach fat, you need to be aware of what exactly you are putting in your body.  Cooking comes hand in hand with that. If you aren't cooking for yourself, you really have no idea what you are eating.

How do I move away from the boxed food (without getting into cooking)?

 I don't know how you can.  If convenience is the issue, set aside one afternoon a week and make large batches of easy foods (stews, chili, soups, etc) and freeze them into single portions.  You will still have the convenience of 'boxed food' through the week, but will be a lot healthier for it.

[SherriRD]

absolutely!! boxed foods are processed and full of chemicals. those chemicals are stored in our adipose tissue!!! Best thing to do is always pick fresh and also do a cleanse that purges those toxins out. my belly fat has melted off I’ve lost 25 lbs and my energy is through the roof!!! low meal prep and love the lifestyle incorporated with clean eating. best way to go!!!

[Kilt]

Here is an "outside the box" answer:

Community.

I find I usually eat best when not eating alone.  Family, friends, coworkers, church potlucks.  Meals become more...deliberate.  The word companion comes from the roots "with bread" right?

I suspect there are lots of us (myself included) who would like to see a renaissance in building community here in the states; meeting over good food is a great start.

[Happy_me]

Hi Ben, 

May be the problem is not the box in itself but... what is IN the box.  Busy busy working life here. I relate about the unability / lack of motivation to cook. I don't have much time to go to the market or supermarket for groceries. I decided to give a go at Lite n' Easy delivery program. It's been 3 weeks and it works quite well for me with my current lifestyle.  they propose 1200, 1400 and 1800 calories per day programs based on your height, weight and  daily physical activity. They deliver once a week at your doorstep in an esky and the food is nice (of course, not as nice as family home meals prepared by mum or granny, but quite nice, still). Well balanced, fresh, with variety and... fast to prepare! Salads, fresh rolls, meals for meat and seafood lovers (beef, chicken, lamb, pork, fish and seafood), a few vegetarian options. Ready to throw in the microwave or straight to the plate. Initially, I was skeptical about this option, coming from a culture where food is basically the culture. But I'm happy I tried.  I chose the lunch+dinner option 5 days a week (as I tend to eat out on week-ends). It comes at a price (about 110 dollars per week), but it enables me to have balanced meals while sparing me time going to the groceries and cooking = priceless! Some of my colleagues are now considering converting to it after seeing the food in my plate on a daily basis in the past weeks. I'm not saying: go for Lite n' easy. I'm saying: have a look at the numerous providers (Be fit food, youfoodz...) and give it a go. Cheers! 

[SunsetRunner]

I had the same problem when I moved away from ready-made food to making my own meals. So, I found a solution. Buy a cheap food scale and measure your ingredients. @andelong you can use the Fitbit Dashboard to create "meals" with the ingredients that you used to make your Quinoa with green beans. Then when you are ready to eat, just weight the portion that you put on your plate. That's it. Good luck.

[andelong]

I appreciate that but it doesn't work. When you enter a meal on the log it is all or nothing. There is no way to say that you only ate a portion that I can find.

[ftzygote]

Not true since the ingredients all have measurements and calorie counts, you can adjust each by the percentage you ate.  Not as easy as it should be, but still possible.

[SunsetRunner]

You are right. That stinks! The "meal" that I made was for one portion,
so I had to adjust the quantity if I ate 2 portions, so that does not help
you. I guess you can make a "new food", but you will be guessing at the
nutritional value of your portion. This is a good new feature that Fitbit
should add since it seems like more people are moving to home cooking.

[SunsetRunner]

You can also try a recipe nutrition calculator. Then enter that info in Fitbit. Here is a free one that I found. https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076

I agree with you, @ftzygote it can work, but it's a pain in the [you know what].

[andelong]

That's not the same thing. You can build the meal as a specific portion but once it's built it's all or nothing. Once you log it you can adjust the individual components, but that's not what we were talking about.

[Paul.B]

Don't buy it!! Make yourself a meal plan each week and only shop for that and you won't binge eat. Never skip breakfast, have a light lunch and a nice dinner. If your short for time, prep your veg etc when you have some time ready for when you haven't. Make a bit more on an evening and use it for lunch the next day. Processed carby foods are terrible and should only be eaten occasionally.

Good luck Ben 🙂

Paul

[Klehman1]

I'm having the same problem. I don't cook either. I love Walmart brand boxed mac and cheese. I also stress eat. I always eat a whole box everyday for dinner or lunch. I need help to break this addition. Any thoughts on this? Also any help/advice anyone can give me would be a major help. 

[Reeshe]

Don't buy it, out of sight out of mind. I would say get a crock pot. A crock pot is crazy simple! Just dump and done!  You have to do sit ups everyday too, not a ton, but at least 20 for your upper and 20 for your lower belly. Make sure that you exhale during the exertion while pushing your belly button inward toward your back.

[Dominique]

Doing sit-ups may strengthen your abdominal muscles, but it won’t reduce fat from your belly area (you cannot "spot-reduce" fat). It may contribute to overall fat loss via the calories burned while performing the exercise, but the impact will be minimal.

[apezzi]

I buy or grill a few boneless chicken breasts for the week. I then add them to purchased soups, salads, or grilled/roasted vegetables.With a little research, you should be able to find local markets that cater in healthy prepared foods. There are also good quality frozen entree options as well. I add healthy lean protein to make the meal go further.