POOR GIRLS CAN GET FIT!

OtakuMusician

In my personal opinion;

Healthy eating isn't expensive. Healthy as in, buying stuff that fits into your calorie deficit every day.

CLEAN eating on the other hand, buying nothing but fresh, can get a bit spendy.

Topsking2010

Bump

lithezebra

It only works if you live somewhere where there are edible plants, however no one actually needs to pay for fruit in the summer where I live, if you're willing to eat plums, blackberries, grapes, and figs, which grown wild, on public land, and in abundance. I freeze them to eat in the winter, because they're delicious.

thefragile7393

Eating healthy is still expensive....it is sad in this country the cheaper foods are the boxed foods. I try my best to work with what I can though....I get protein mix with some almond milk and throw in a bunch of spring mix with fruit and there you go.

I do Biggest Loser DVDs at home or I go to my dad's to use his elliptical...can't afford a gym and there is not one nearby with childcare anyway. And shopping for clothes weekly? I am lucky to be able to do it yearly, with part of my tax refund.

bcf7683

Don't shop at walmart... ew. The best place is a local health food store or co-op! By natural and locally grown produce and meat! organic milk etc. also if your town has a farmers market, definitely check that out!

Oh, I'm sorry- I suppose I should just drive 55 minutes away EVERY TIME I want to grocery shop when WalMart & Aldis are 5 minutes away.

Also, I'm not going to spend $8 on a bag of organic apples if I can get the "regular" (death-coated?) apples for $2.50 a bag. I'm also not going to go to the "local" health food store (which is also 35 mins away) to buy my quinoa & chia seeds that WalMart carries FOR LESS MONEY.

So sorry.........Welcome to 70% of rural America- where most of the general population can't afford to be total food snobs.

cherryd69

What is with all these frickin 'do it this way' posts on here lately!

Jesus, cant people just do it the way they want to without having someone scream commands at them?

'omg do it my way, i ate clean an lost x amounts of pounds'

'the only way to lose weight is to punish yourself! i did it an it lost me x amount of pounds'

'eat nothing but kale for x amount of months, i bet you lose the same as me!'

_Amy_Budd

Here's the whole thing when it comes to "the cost of eating healthy":

You know what's really expensive? Medication for high blood pressure/heart disease/endocrine issues. Insulin shots and prosthetic limbs for diabetics. Painkillers and chiropractors for the aches and pains of having a heavy, unhealthy body. Being fat and sedentary is expensive - maybe not with costs of food, but with endless, ongoing costs to manage an unhealthy lifestyle.

So we have a choice: Pay the farmer, or pay the pharmacist.

I'll take the more expensive, yummy, healthy food and the happy life that comes with it.


Amy

sharonfoustmills

I'm on a very tight budget and can only set aside a certain amount for food. We don't have any nearby farmer's markets or grocery stores, so I have to do my weekly shop on the same day due to travel costs. I'm actually spending less on healthy foods than I did on unhealthy foods. I buy frozen veg (nothing wrong with that) fresh fruit and chicken and most of the basics. I get exercise from walking, alot of waking which I love doing and from Youtube workout videos.
My only problem is I need new clothes and can't afford them :happy:

****shop craigslist for clothes, people who have lost or gained weight practically give them away (and under the FREE section they sometimes literally give them away) and don't forget the thrift/ consignment stores

There's absolutely nothing wrong with frozen. They are picked when ripest. This is really inspiring. Thanks so much for posting lol I can understand needing new clothes ! Haha you go!

absolutely, frozen fruits and veges are just as healthy as fresh ones and sometimes do taste better because like she said they were picked at exactly the right ripeness

sharonfoustmills

Don't shop at walmart... ew. The best place is a local health food store or co-op! By natural and locally grown produce and meat! organic milk etc. also if your town has a farmers market, definitely check that out!

have more money than you need? more money than sense dear??? how about you give some of these poor girls some?

TheSlorax

Don't shop at walmart... ew. The best place is a local health food store or co-op! By natural and locally grown produce and meat! organic milk etc. also if your town has a farmers market, definitely check that out!

You are kidding, right?

Everything. EVERYTHING is more expensive at a health food store than Walmart, Aldi or any other supermarket. We have a huge farmers market in our town that has only locally grown produce. Everything there is also two or three times the price of supermarket stuff.

When I lived in a terrible part of Oakland, the saving grace was the fantastic Latin Market which had a huge variety of great produce at much better prices than the supermarket. I'm sure it wasn't organic but I couldn't afford organic anyway in those days. Consider Asian markets too, if you live in an area that has them.

I live in Berkeley and I love these markets, but you have to realize that the San Francisco Bay Area has much more access to fresh fruits and vegetables than most of the rest of the country. Here it's also a "thing" to shop at co-op stores and they thrive. Can you see fresh fruits and vegetables at a co-op in the midwest competing with Walmart's prices on frozen and canned veggies? No, try again. It doesn't matter how "bad" the part of Oakland was that you lived in, crime has nothing to do with the prices and affordability of fresh food.

TheSlorax

Double post, sorry.

ScarlettVamp

How to do it.

First of stop complaining about how you don't have the money. Because you don't need a lot to get healthy.


Check your priorities. Instead of shopping every weekend for clothes, i spent that time on money on foods to keep me healthy and happy.

I think your intention was something much different than what came across in this post. I don't post on the forums much, and the statements above reminded me why. As a general rule, it's not a good idea to tell a group of people you don't know to "stop complaining" or "check your priorities", because everyone's situation is different. For example, this month's grocery and gas money in my household came from a family member who knew that without help, I would not have gas to get to work or food in my home for us to eat. Part of this grocery/gas money then had to be re-allocated to pay for a doctor visit for my sick/disabled husband, a doctor visit for my daughter who also got sick, and the resulting medications that were prescribed. Needless to say, the quality and quantity of groceries I was able to buy suffered.

I realize that my situation is much different than the audience that you were probably aiming for and that overall you meant this to be a helpful post. Maybe next time you could word it differently? For example, make it about you: "I had to check my priorities and realize that I am able to be healthy if I changed my spending habits. These are things I have done to get fit on a budget. I hope some of these ideas will help others and would love to hear what works for you".

lithezebra

Don't shop at walmart... ew. The best place is a local health food store or co-op! By natural and locally grown produce and meat! organic milk etc. also if your town has a farmers market, definitely check that out!

You are kidding, right?

Everything. EVERYTHING is more expensive at a health food store than Walmart, Aldi or any other supermarket. We have a huge farmers market in our town that has only locally grown produce. Everything there is also two or three times the price of supermarket stuff.

When I lived in a terrible part of Oakland, the saving grace was the fantastic Latin Market which had a huge variety of great produce at much better prices than the supermarket. I'm sure it wasn't organic but I couldn't afford organic anyway in those days. Consider Asian markets too, if you live in an area that has them.

I live in Berkeley and I love these markets, but you have to realize that the San Francisco Bay Area has much more access to fresh fruits and vegetables than most of the rest of the country. Here it's also a "thing" to shop at co-op stores and they thrive. Can you see fresh fruits and vegetables at a co-op in the midwest competing with Walmart's prices on frozen and canned veggies? No, try again. It doesn't matter how "bad" the part of Oakland was that you lived in, crime has nothing to do with the prices and affordability of fresh food.

I love places like Monterey Market and Berkeley Bowl, but this was near Fruitvale BART, and people didn't even speak English. I think it had more to do with the agricultural area of the Central Valley being nearby, than it did with being in the Bay Area. I find Latin and Asian markets in the Central Valley too, well outside the Bay Area. Any area that has a substantial Latino population, which includes a lot of places in the midwest, where there is also a lot of agriculture, may have Latin markets.

P.S. I know a lot about not living in the Bay Area. I currently live somewhere that is not very conducive to eating healthily, where farmer's markets are pricey, there are no Asian markets, a trip to Walmart takes 90 minutes, and prices at the supermarket are jacked up because there isn't much competition. I've also traveled to places where Walmart doesn't exist for hundreds of miles, where a convenience store is all there is in town, so I know that there is no one solution that will work for everyone. However the OP asked for other people's ideas, and that's what I was offering.

TheSlorax

I actually was implying that it is available because of its proximity to agricultural centers. That, and the concentration the Bay Area has on eating fresh foods (more market share?). I love MM as well, but I've never seen anything like it anywhere else. Berkeley Bowl is overpriced to me and their produce doesn't last very long. I get better tomatoes at the Latin Market down the street for $.50 less per lb. So yes, they are really good tips, but only if you live here.

edit: Or in an area that has the ethnic markets, so good point. Sorry I misinterpreted your OP.

lithezebra

I actually was implying that it is available because of its proximity to agricultural centers. That, and the concentration the Bay Area has on eating fresh foods (more market share?). I love MM as well, but I've never seen anything like it anywhere else. Berkeley Bowl is overpriced to me and their produce doesn't last very long. I get better tomatoes at the Latin Market down the street for $.50 less per lb.

I miss Monterey Market. BB is a madhouse.

Re. edit: no problem. I think we all want anyone who wants to to be able to eat and live in a healthy way.

BreakingUpWithObesity2013

Love it!!

TheSlorax

I actually was implying that it is available because of its proximity to agricultural centers. That, and the concentration the Bay Area has on eating fresh foods (more market share?). I love MM as well, but I've never seen anything like it anywhere else. Berkeley Bowl is overpriced to me and their produce doesn't last very long. I get better tomatoes at the Latin Market down the street for $.50 less per lb.

I miss Monterey Market. BB is a madhouse.

Re. edit: no problem. I think we all want anyone who wants to to be able to eat and live in a healthy way.

I absolutely LOOOOOOOVE that place. My love for MM has no bounds! BB is crazy, they just built a new one over in West Berkeley but it's still overpriced to me, lol. I agree, and OP has really great points if she made it more like, "here's how to rearrange your priorities to eat better." But instead she's just saying that poor people eat like crap because they do too much clothes shopping. We all know that's not the case if you're really truly poor!

thescrumisfun

It honestly depends on your fitness goals and life situation. Say if a person is in a big household, they have other people to consider than just themselves. Food is only getting more expensive, especially meat and produce, and it looks like minimum wage and other jobs that are lower on the pay grade won't be going up to match expenses any time soon. I struggle to feed myself "healthy" foods as a broke student athlete. I can't imagine how other lower-income families/individuals struggle sometimes. It does suck! I am from a low income family, and I know we have and do struggle with food choices.

zornig

In case no one's mentioned it yet, Cooking Light magazine makes pretty much all of its recipes available for free through its website. Every issue they have a Budget Cooking recipe that is designed to feed four people one meal for $10 or less. The recipes are usually a good balance and range from about 300-500 calories per serving. The one from August 2013 is for Greek-Seasoned Steak Sandwiches that cost (according to them) $2.28 per serving.

http://www.cookinglight.com/food/everyday-menus/healthy-budget-recipes-00400000056656/

My guess most of these recipes call for meat, but perhaps they would be easy to modify them into vegetarian versions.

JunkFoodJane

Some people are so touchy. Sheesh.

I think everyone who has difficulty financially has their own difficulty financially. For example, all of these suggestions for farmers markets ... farmersmarkets would ruin my family if we did our shopping there. Here they are so overpriced the smaller ones never last. $4 a pound for peaches? $14/lb ground beef? You can't be serious. I try to keep our dinners to$10, obviously that isn't going to happen with$14 ground beef. We haven't even bothered the last two summers.

Fortunately, we are a military family and shopping on base is usually much less expensive. We go once a month, stock our storage freezer with meat, some frozen veg, buy our shelf stable and longer shelf life items then supplement with small shops for fresh veg, bread etc. With a family of 5 plus two big dogs and two cats we s spend about $1,000 a month on grocery alone (including dog food, laundry soap etc).

On an income of $3,400 a month with $1,000 in groceries, $1,000 mortgage, $1,000 in bills you can see there isn't a lot for shopping. If my family divides the "extra" $400 5 ways we have less than $100 each discretionary spending, never mind the monthly emergencies, the doctor visits, the dentists, the glasses, the contacts, ignore birthdays, ignore Christmases.

My family makes more than that, but the mentioned expenses and unexpected expenses eat up everything. In July we replaced both our washer and dryer (washer backed up and estimated repair was comparable to replace, dryer had two frightening explosions then died), our garbage disposal went out and cables for our a/c were cut. That ate most of our tax refund.

Just being devil's advocate. My family is poor but find it much more affordable to eat real food. Considering, however, that the suggestions often made on MFP are not helpful to us, I don't pretend to know the food cost v. average income situation in Wyoming or Florida or condemn those who say they can't afford it as just not being frugal enough or shopaholics.