Low carb - on a budget...

When I was MO, before WLS... I could eatvsane thing over and over and over... 

Initially post op RNY I had a very limited "diet" that included lots of dairy (whey proteins, yogurt, cheeses, - whey protein bars...) some meat and vegies. 

The very limited diet caused to me to develop allergies to dairy proteins.... I had to adjust and learn to eat much more complex diet to avoid possibly developing allergies to other foods. It is called food rotation. 

3 years later - I am slowly healing my gut and I can tolerate more foods that before. And I noticed that had my gut gets better - I get more aversion to hearing the same things more than once a day. Some things - I can eat once a week... And then I just rather be hungry than eat it again.  I don't force it.  I am finally listening to my body telling me to not overdue.   Watch for symptoms developing food allergies - sensitivity- you don't want to deal what I had and still have to deal it. 

Good luck. 

H.a.l.a. B., I just wanted to say that I always find you motivational and inspirational.  Your posts lately have kept me on track.  Thank you so much. :)

Thank you Donna. That's sweet.  Staying on OH not only motivates me to stay on track...but I also learn from others and try to remain humble.  

My husband says I'm a "cheap date" now. I am quite happy with a low carb/high protein appetizer and of course, there are no alcoholic beverages for this gal either. No beverages at all during a meal, in fact. But we are eating higher quality and lots less. However, when I first started gaining weight, I was very poor and ate lots of pasta, rice, beans, potatoes and government cheese because it was CHEAP! In fact, if you look at what kinds of foods are approved by WIC or folks on SNAP, it's all very high carb and very low protein. It's no wonder low income folks are so often obese.

My weekly menu for this week:

Dinner:
6 chicken thighs ($7)
1 bag frozen green beans (12 ounces, I portioned into 2 oz) ($2)
Garlic, salt pepper. (already had)

Lunch:
32 ounces of plain full fat greek yogurt (portioned into 6 servings) ($6)
Mio for the yogurt ($2.50)

Breakfast:
1 dozen eggs ($2)
8 ounces cheese ($2)

Total without meds and coffee: 21.50

I spent another $10 on coffee and almond milk.  $31.50 isn't bad.  If I needed protein powder for the month it would have been another 20-30 (I still had some).

So, not bad at all?  I eat about 700 calories a day.  Still cheaper than pre-op.  I eat the same thing every day which most people may not, but it's definitely possible.  I also buy things on sale each week and design my menus around the sale circular at Meijer and Mariano's.  I find eating the same has paid off with returning weight loss.  

The 7th day I eat one food from the freezer I stockpiled.  I freeze any extra portions I might not eat mid-week and have a small stockpile of ready to eat meals.  It saves money and time :)

I get annoyed when I hear people complain about how expensive it is to eat a certain way. This includes my own husband - when he does the grocery shopping he tends to buy the less lean meat because it's cheaper and then I tend to not eat the food because it doesn't work for me when I try it. When I shop I always buy the leanest cut there is. I don't even look at the price of any food I buy at this point (okay - to an extent obviously) because I feel like I eat so little it really evens out. I know that what I was eating previously was way more and was costing more because of that or at least equal.

And I agree with what Grim said - that doesn't even take in account what I spent on going out to eat or at fast food places.

I also eat low carb, it works for me and it works well. DH and I eat the same food - he just adds pasta, rice, or potatoes for him. And we make a huge amount so we both have leftovers to pack for work. I think we do a decent job of cooking within a good price range. We also only go out to restaurants probably once a month.