Low carb - on a budget...

I follow a low carb diet... That works for me long term. To lose weight - maintain and limit cravings. 

It can be expensive. I hear all the time "I can't afford eating like that..." well...the same people often get take-outs...or get their nails done..or spend money other ways that I don't. 

Plus - eating low carb does not have to be expensive...or boring... 

I buy in bulk - then freeze some I don't use. I incorporate leftovers in new meal - I.e left over veggies from dinner? Just 1/2 cup? Great... Warm it on a skilet, toss with 2 eggs, top with 1tsp of salsa or cheese,.. Great breakfast for long term post op... For newly post op - divide in 2 - have breakfast for 2 days...

Or use that as "breakfast for dinner " dish...add that last slice of deli meat ..and you have veggie-ham- egg fritata...

Toss meat leftovers together with eggs, splash of milk and little bit of cheese...bake in an over - frittata for the whole family...

Here is an interesting article- low carb on a $25 per week..for one..

http://healthteamadvisor.com/25-one-week-low-carb-dollar-tre e-menu-for-one/

Share your secrets... 

It can definitely be pricey, but as you said is totally doable

I've started getting into couponing. Maybe its my transfer addiction from food haha. Most of the stuff I buy I buy for donating. This week was 56 bags of puppy chow food for the humane society local to me. Last week was 20 bottles of vitamins for a Haiti mission organization.

Theres not much in the way of food that is on the plan I prefer, since I'm not at veggies yet (frozen veggies or canned stuff can be found couponing for super cheap)

Anyway, Tyson has a bunch of frozen bags of chicken. They have some "grilled and ready" items that are unbattered, just plain chicken, with seasonings or maybe some sauces. The seasoned ones are fine as far as macros, but the sauce ones arent awful, either. They have a sweet terriyaki sauce thigh meat one that I tried the other day and was wonderful! I got a bunch of bags @ $3.00 rather than $8.99 due to a bogo sale and some coupons :P

Love your scramble as well. We do that very often at my house, even before my surgery.

Andddd who DOESNT love breakfast for dinner, right?!

EDIT: Heres a link to the tyson stuff. Theyre normally on sale every other week or so http://www.tyson.com/products/grilled-and-ready

Great post! I eat LC as well about 95% of the time and it works for me, too. I get my carbs mostly from berries and yogurt and veggies. I eat canned tuna, deli meat, and in-store roasted chicken when I'm too lazy/busy to cook that day but try to cook as much as possible. It amazes me how far leftovers can stretch compared to pre-wls days. Happily, I enjoy breakfast foods the most so will eat them anytime. I use salsa, mustard, hot sauce as my condiments.

Question: do you monitor sodium content? I don't but wonder if I should.  I still track my food and MFP shows the sodium content of the pre-prepared meat/fish foods & condiments I often eat and sometimes the numbers are so high. I do focus on protein first (at least 100g per day), net carbs (less than 80 preferred) and lots of fluids, but wonder if sodium matters as much.  That said, the effects of sugar scare me more than the effects of sodium. Thoughts or advice?

I don'****ch my sodium. I eat my meat and veg and drink my fluids.

i usually also do no****ch my fat, I just make sure I have 'enough' fat.

I watch my sodium - so I don't take too little.  That's right- long term post op I have to ADD salt to my diet. All the time....

We need salt - sodium -I use sea salt pink salt, etc.. I don't eat a lot, and even of one thing has too much salt - the other (veggies) often don't. Especially when you cook at home. 

low carbing - causes lost of glycogen "normal " people store in their muscles, liver and body. to store glycogen - we need water - 8gr of water for every gr of glycogen. That's why when someone is on "a normal diet" - they can lose up to 5-10 lbs in first week low carbing... once tha****er is "gone" - and there is nothing else to keep water in our body - we can easily get dehydrated, get muscles cramps, get a headache, and not only deal with lower BP - but also "orthostatic hypotension" - getting dizzy when you get up too fast from a sitting position... That happens to me too often.. And when that happens - that reminds me I need to add more salt...

if you really track everything in mFP  you woudl notice that even though individual things may have a relatively large qty of sodium - overall intake of sodium would be 1000-1500 the most.(unless everything you eat is take out RTE food)  Our daily need is close to 2000-2500 per day... one or 2 days, - 1500mg will do.. but if you do that over and over and over - you will be back here in panic: "OMG, I was taking a shower and I almost passed out " or I got up from a chair and got extremely dizzy lightheaded." and so on...

so yea - I watch s for sodium - but a very different reason...

Note: people with kidneys problem, water retention issues,  still on a heavy side - with high BP - it may be best to limit how much salt you take.. anyone else - just research...

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&e spv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=how%20much%20sodium%20do%20i%20need%20a%20d ay

You nailed it - I've had that shower/almost pass out AND getting up/Getting dizzy thing happen to me quite a bit during active weight loss phase, or more recently when I've cut back everything to eliminate some regain.  My current sodium target is 2500/per and most day's I'm close to that.  The dizziness is not as frequent and maybe that's the reason.  Pre-WLS I used to have hypertension controlled by meds and now my BP and pulse are on the low end of normal.  Very interesting.

good points.

I don't like to waste food. I will have leftovers all the time and find new ways to use them.

i buy my DH bread every week/ every other week- and I'm constantly chopping up his bread and throwing in the freezer for bread puddings for him- yes this is not on MY plan but he does not have restrictions so  I make him breakfast and dessert bread puddings.

I re purpose leftover meats into other meals and get creative when doing it.

Do you know how much it cost to keep a 300lb figure??!!! It's not more expensive to eat LC after surgery. Maybe for people pre-op or buying for the whole family but junk food definitely adds up too. I mean, I guess if they save money by buying junk they will have enough money left over for blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes meds!  Good post 

I eat very low carb and now that I'm starting to be able to eat meats, I buy big, thick steaks as well as other nice cuts from my butcher. I probably spend half now compared to what I use to spend on groceries. I only cook for my husband and myself and he eats what I eat and as the result, he's down 20 lbs. It's true that one steak will be a few meals for me, but what a treat they are after weeks of being on liquids, purees and the like. Good post, thank you!

I think what we may spend on quality evens out with quantity for a lot of people. That being said, both of my teen-aged sons have hollow legs it seems...and they are eating us out of house and home. Feeding two growing 16 year old boys is not cheap! 

I cook enough for leftovers, we sometimes even have enough for leftover and hubby/me lunches as well. 

I buy good quality stuff, buy in bulk, freeze a crap-ton of meat, and will also do brekky for dinner about once a month. I'll make almond flour pancakes and bacon or will do taquitos ( eggs and chorizo sans tortilla for me ).