How to eat healthy without spending more money

[PTJustinBowers]

I know lots of you probably shy away from completely making the transition to the healthy lifestyle because of these same ol' reasons. "It's too expensive" usually comes to mind.

Well, I'm here to tell you (just in case you didn't already know) that you CAN EAT HEALTHY. You CAN AFFORD IT. As a personal trainer, I have to prove this to people on a weekly basis.

Here are a few tips I've enacted in my own life as well as some of my clients' lives:

Stop buying junk food. It's expensive and is just no good for you. If you take the money you put toward junk toward healthy alternatives, you'll be amazed at what you can afford. When I made the switch, I found out that almost 70% of the groceries I was buying was junk food. Wow!

Go on a diet. If you're over-eating and go on a diet, you'll eat less. Less eating= less money being spent on food. Ya dig?

Pack your lunch to take to work. Don't give me the "I don't have time" excuse. Pack most of your lunch the night before. In the morning, throw together a quick sandwich. Voila. Took 10 seconds out of your morning. Hope that doesn't cause you to be late!

Make a grocery list and stick to it. If you shop with a list, you'll be less likely to make impulse buys.

Generic food is your friend. Okay, so it's not the brand name, but it's not any less of quality. The generic brands have to go through the same FDA standards as the rest of 'em.

Get frozen vegetables. It's cheaper than produce and takes way less time to prepare.

Eat FOODS that are high in fat. What? Yes, fat doesn't make you fat-- eating more calories than you should eat, that makes you fat. You actually need fat in your daily diet. Try to avoid saturated and trans fats. Do not over-indulge in fats. (Edited for incorrect information)

Drink tap water. Believe it or not, it goes through more rigorous safety inspections than bottled water does. "But I don't like the taste!", you say? Get used to it. You'll adapt.

 

[Doc Bunkum]

Go on a diet. If you're over-eating and go on a diet, you'll eat less.

You figure?

Eat meals that are high in fat. What? Yes, fat doesn't make you fat-- eating more calories than you should eat, that makes you fat. You actually need fat in your daily diet.

Wrong macro.

Eat more protein. It sates the appetite more than fat or carbs.

Besides, fat has 9 calories per gram compared to protein at 4 calories per gram.

What you're suggesting goes against every tenet of modern dieting.

 

[PTJustinBowers]

Wrong. You need fat in your daily diet. Your body cannot produce the fatty acids needed, so we need to include them in our diet. Omega-3 helps support a healthy metabolism, nerve function, healthy skin/hair among other things.

I'm not recommending the consumption of saturated fats, trans fats, etc.

I'm not trying to retort your argument condescending remarks like you have. There are several methods out there-- and educating the public on all of these methods is essential.

 

[Doc Bunkum]

Wrong. You need fat in your daily diet.

Duh. You figure?

There's a hell of a lot of difference between saying you need fat in your daily diet and saying Eat meals that are high in fat.

One doesn't equate to the other.

 

[usedtobefatmatt]

Duh. You figure?

There's a hell of a lot of difference between saying you need fat in your daily diet and saying Eat meals that are high in fat.

One doesn't equate to the other.

I agree with you Doc. To say eat meals high in fat is rediculous.

Give me an example of a high fat meal that you would recommend.

Matt

 

[San2]

Stop buying junk food. It's expensive and is just no good for you. If you take the money you put toward junk toward healthy alternatives, you'll be amazed at what you can afford. When I made the switch, I found out that almost 70% of the groceries I was buying was junk food. Wow!

Junk food is by far cheaper. If I put the money I save on the junk that I used to buy for myself, I have to add at least the same amount again to get my 'healthy' food for a week.

Go on a diet. If you're over-eating and go on a diet, you'll eat less. Less eating= less money being spent on food. Ya dig?

Diets are crap. And if you are talking about changing your lifestyle, then you run into the problem mentioned above - show me a a healthy salad that will serve me as a dinner, and I'll show you three bags of pasta, minced beef and cheese sauce that can feed the family for a week, for the same price.

Make a grocery list and stick to it[/B]. If you shop with a list, you'll be less likely to make impulse buys.

I do, doesn't make a damn bit of difference. It's not the impulse buys that cause the problem, it's the regular stuff.

Drink tap water. Believe it or not, it goes through more rigorous safety inspections than bottled water does. "But I don't like the taste!", you say? Get used to it. You'll adapt.

The water that comes out of my tap smells of chlorine, and if left in a glass for longer than a day, develops a green-ish slime on top of it. I tried drinking it and ended up with stomach cramps. I wouldn't touch it again if it was the last thing on earth. If you want to drink that stuff, fine, but I value my health too much for that.

Now here's a question - I have a 9 year old stepson who will only eat certain foods because he's autistic. Anything that is not breaded and fried, he won't touch. So that stuff has to be in the house at all times. My husband insists on high calorie, brand name junk food. I am trying to maintain a healthy diet, all of that on a very limited budget. Who do you think is the one who won't get what she wants in the end, because despite everything, the salads, chicken breasts and turkey mince are the most expensive things on the shopping list???

Exactly......me. Healthy eating cheaper than junk food? Yeah, right.....

 

[Doc Bunkum]

Ha!

That's funny, San.

Telling people to suck it up and drink water that tastes like it came out of a swimming pool is real first class advice.

This whole post shows what happens when a spammer is more interested in publishing their links instead of taking the time to re-read what they wrote before they hit the Submit button.

Like that bone headed advice about eating meals high in fat. When I called him on it, he starts back peddling and suddenly it changes to "we need to include fatty acids in our diet".

Did you catch that other head scratcher? "Get frozen vegetables. It's cheaper than produce."

Huh? If I'm not mistaken, frozen vegetables are produce.

BTW, San, I found what you said about your autistic stepson really interesting. Going to have to look into that. If you haven't done so already, how about starting another post with the details about the diet and such in another post so we can discuss it in more detail?

Thanks!

 

[Blancita]

Actually, more recent research has really debunked the low-fat diet and even that saturated fats are so bad. It is known that a low fat diet doesn't do much for weight loss, as is evident from the increase in obesity during the past 30 year low-fat diet model. Saturated fats are not necessarily unhealthy, and for example, oils like coconut oil are considered healthy (a medium chain fat) and potentially helpful in weight loss. Obviously high protein diets are also well known to burn fat better. So yeah, number of calories is very important but those calories should contain a bunch of protein and fat.

 

[usedtobefatmatt]

Actually, more recent research has really debunked the low-fat diet and even that saturated fats are so bad. It is known that a low fat diet doesn't do much for weight loss, as is evident from the increase in obesity during the past 30 year low-fat diet model. Saturated fats are not necessarily unhealthy, and for example, oils like coconut oil are considered healthy (a medium chain fat) and potentially helpful in weight loss. Obviously high protein diets are also well known to burn fat better. So yeah, number of calories is very important but those calories should contain a bunch of protein and fat.

I agree we do need fat in our diet and it is very essential to many areas of our body. Obviously, these fats should be coming from foods such as milk, diary, healthy oils, nuts, seeds and meats. They should not be coming from chips, cookies and other junk food. I still dont agree with the original post to say you should be eating meals high in fat. We should get our daily needs and that is it.

 

[Blancita]

Agreed that fats should not be obtained through junk foods, and trans fats (a form of poison) must be avoided AT ALL COSTS. However, dont believe the BS about saturated fats or other fats as being inherently bad. Perhaps the foods they are thrown into are bad, such as chips etc, but fat in itself is not bad as long as it comes from unprocessed sources. In my diet, fat tends to be the highest macronutrient consumed (in proportion to carbs and protein).

 

[usedtobefatmatt]

What is a break down % of your macros? Can you list a typical day of eating?

I am having trouble believing that the highest % of your macros is coming from fat. I'm not saying it's wrong, what i am saying that it just seems wrong.

Do you have any good links or articles about the subject? I would like to read up on some of the studies.

Thanks.

 

[San2]

BTW, San, I found what you said about your autistic stepson really interesting. Going to have to look into that. If you haven't done so already, how about starting another post with the details about the diet and such in another post so we can discuss it in more detail?

Thanks!

I can put it in the off topic section I guess and post the link here...does that sound okay?

 

[Cord the Seeker]

Junk food is by far cheaper. If I put the money I save on the junk that I used to buy for myself, I have to add at least the same amount again to get my 'healthy' food for a week.
(

I used to always think that, too - until I started buying healthier food. Water is free. Tea is much much cheaper than soda. For the price of a fast-food combo, you can easily pick up whack of fresh vegetables - a tomato, a head of celery, another of lettuce, and a cucumber, say. Dried legumes are really really cheap.

Just a thought.

 

[usedtobefatmatt]

I used to always think that, too - until I started buying healthier food. Water is free. Tea is much much cheaper than soda. For the price of a fast-food combo, you can easily pick up whack of fresh vegetables - a tomato, a head of celery, another of lettuce, and a cucumber, say. Dried legumes are really really cheap.

Just a thought.

100% agree on this. Eating healthy is just more work. You have to plan your meals and then prepare your meals. Eating healthy is more time consuming.

 

[Doc Bunkum]

Actually, more recent research has really debunked the low-fat diet and even that saturated fats are so bad. It is known that a low fat diet doesn't do much for weight loss, as is evident from the increase in obesity during the past 30 year low-fat diet model.

I believe the problem with the low fat diet was that dieters, who tend not to eat lots of vegetables and fruits in the first place, were replacing fat with refined carbohydrates, and that seemed to be the problem.

A whole new industry sprang up in light of Atkin's book. "Diet" foods created over the last 30 years by the large food manufacturers were typically sugar filled, processed garbage - aka unhealthy carbohydrates.

SnackWells anyone, ie:?

Only 50 calories in 1 serving of SnackWells: 0% fat, 96% carbs, 4% protein.

 

[San2]

I used to always think that, too - until I started buying healthier food. Water is free. Tea is much much cheaper than soda. For the price of a fast-food combo, you can easily pick up whack of fresh vegetables - a tomato, a head of celery, another of lettuce, and a cucumber, say. Dried legumes are really really cheap.

Just a thought.

100% agree on this. Eating healthy is just more work. You have to plan your meals and then prepare your meals. Eating healthy is more time consuming.

As said, I am not drinking tap water. I do drink tea, but a bottle of soda is about 20 p here, so hardly costing an arm and a leg. And I am not talking about fast food, I am talking about junk food, two totally different things. Give me ten pound - I can either get some chicken breast or fish, salads and the likes, or I can get pasta, cheese, minced beef, breaded burgers, baked beans and so on. The healthy option will last me two days, just for myself, the other stuff will last a week for all of us.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that I like the junk food, or prefer to buy it, but just saying that healthy food is cheaper is plain wrong.

And well, if you have all the time in the world that is great, but I have an autistic stepson who needs 24 hour care and a husband who sits on his arse in front of the computer all day. So.....if it is not quick and easy, it's simply not an option for me. I don't have the time to stand in the kitchen for prolonged times, and honestly, after running after the rest of the family and working my arse off, I can't be bothered to stand in the kitchen at 11 pm, washing my lettuce. Erhm....nope.

So, if you have the time and money, healthy eating certainly is easy. If not, you're screwed, because there just doesn't seem to be a happy medium.

 

[Cord the Seeker]

Well, it is certainly true that I don't know how much food costs in the UK.

Regarding junk food - we probably have a communication/undertsanding problem here. I don't consider pasta, cheese, or ground beef to be junk food. There is nothing wrong with any of those, used in moderation. I do agree that breaded burgers and baked beans likely do qualify, though.
What I don't get is why healthier food takes so much longer to prepare. You just have to plan ahead. While the pasta is cooking (and cooking it al dente makes it a bit healthier, btw), you can chop up and steam some veggies. Throw the veggies and pasta together with a little olive oil and red wine vinegar and presto - a nice pasta primavera. It is one of the easiest and tastiest things my wife makes; well, I make it too but it was my wife who started making it.
Try making some things in advance. If washing lettuce is so time-consuming (only takes me a minute), wash a bunch at once and put it back in the refrigerator to use as needed. Beans usually take a while to cook so cook a bunch at once (and they can just sit on the stove cooking while you do other tasks) and store them, ready to heat and eat when needed.

Just a couple of suggestions that may help.
I'm not saying for one second that your life isn't busy with the child care and all, but I find it difficult to believe that you can't eat better, and quickly, with a little planning.

And although this is merely my personal opinion, your husband should get off his arse and help out, don't you think?

 

[PTJustinBowers]

I never said healthy food is cheaper. If you're too lazy to do a little planning, find a few healthy alternatives, and blame others for your short-comings in weight loss-- then you wouldn't eat healthy anyway, even if you could "afford" it.

I also never suggested over-eating your daily recommendation of calories and I stand by my statement of eating high fat foods in your diet combined with everything else.

I use these practices in my fitness business and have for years-- with much success and results from my clients.

I'm also plenty aware of the caloric value of protein vs. fats.

 

[PTJustinBowers]

Also, I never mentioned anything about deriving your fats from saturated and trans fat sulked foods. Just like I give the bank my money with a preconceived notion and trust that they know what to do with it, I dispense information on here (as do you) with the assumption that most of you, being on a weight loss forum, have some prior nutrition/weight loss knowledge.

I also have to disagree with the person that says that these bad fats (saturated & trans) aren't as bad for you as previously thought. Health studies specifically link these two to heart disease, hypertension, and cholesterol problems. Although they may not be the main contributor in some cases, they are definitely sharing their load.

If there is any information disputing this, then please post. I'd love to get another viewpoint on this subject.

 

[Doc Bunkum]

If you're too lazy to do a little planning, find a few healthy alternatives, and blame others for your short-comings in weight loss-- then you wouldn't eat healthy anyway, even if you could "afford" it.

It's nice to see that you read San's post and sympathize with her situation.