Can ireally lose weight with hardly any money to spend healt

amother

Coffee

Mon, Aug 13 2018, 7:13 pm

I've been doing a lot of exercise and drink a lot of exercise. I've been trying to eat more healthily like snacking on carrots instead of pretzels or eating fish or chicken instead of bread/pasta. But when I go to work, I can spend very little money by taking pretzels for snack or a rye bread and pnut butter. The problem is I need more protein so if I buy a sardines can for work everyday and buy protein powder for supper to increase my protein and be healthier, then its so so so much more expensive.

I'm trying to get my family on board to eating healthier too but I'm trying to figure out if I can really do this on a very very strict food budget. For example, I can buy crackers and pasta for snacks or supper which is much cheaper than chicken/fish or carrots/cucumbers/beans...

I dont have a problem with being hungry and I have self control to try to cut out bad foods. I have discipline to exercise but I heard from a trainer that part of losing fat is nutrition, that it's 70%. I am not obese just need to lose a little body fat from all my kids so I am wondering if I'm stuck bec I need more protein and vegetables but its so much more expensive, like

to compare prices, I can get a huge container of pretzels for $5 at bjs which can last around two weeks of snacks but if I buy $5 worth of baby carrots with everyone snacking on it it will last at most two days. My kids like healthy snacking too. So too, a huge can of green beans may cost $6 and may only last two days. So too, fish and chicken may cost $15 for everyone for supper for a day but pasta is $1 per day for a box.

Can anyone relate to my struggle??

imasinger

Mon, Aug 13 2018, 7:25 pm

You might try thinking about it this way:

Treif meat and chicken is way, way cheaper than kosher. But to a kosher consumer, it's not an option.

If eating more veggies and protein is important to you, then the fact that junk food is cheaper is just not a factor in the equation.

Ask anyone who has felt so out of control with weight and health that they have paid for a diet program. Or a lap band. Or had kids who wouldn't touch a carrot.

They'll tell you that they would much rather have invested in the healthy food back before things got out of control.

It is what it is.

amother

Coffee

Mon, Aug 13 2018, 7:59 pm

imasinger wrote:

Actually, it seems u are talking about an opposite extreme. I hardly buy junk food, by junk food I mean sodas cakes, cookies...I rarely buy those. I do buy carrots...once a week...but I can't afford on a regular basis. There's a big difference between eating three rye bread sandwiches with peanut butter spread throughout the day, and eating muffins, danishes, etc..

Also, my family and I all do regular exercise and do like eating carrots etc..so there's no way they would feel so out of control with weight and health. For example, peant butter and eggs which ibuy are cheap proteins but its not enough for my weight loss.

Anyway, I appreciate ur response but it seems u believe in "if there's a will, there's a way". But, I dont agree with this as I have a "will" for so many things but no"way".

In addition, I would not put eating kosher which is halacha and my religion.., in the same category as wanting to buy more chicken/fish...bec eating kosher is my religion which I believe in and is a non negotiable even though it limits my buying real proteins to once a week...but eating more proteins and ....is a desire I have but if I can't spend the money, I can still be healthy by doing exercises and weights...and eating less sugar/carbs/smaller portions....like a trainer said that may prevent me from losing fat but that is not a health risk for me, as I'm only fat from my kids and my kids are not overweight.

imasinger

Mon, Aug 13 2018, 8:07 pm

OK, I see your point.

Did you know that beans and rice together count as a protein? And both are very cheap.

It's also pretty cheap to make your own yogurt and cheese, and to grow some of your own vegetables.

If you are seriously interested in having more protein, while still on a budget, it is possible. (OOC, you mentioned a trainer, doesn't that cost more than some extra chicken or fish?)

But since you really are fine and eat pretty healthy, it sounds like you were just venting at the high cost of some things.

Vent away.

amother

Coffee

Mon, Aug 13 2018, 8:15 pm

elisheva25 wrote:

Focus on creating a menu for yourself that eliminates carb
Create for yourself a menu filled with protein and fat that leaves you really full after each meal so you won’t have to worry about snacking as much

Thanks for the response. I do need to buy snacks for the kids because they are still hungry during the dayin school.

As for me, I'm a small eater, I've always been thin.(I gained weight from my kids). So, when I said I buy pretzels for snack, I take snack for lunch. I dont eat because I'm hungry as I'm very busy in work but I eat pretzels or something. Small bec I know if I eat nothing, its worse for losing weight.

In terms of meal plans that eliminates carbs and is filled with protein/fats, well, from others I have seen meal plans and I just saw some meal plans from a trainer which includes vegetables and chicken /fish which is most expensive compared to cheaper foods with more carbs and hardly any protein.

amother

Coffee

Mon, Aug 13 2018, 8:21 pm

imasinger wrote:

NO, I DONT HAVE A TRAINER COMING TO MY HOUSE (I wish!!). I WATCH ON YOUTUBE JUST LIKE WITH EXERCISE I ALSO DO IT ON UTUBE. I LEARN A LOT FROM YOUTUBE FOR FREE!!!

Yes, thanks for the response. I eat pretty healthy but I'm venting bec I need to buy more healthy proteins to really lose the extra fat from my kids....and I wanted to see if others can relate...

lucky14

Mon, Aug 13 2018, 8:44 pm

I don't think you'll be able to do what you want to do with the budget you have. It sounds like money is VERY tight for you. Unfortunately you are right it just wont go as far with healthier foods. Is there a way you can give yourself a certain amount of money per day or week to spend on healthy food options for yourself (if you are wanting to do this for weight loss)? Do you hold that frozen green beans need a hechsher? I know that you can get bags of those for less than a dollar- at trader joes you can get a big bag for around $2 maybe. A can of chickpeas for yourself at least could last a couple of days.

If you could figure out a way to set aside even a few dollars a week (a dollar a day maybe?) for yourself for some healthy food option then maybe we could help you figure out the best way to use that money to get the most out of it.

Mommyg8

Mon, Aug 13 2018, 9:31 pm

OP, there's a reason that poor people are fatter than rich people...

It's absolutely true and not very fair that healthy vegetables, fruits and proteins cost more than carbs.

But if you have the time to make something like chickpeas or split pea soup or lentil soup that's still very healthy and much cheaper than chicken. Also, regular carrots are cheaper than baby carrots, you just gotta peel them and cut them up... Also, you can buy whole grain breads which are healthier than pretzels and dont cost that much more.

There are definitely tricks to eat healthy on a budget, but it's certainly harder.

amother

Pink

Mon, Aug 13 2018, 10:01 pm

I can relate. For me this was my biggest obstacle. Money was tight and eating chicken or fish for meals wasn't realistic and eggs get tiring.
Pasta, rice, potatoes, bread are waaaay more affordable than the proteins I need.
Healthy food costs a lot more than the cheap carbs.
I buy a lot of frozen veggies green beans broccoli etc which I know isn't as great as carrots and tomatoes and all that but you get more for your money.

Teomima

Mon, Aug 13 2018, 10:47 pm

From what I hear it sounds like you make some common mistakes. You don't NEED as much protein as many people think they do, and those that focus on protein shakes etc when trying to lose weight should remember those are designed more for people who work out heavily, this have a higher protein consumption need. Instead, what you need to focus on is vegetables. High fiber, low calorie vegetables. Which leads to another common mistake: why spend more on baby carrots than a big bag of plain, regular carrots? They're the same thing, baby carrots are just whittled down full sized carrots. It seems silly to me that people pay extra just to produce excess waste. So buy a bag of regular carrots, cut yourself some carrot sticks, buy dry beans (cheap!!) and make yourself a chumus dip. Cheap, healthy, nutritionally balance small! Or bake thinly sliced zucchini and make zucchini chips for another snack. It might take longer than pretzels, but it's just as affordable and far healthier.

Squash is often affordable and you can get a LOT of food from one spaghetti, butternut, or other squash. Bake a whole sweet potato for a delicious treat. Buy cheap greens to cook up with rice and (dried) beans.

For filling food on the go, buy bulk tortilla wrappers. Relatively few carbs, especially compared to the amount of delicious, healthy, and cheap foods you can stuff in them. Bonus: easy to make in advance then freeze for quick breaks you can grab as you head out the door.

In short: don't fall prey to common food misconceptions. Don't worry excessively about protein and when you do eat protein, focus on cheap ones like dried legumes and eggs. Spend a few extra minutes preparing your vegetables and benefit from a plethora of cheap and healthy foods to bulk up your diet.

FranticFrummie

Tue, Aug 14 2018, 12:10 am

I hear you, OP. I am getting so tired of eating carbs! It's heartbreaking when DD says to me "Mama, when are we going to have money to buy healthy food?"

I got all excited because I finally got some child support money, and we get to eat chicken this week. Last week we had a tiny piece of cholent meat that we had to stretch. I think that even worse than not having healthy food, is that feeling like you don't have enough money is just so depressing!

Hug