Any hope for a non-domestic newbie??

poodlehorse

Why don't you chop up some crudites and keep them in the fridge for when you get home. I make a (free in SW not sure about WW) dip with Quark/fat free fromage frais and some tabasco/garlic/magic seasoning. I can munch on a huge plate of veggies and a vat of the dip and it is free on both plans. I am sure it would still not be too bad on WW as it is virtually fat free. I prefer it to the perennial diet fave of salsa, I get very bored of salsa. You could probably jsut add fromage frais to some salsa for a creamy dip (wish I had thought of that before). Also the other week on Cook yourself thin on Channel 4 they did slow roasted tomatoes. Cut cherry toms in half and season with salt (draws out the water) and pepper and whack in a 140C oven for an hour. They are so lush. I have some in the fridge and every time I go in I pop a couple in my mouth but the flavour is intense enough that I don't think you can eat FAR too many, although I had a good go yesterday.
Also that point free soup is a great idea as you can have as much of that as you like when you get home and it won't eat into your points.(excuse the pun).
I did WW for a very short time as I found I ran out of points and was still hungry and there wasn't enough variety in the free food. EAting vast quantities of pasta and potatoes is exactly what I do on SW and always lose weight. Although I sometimes don't the first week, I found that if I drank a lot more than normal that this helped and I lost more.

belfastgirl23

Oh dear you could be me, sort of. I find the more time I spend in the kitchen, the more I eat.

I'd suggest doing a big cookup once a week and freezing individual portions of food. That way you take out enough to do one meal each the night before you want to eat it and defrost over night in the fridge. it's sort of an OS way of having ready meals. you're less likely to overeat cos there isn't extra food sitting about. And it can be reheated quickly in the microwave. The other suggestion and one I'm not doing too well on myself at the mo is to use some of the two hours you'd normally be nibbling and take yourself out for a walk. It really does make a big difference.

So far for freezing, I've done lasagna (both spinach and regular roast veg), a slimmer version of mousakka, shepherd's pie, pizza bases and a few different soups. All are working well. Sorry should have said all veggie too. I usually use frozen veg to bulk up if I'm particularly hungry.

But the planning is the key for me!

Good luck!

newlywed

If I'm cooking extra of our evening meal to freeze or have for lunches, when I dish it up I divide it up into the pots for the freezer/lunch too. That way I don't feel we have any extra servings left (like I do if I leave it in the dish). As soon as it has cooled a bit, it goes in the fridge or freezer so it's away out of sight.

And as for biscuits - yeah pack at a time for me really - so now we don't buy them. Full stop. Not in the house = can't eat them. Instead I buy lots of fruit each week to snack on - apples, pears, bananas, nectarines - whatever we really fancy and like eating. So the only snack food we have is cereal or fruit.

GreenNinja

Nicki wrote: »

For the snack thing, why don't you earmark say 250 cals for a coming home snack to fill you up until your OH comes back, and stop you going off the rails. Then pick something self contained and filling - a small can of baked beans and one slice of toast, a small bowl of porridge, etc - that actually takes a little effort to make, so that you have to think twice before getting up for seconds?

I've never done WW but my most successful weight loss experience (2.5 stone which I've kept off for a year) was achieved by eating more calories than I had previously been doing on diets (1400 a day rather than 1000). Bizarrely I actually lost the weight quicker than on the 1000 a day diets, and because it gave me the flexibility to add in some more filling snacks when they were needed, I didn't very often go off the rails.

Have just read this and like the idea immensely, I too find 1000 or 1200 calories a day just not enough, I feel hungry all the time so end up cheating. Am going to now try for 1400 calories a day and see how I get on!
Cheers for this tip :T

SUESMITH_2

if you really cant cook why not do evening classes? they have ones for beginners? or buy a sam stone cookbook, they're designed for teenagers but have fab recipes in them - i cook out of my dh's all the time. lots of quick and easy things but stuff suitable for grander occasions too. i cant find the book we have but this one should be as good and it's quick cooking too. http://www.thebookpeople.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/productSearch_10001_10051_51146_100___10_SimpleSearch_2_1_2__basicSearch_

boo81

I sympathise with finding the time to meal plan, I find it easy on my own but my pinning my bf down and getting him to think ahead is a nightmare, so often I plan what to eat and just tell him!

I definately find freezing in portions stops you eaing too much when you dont need it so should be good for the diet too.

Though your OH wont eat fruit, how about smoothies? My bf doesnt eat fruit or veg really but I can bribe him if theres lots of pulses in something ;-)

julbags

GreenNinja wrote: »

Have just read this and like the idea immensely, I too find 1000 or 1200 calories a day just not enough, I feel hungry all the time so end up cheating. Am going to now try for 1400 calories a day and see how I get on!
Cheers for this tip :T

I don't think you should ever be as low as 1200 calories a day, its subsistence level and all sorts of bad things happen to your metabolism and your body composition (your body will eat all its lean tissue to survive), how anyone can survive on this is beyond me - I need to eat around 2000 cals a day minimum (more depending on exercise levels) or I'm useless and a nightmare to be around , I can go below this for a few days but then give in and go all medieval over chocolate and other rubbish - messy . More calories will actually help you lose weight as the other poster said though I think 1400 is still way too low unless your really small.

I find wholemeal pitta bread and houmous to be a good snack as it has a bit of fat and protein in it and is more filling than just fruit, sometimes fruit just won't cut it.

Nicki

[quote=julbags;6041311

I think 1400 is still way too low unless your really small.

quote]

It all depends on your activity levels and your weight at the time. Based on both of these, I calculated that I needed 1600 to maintain my weight at the same amount. Dropping by 200 would create a deficit which would lead to slow but steady weight loss.

Had I been more than 2.5 stone overweight, or at least moderately active, then I could have had potentially another 200 or so cals per day. However my lifestyle at the time only permitted a fairly sedentary existence.

On another thread someone posted a link to the weightlossresources website, which I used and which calculated for me, based on age, sex, weight and lifestyle my calorie requirements. I also kept a close eye on how quickly I was losing the weight and if it was coming off too fast, I upped the intake a bit.

On 2000 calories a day, I would actually put on weight, so I certainly wouldn't recommend this as an appropriate goal for those seeking to lose weight. Isn't that in fact the average amount a moderately active female needs to maintain a stable weight? Perhaps if you are a bloke, julbags, it will work for you. Otherwise, I guess you are a lot more fit and active than I am!

miffyhugmuffin

Are you drinking enough water? I think about 2 litres per day can help with slimming.

daisyroots_2

Hi Princess,
I love lentils, and they just happen to be cheap, versatile, easy to cook, vegetarian and packed full of fibre and protein.

Start with a simple lentil soup: use the orange ones. Fry an onion (chopped) in a little olive oil (about a dessertspoon, or enough to cover the bottom of the saucepan - don't use a frying pan as you're gonna make the whole soup with just the one pan) till it's transparent. While waiting, put the kettle on. Empty some lentils into the pan and stir around so they get coated in oil and mixed with the onion. I'm hopeless at quantities, am one of those handful of this and dash of that people, but a large cupful is about right. After a minute, no more, of stirring about and thinking of George Clooney, add the recently boiled water from the kettle (speeds things up you see) bring it to the boil, turn the heat right down, put the lid on with just a little gap for air to escape and leave for about half an hour. Adjust seasoning, add garlic, carrots, celery - anything you fancy - ta dah ! lentil soup. Try adding a bit of grated cheese on top just before serving.

If you let all the water boil away, you have lentils which are not soup, but a divine dish in their own right. very similar to dhal in Indian cookery.

All pulses are great for saving money and eating healthily: red kidney beans, cannelini beans, butter beans ( called lima beans in the US - same thing) aduki beans, puy lentils, flageolet beans, etc., etc.