Dieting on a budget??
I have been on the South Beach Diet for some time now and believe it works for me... My issue is now with all the economic issues going on, I do not have alot of money for diet foods. (Why does dieting cost so much). I tend to fall of the wagon when I am short on money and have to settle with eating what I can afford, then I feel like crying because the will to do great is there but the money is not. I know it is kinda tabu to talk about money but I think it is an issue many if us may have. So I am asking for advise from all of you. I would like to know of any non expensive diet food ideas, or if any of you have any low or better yet non carb recipe's that are not expensive to make I would greatly apriciate it. Thank You!
Don't eat? Lol, just kidding. I know what you mean, I'm in the same boat with a household of six. I think I actually eat more than anyone in this house being on a diet. Plus I don't like the idea that most of my food bill is going to me. Everything is so expensive right now, even when you budget. I wish I had a miracle answer for you but I don't. Buy weekly specials that fit into your plan, use coupons, buy your veggies and fruit at a wholesale store. Those are the only suggestions I can give you. I am a "wholesale junkie", I can live in Costcos' or Sams. It's to the point where my husband doesn't even want me in there alone.ha Some people like to buy shoes, I like to buy food. :) Also, maybe when you go shopping to buy food for the week know that you can NOT step foot in the store again for the rest of the week....or even two weeks. That right there always seems to help my bill.
All I can say is if SB is working for you....figure it out to where you can afford it! Finding what works for you sometimes is hard to do. Just think of it as an investment. If you don't buy your food so you can do SB, where would you be then? Bigger, unhealthier, more doctor bills, more perscriptions, got my point? So it's most definitely worth it to stay on plan without budging an eye on what it's going to cost you. In the long run your actually SAVING money and your health!
I'd be picking peppers out of the garden all season and doing peppers and eggs for a lot of meals.
That's just one suggestion!
When I was eating the "old" way, with terrible habits I spent over $200 a week (just me alone) when I added up fast food, coffee/donut shop, excessive and expensive sweets, sodas, beer, liquor, the sheer amount of food consumed and other junk food. NOW, all I have is my weekly grocery bill...I'm saving a lot! Frankly, we got fat doing something (EATING a LOT) and it cost a lot! Now that we ONLY see our grocery bill, all of a sudden we spend too much.
Be Well
One of my favorite meals is what I made tonight. I did the organic chicken thing, in the turbo cooker (a tabletop convection oven) sprinkled with 'Spike' seasoning. I had cooked one cup of quinoa (a high protein grain with balanced omegas) and when it was done I dumped it into a glass bowl, then lightly steamed frozen green beans in the same pot. I stirred some coconut oil into the green beans and sprinkled them with sea salt. Of quinoa I will have about 1/4 cup. If you're going carbless, I suppose that's not allowed. You could get by with the chicken and green beans with coconut oil.
I will often cook fish in the turbo cooker and serve it with fresh spinach as a salad. You can get huge bags of spinach for not much money. Frozen fish in large bags is a good value, and you can cook it as you need it.
I believe it's always cost effective to buy larger packages and divide them up.
I really think that, by choosing health during tough economic times, we can avoid costly illness later.
One of my favorite resources is allrecipes.com I'm sure if you searched for low and no-carb recipes on that site you'd find some.
That's a bunch of info from the Mom. All the best to you!
Ruth aka Mom Shap
I cringe somewhere deep down when I read about the Buy Local Organic stuff...c'mon...some of us do not live where that is remotely possible. And, like you do not have the money.
The whole subject of Food has gotten..snotty...that is how i feel sometimes!
However, there is a good case for people with little money to be even more careful. Somebody said (maybe you?) she does not keep anything that is grab and go in the house. That is one way to save money in the food budget! The easy to eat stuff, unless it is veggies & fresh fruit - IS pretty darned expensive and truthfully, not usually satisfying food.
Not that you buy this type of thing: One bag of potato chips, for example, is what...$3. Inside is the equivalent of one potato, believe that or not. You can buy a 10# bag for that same amount of money. You could thin slice and bake and create a healthier version of potato chips for way less crappy fat and far more satiety!
I tell my DD's to save family foo dmoney this way:
watch the ads at the stores...
create a menu from those foods in the ads,
make up a list
stick to tht list only
do not run to the store every few days! THAT is where families can run into trouble.
Being low on food cash has"doomed" you to spend more time cooking, no way around that! Which for many low income folks - let's face it, they may not have proper cookware, cold storage, etc. i very much feel you on this, cannot tell you how many years my food budget suffered. i know things have not changed for families! You HAVE to pay rent, utilities, gas to get to work. the food budget always suffers!
"The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not." ~Mark Twain
I don't think it is important whether food is organic or not, it's about the choices we make with what we have. Produce that is frozen or fresh or canned (without added salt) is healthy. We who are obese have made every excuse in the book about our fat, and most of us are looking for a way out, ie: Food is too high to eat healthy, or I live too far from the grocery store, or my kids won't eat this or that, so I have to eat what they eat, or nobody will support me, and on and on. I guarantee that if we were poor and we ate what we could afford and ate it in moderation, we would NOT be fat! Obesity has more to do with QUANTITY rather than QUALITY. If you sit down and eat 4000 calories a day and is basically sedentary...you will gain weight. If you eat 2000 calories a day and sedentary you will actually lose weight because the body burns about 2000 calories a day in a resting state. And keep in mind most poor people are not fat, there are more people in this country in the middle class and obesity is high across the board, so what is their excuse.
Like I said, it is about the choices we make, the habits we change and the new habits we develop. There is a question that arise in me, why would I begin a diet or Lifestyle change that I could not afford, having many options? In our society (and most others) protein in the form of meat/fish/poultry has always been the most expensive food items to buy, so if I am making a Lifestyle change to get healthy and lose weight, and have limited financial resources, chances are that I will factor that into my decisions on what new habits to develop...probably habits that will not use excessive meat choices or find protein choices that are not as expensive while focusing on quality. But for sure I won't set myself up for failure, looking for excuses (and support) to cut and run from my diet/Lifestyle Change just at the time I should stick with it.
Planning is huge for me. I meal plan and make lists. I shop to that list only. I often cook a dinner that can carry over for a lunch as well. Or I'll roast a chicken... and then take the carcass boil off all the remaining meat and make a soup out of it for another meal. I've gotten pretty thrifty.
