Sticking to a healthy diet for weight loss can be difficult when your life is too busy to cook, or you just plain don't like cooking your own meals. As an alternative, you may be attracted to using frozen foods or frozen dinners, which allow you to heat up a quick and easy meal without much time or effort. Although the market is flooded with high-calorie, high-fat and sodium-loaded frozen foods, many healthy options are available that can help you lose weight without sacrificing convenience.
Step 1
Look at the back of your frozen food and evaluate the nutrition label for calories, fat, sodium levels and serving size. Calories should stay below 500 calories per frozen meal for those on a 2,000 calorie diet, or less for those whose daily calorie needs are less. Your meal should also have less than 5 to 7 g of saturated fat, and less than 600 mg of sodium per serving. Compare the serving size to the calories, as some meal companies may try to trick you into thinking the meal has less calories by doubling the serving size per box.
Step 2
Find meals that feature fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables contain most of the vitamins and minerals your body needs to function correctly as well as to lose weight. Look for a variety of vegetables to eat during the week instead of all your frozen meals featuring a limited variety, such as only mashed potatoes and corn. Many frozen food lines are also introducing vegetarian entrees, which can be a healthy option as long as you still look at the nutrition label for sodium content.
Step 3
Consider frozen foods prepared with whole grains. Whole grains, such as brown rice or whole wheat pasta, can be found in many of today's frozen meals. The Mayo Clinic recommends whole grains due to their higher content of fiber, selenium, potassium and magnesium than other more processed grains. The fiber especially can leave you feeling fuller between meals, which can assist in the weight loss process.
Step 4
Use frozen bags of vegetable to bulk up other meals. Frozen vegetables can be found in your grocer's freezer section and typically use a flash freezing process to keep the vegetables from going bad before you have the chance to use them. Flash freezing also still keeps most of the nutritional benefits of the vegetables in tact. By adding these frozen vegetables to your other meals, you bulk up the satiety of the meal, while still keeping the calories low.
Step 5
Consider a frozen food diet plan, such as Weight Watchers or Nutrisystem. If you are uncomfortable with choosing frozen meals that will allow you to lose weight, several diet companies have introduced lines of meals that take the guesswork out of weight loss. However, these meals are likely going to be more expensive.
Tips and Warnings
- Check out your local farmer's market for deals on fresh locally grown food that you can pack up and freeze at home for meals.
- Talk to your doctor before beginning any diet, including one using frozen foods, to ensure that your diet choices best fit your health needs.
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