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I am trying to lose weight and have cut back on all snacking but still need to sort out my dinner. I am not really able to cook at all. I see these Weight Watchers frozen meals at Sainsburys and looking at the box, I'd say the nutrition looks good. But I know a lot of foods labeled as 'healthy' actually aren't.

These are the foods I am talking about.

http://www.weightwatchersfoods.co.uk/products/evening-meal/chilled-prepared-meals.html

Thanks.

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Do you have a meal delivery service available to you? Where I am there's a service called better meals, mainly intended for seniors, that makes healthy complete meals for you at an affordable price, and will take dietary considerations into account. They're also quite tasty. You might have to ask your grandparents/aunts/uncles to be able to find it. – Robin Ashe Jul 4 '12 at 20:36
Depends on what you mean by "healthy". Calorically, they're fine. They're still just processed foods, but portion- and fat-content controlled. – Dave Newton Jul 5 '12 at 16:17
Nutrition questions are off topic per new FAQ. – Informaficker Sep 21 '12 at 15:08
Are you following an exercise or training program as well? If you are, it would be good to update your question and add that information in and ask what effect Weight Watchers brand food will have on your physical performance. In the meantime, this question will remained closed and off-topic. – Matt Chan♦ Sep 21 '12 at 16:57

closed as off topic by VPeric, Matt Chan♦ Sep 21 '12 at 16:56

Questions on Physical Fitness Stack Exchange are expected to relate to physical fitness within the scope defined in the FAQ. Consider editing the question or leaving comments for improvement if you believe the question can be reworded to fit within the scope. Read more about closed questions here.

1 Answer

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Weightwatchers foods aren't too bad, and they are one of the better alternatives as far as preprepared foods. Mostly the problem comes in with high sodium and sugars to make it palatable and extend shelf life.

When you say you aren't able to cook, you mean you don't know how, or don't have the facilities for it? If it's the former, I would recommend just getting a recipe book, and finding some dishes that you would like to try. Figure out how to cook them, because fresh food is always going to be better than prepackaged.

One of the tricks that I use is that I will spend an hour or two on the weekend cutting up veggies, grilling chicken, etc. That way during the week if I need a quick dinner I can take a pita, dump in chopped up chicken, chopped up veggies, and some tzatziki that I get from the store, and I have a tasty quick dinner.

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Oh right thanks. So 0.40g of Sodium is considered a lot? What are the effects of Sodium on my diet? Well I don't know how to cook at all really. I have bare minimum stuff for cooking. And oven, grill that is broken and a microwave – neilH Jul 4 '12 at 16:07
Not a lot, but it's already close to 20% of your daily allowance in one serving. You don't have to grill chicken, you can bake/broil it in the oven. As far as high sodium, it can have a lot of different effects. I'd suggest getting a book on basic nutrition from the library and reading through it, you'll be in a much better position to understand what it is you are looking at on labels, etc. – JohnP Jul 4 '12 at 16:14
You can balance out a high sodium intake by drinking more water, so that isn't a huge problem. – Robin Ashe Jul 4 '12 at 20:36
2  
mmm....@RobinAshe no, it's not that simple. Potassium can help counter high sodium, but just to simply say to drink more water is a minor mitigating factor at best, and a poor recommendation. Taking more of one thing to counter another thing is a patch, not addressing the root problem. – JohnP Jul 4 '12 at 20:50

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