SHAPE UP
Key to losing weight lies in grocer's freezer

By Charles Stuart Platkin

Taster's choices How do these frozen entrées taste? I expected to be underwhelmed. But these products are amazing. For about 200 to 350 calories, you get a great entrée that really does satisfy your cravings. A few favorites Smart Ones Fajita Chicken Supreme (9.25 oz): 260 calories, 7 grams fat, 33 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 18 grams protein, 650 milligrams sodium. Healthy Choice Beef Merlot (10 oz): 240 calories, 8 grams fat, 25 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams fiber, 16 grams protein, 600 milligrams sodium. Lean Cuisine's Chicken Chow Mein (9 oz): 230 calories, 3.5 grams fat, 35 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 14 grams protein, 670 milligrams sodium. Life Choice Chicken Parmesan (12.35 oz): 330 calories, 13 grams fat, 13 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 38 grams protein, 1,110 milligrams sodium (that's a lot).

The idea is to use entrées from Healthy Choice, Smart Ones and Lean Cuisine, and other frozen foods that are prepackaged and healthy.

Research says it works. In a recent study appearing in Obesity Research, Sandra M. Hannum of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that using prepackaged meals was an uncomplicated method to help study participants lose weight.

Because many people eat out for convenience, packaged entrées provide a reasonable alternative to restaurant eating (and the huge food portions that come with it). Preparation requires only a few minutes in a microwave oven, and the portions are controlled. This means you can scarf down the entire meal without guilt.

Not only that, but packaged meals teach you about serving sizes. "When you're familiar with the size of a 300-calorie entrée, the next time you go out to dinner, or when you're at home, you'll have a better idea of how much you should be eating," says Susan Bowerman, coordinator for the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition in Los Angeles, California.

You could lose 20 pounds. Think about it this way. If you were to get a cheeseburger, fries and a soda at a fast-food restaurant, that would add up to about 1,500 calories and take at least 15 minutes with travel, ordering and waiting time.

On the other hand, frozen dinners are ready to eat in four to eight minutes — and you don't have to leave your house. Plus, with the calories you'll save (on average, 300 calories or more per meal), if you simply substitute frozen dinners for five of your 21 weekly meals, you could cut out at least 1,500 calories a week. Translation: You could lose 20 pounds in one year!

How the diet works: The beauty of this diet is that it's not a diet. It's simple — in fact, study participants were amazed that there were "no special diet foods, medications or extreme measures required for success," says Hannum. Grabbing foods from the supermarket freezer aisle is something anyone can do right now to lose weight.

My recommendation is to go to the supermarket and make an initial one-time investment of about $55 to taste-test 20 meals. You're looking for ones that not only taste great but are also satisfying. If you need three entrées to feel satisfied, it's not the one for you.

Words of advice: You still have to check the label, even if it says "healthy," "lean" or "smart." But the word "healthy" is a clue — by federal law, any foods that say "healthy" (including the brand Healthy Choice) must contain less than three grams of fat per 100 grams, and no more than 30 percent of calories from fat. And sodium content can't exceed 600 milligrams.

Additionally, Smart Ones must conform to guidelines set forth by Weight Watchers — individual servings cannot be over 300 calories or nine grams of fat.

"Keep in mind that many of these frozen dinners skimp on the vegetables, so it's important to add a piece of fruit and a salad or frozen vegetables," says Bowerman. She also recommends picking frozen dinners that have about 20 grams of protein per package, to help keep you satisfied. Also, watch the sodium levels, since frozen meals tend to be high in salt.

Another tip: "It's a good idea to serve them on a plate. The volume of food fills it up, making your portion appear larger, and as a result you will be more satisfied," says Hannum.

Plenty to choose from: Healthy Choice offers 76 selections, including dinners and entrées. Smart Ones has about 55 entrées. Lean Cuisine offers 88 dinners and entrées. And the low-carb line Life Choice features 14 varieties with no more than 15 grams of carbs per entrée.

Charles Stuart Platkin is a syndicated health, nutrition, and fitness columnist. Write to info@thedietdetective.com.