Is there a limit on how often you should eat them? I eat one for lunch everyday and for dinner once or twice a week. Is there any downside to that? I know it sounds crazy but they are so cheap and easy to calculate (since they have the points listed on the box...LOL) and they aren't that bad tasting either?

I used them in the beginning, also Lean Cuisines are very good, I think better than
Smart Ones.

The only downside of that is Scott, all those meals
are loaded with Sodium, but I guess if your using them on kind of a limited amount its ok...

I enjoy cooking, so I like to play around and come up with new ideas so I don't get bored.

Aimee has 2 great cookbooks here on the site, that you can purchase, easy ingredients, and excellent styles of food.
My favorite is Chicken Cordonbleu (super simple to prepare)...

My problem is that I leave at 7:00am and don't get home most nights before 9:30pm. I usually work through my lunch break which is why they work so well for me during the day. As far as for dinner, as I said I am gone until late most nights and don't have a lot of time to cook. I do need to expand before it gets to boring.

I read somewhere in the WW material that you should limit how many tv dinners you eat each week (I'm looking through my book here and can't find what page it's on). I know it wasn't very many (due to the sodium), but I say if it helps you stay on track, then do what you need to do. I know Ben eats a lot of frozen dinners when he's working and he seems to do ok. Another suggestion would be to cook up some stuff on your day off and freeze it to make your own tv dinners for the week. This way you can control the sodium better and it's still convenient. Like I said though, do what works for you. If you find that the sodium is a problem, I'd try cutting back and maybe pack something different to see if it helps (sandwich, salad with the dressing on the side with grilled chicken on top, etc).

I work alot of different shifts, 7am-330, 12:30-9,2pm-10,9am-5, etc etc.My days off are never the same, some weeks i dont have 2 days off in a row. I am a single mom with 2 teenage girls.
But what i do is *P L A N*, i pack my lunch, pack my water, get up earlier to eat breakfast and if i have to i cook meals(dinner)in advance so when i do come home, i dont "raid" the refrig wondering what i am going to eat.

I have off today and tomorrow, today was a saur*****/mashed potatoes and hotdog day( in the crock pot) tomorrow is sloppy joes, corn on the cob and macaroni salad. I also think being a vegeterian makes it easy not to buy Smart Ones and Lean Cuisine, since most are with meat.

Scott:
I live on the Pacific Coast so my posts are usually later than everyone else's. And we 'seasoned' WW'er members who have been around for years have a tendency to have similar answers based upon knowledge of the program and our experience (some fruitful and some not).

My answer would be this:
There are at least three reasons not to eat too many pre-packged foods, one of which you figured out already. One others have mentioned and a third that I have mentioned in another post regarding another program than WW.

1. You are right Scott! Continued use may lead to boredem. Solution: try adding things brought from home: apple, celery and pnut butter sticks, soy chips etc.

2. Sodium! LOADED! can cause the scale to tip upwards when you are least expecting it especially when you have been sticking to the plan food wise. Solution: watch the rest of your day and be cautious not to intake more than 2.4 grams per day or 2400 mg. (1 gm = 1000mg). So go light on other meals during the day/night. Stick with whole wheat baked breads/goods, and fresh veggies and fruits rather than frozen or canned unless they are NO SALT ADDED variety. Drink lots of water to flush out the system, preferably with lemon or orange juice, or eat asparagus as they are some of natures natural diuretics.

3. Eating from boxed frozen or prepared foods all the time does not teach you what to do in the REAL world very fast or at all. I am sure you will be cooking more on the weekends and or going out. This will help you deal with the real world.But let us take for instance the prepared boxed and frozen foods for other organizations such as (Nutrisystem and Jenny Craig): once you are out on your own one seems not to know about ingredients and portion control as much as one who does the cooking recipe building and analyzing etc. There is a lack of control too. Solution: Be cognizant of all that is in your frozen food container and entree. Enjoy the convenience,add to it with other items brought from home. Try to make recipes for that lasagna, Chinese stir fry, teriyaki chicken. Then try making it in a crock pot or on Sunday nights and start eliminating the frozens, begin cooking for your week in advance or come home to a hot cooked meal ready for you to serve.

My vote is for the crock pot! I use it all of the time. Concerned about salt? Do not add salt to any recipe. Use new herbs and spices. IF you still think you need it then add it to your own serving when eating. Why? Because you will use less.

I hope this helps you Scott!

JeanCat

LOL is k r a u t ?? a bad word, that i been censored?? saur*****, oh hell maybe i spelled it wrong

LOL! Too funny Akus! You managed to make "k r a u t" a bad word. LOL!!!!!! I don't think I have the bad word sensor turned on (I believe everyone should be able to say whatever words they want within reason), but you must have made it turn itself on with that word. LOL!!!!!!!!!! Oh man, I'm LMAO over here. :)

Hmmm, does Smart Ones have a saur*****?? Meal Sorry i just had to say it, LOL.

I know one time i got Bleeped****for typing-- d a m n-- here

AIMEE and AKUS not sure what thread it was on, but I had read the censorhsip of aksu's '*****' and so I prefaced one of my posts with I hope it does not sensor my word of 'crap' and then I put the word 'junk' after that just in case. I just thought the site had an automatic censor.

But I had a good laugh back then too!

JeanCat (Wishing I could recall the thread)

OKAY so NOW we KNOW we can write CRAP but not K R A U T!
Go figure!

JeanCat

Hi Scott, I just thought I would chime in. My brother started WW at the beginning of the 2007 year and he is down 56 pounds. He eats the smart one meals most every day with a large salad for dinner. Now that it is summer, he said he may grill more outdoors. For my brother, eating the smart ones has not hurt him, it has really helped him & his wife get portion sizes under control.

That is what I like about it. It allows me to know exactly what my portion should be and how many points I have earned. I am just looking for the best way to do things considering my schedule.

YES Scott! I am sorry I should have mentioned the positive side to using prepackaged meals:
1. Staying OP when you are in a hurry or have little time to prepare foods you are STILL prepared!
2. Being able to fit it into your lifestyle and schedule.
3. Learning portion control
4. Learning to read labels and ingredients
5. Tastes that you may not otherwise create during cooking.
6. Satisfaction of a craving

Go for it if it works for you its working!


Respectfully,


JeanCat

PS In time,long term you will decide for some changes and learn how to cook and plan differently to use less of them. And you will still keep them in your fridge for insurance in case you don't have time!

I was at the site, calorie-count and they give you the nutrition label of alot of foods.

I ran across SmartOnes, and picked out 10 meals, 2 chicken,2 beef, 2 pasta.2 seafood. 2 pizza's. Five were very high in sodium and 5 were not.

The difference with me not buying already made dinners, is i can control how much sodium and sugars i take in, when i cook.

Scott,

Our leader told us that if sodium isn't an issue for you (retaining fluids easily) then go ahead and enjoy them because other than that they shouldn't hinder your loss. If anything, she says they really help you learn portion control as well as the convenience of counting points and not having to measure.

That is usually what I take to work too. I have to agree with you they are sooo easy to grab at 6am.

Hi Scott...I'm also a big fan of low calorie TV dinners. I buy 20 at a time and anything on sale, Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, Smart Ones, etc.
I leave for work at 5:30am. I'm lucky to get in a cup of coffee before I leave the house. I even "drink" my breakfast in the car on the way to work!
I have been sucessful using the frozen dinners. I usually cook dinner for the family, but I have probably eaten a tv dinner for almost lunch everyday since Feb. 15th 07. I have lost almost 32 pounds.
As everyone's said, whatever works for you.
Good Luck!

Scott, I've also been eating the Smart Ones or the Lean Crusine for lunch most days. I really shouldn't be eating them since I have High Blood pressure but I try to pick the lower sodium ones, (still not very low). They fill me up and help to keep me on track for lunch when I'm working...I work with food at work so I have lots of temptations....

Patty

p.s. Aimee told me you said to tell me, 'Hello'

Well Akus, once again we have something in common. I too have to watch the sugar an sodium and therefore RARELY eat a frozen meal.

I wanted to let SCOTT and all the SMART ONES know that WW is coming out this summer with LIGHTER Frozen SNACK FOODS to be eaten ANYTIME. They will be lower in points!
We just got the coupons at our WW meetings on Saturday!

Hope this will something you can enjoy and use.

JeanCat

Thanks Jeancat...I'll watch for them....

Patty

I just wanted to chime in and say thanks for all the thoughts/ideas on this topic- Like Scott I eat them a lot to- but now that I have read all this I am going to watch how many I eat weekly.

Thanks!

JeanCat,

Any other info on the new meals? I would like to know what to look for and when.