Weight Loss and Lower Debt?
brittlb07
Posts: 313 Member
Anyone else on a debt loss journey alongside their weight loss? I am finding these two go hand in hand! Cutting my calories has certainly helped me with staying in budget! I’m finding that budgeting calories and money are very similar processes! While I’ve always had a money budget, I’ve never followed much of a food budget (hence the weight gain). Glad to be back on track with my weight and my finances! By the end of the year, I hope to be debt free except my house and down to my goal weight of 115!
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Replies
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I believe, but can’t prove it, that there’s a spillover benefit of disciplined weight-loss to other areas of life.
I’m a financial professional in the rat race and know most people don’t have a budget and may not be able to tell you with reasonable accuracy how much they spend on food or discretionary spending.
Wishing you the best in chasing both of your goals.7 -
I think our mindsets about food and finances can be very similar. Right now I think financially I'm on a "bulk" because I've chosen to take on some debt so that I can get my master's degree, which will qualify me for a pay increase. So it's like lifting weights while in a calorie excess to build muscle; I'm trying to get financially "stronger" so to speak!6
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pierinifitness wrote: »I believe, but can’t prove it, that there’s a spillover benefit of disciplined weight-loss to other areas of life.
This might explain why the more weight I loose the cleaner my house gets. I love it, I feel like I’m getting my whole life together.
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It wasn’t intentional, but I saved tons of money while losing weight. I used to eat out pretty much every night, which included several glasses of wine. Our typical tab was $100 a night. Now I cook and rarely drink. Paid off 2 cars and padded the savings account along the way.17
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I think there's a sense of agency or empowerment that comes with learning you can achieve some big life goal by chipping away at it it. Eating, exercise, and finances are commonly major realms where we can feel that. Learning how to accomplish goals in one realm does have carryover to others, both confidence and practical skills.
That said, I've really never much had financial budgets, and I expect to be calorie counting forever. (No, I'm neither rich, not is my financial life even remotely a wreckage. For some reason, I have much better intuitive money management ability than intuitive eating ability, including a helpful intuitive distaste for debt. Go figure.
).
I do find the sense of empowerment from weight loss, and the goal-achievement skills, carrying over to other parts of life, though.
Congratulations on getting your debt under better control, OP, that's a great thing. Having less debt, and adequate emergency/investment funds, if achievable, takes a lot of negative drama out of life.7 -
I waste much less food when Im on track. I don't spend 10-15 a week eating out. Ive had to go on a couple of road trips for school and meal prepped for the entire thing. Didn't stop for Starbucks or meals.
I have to be careful when clothes shopping. Since losing weight I want to buy everything, but Clearance racks have become my best friend.4 -
I agree with what others have said. I'd also add that with watching what you eat and most tend to eat healthier as they did before, you start to feel better, and when you feel better and even maybe back to your orginal self, you preform better and make better choices. That overflows into everything that you do. Your work, your finances, your life. Sorta the domino effect but in a good way.4
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I wish. I seem to be making more expensive food choices and wear out runners every 3 months. It is better now that I am maintaining and not having to buy clothing that fits on a regular basis. Op shops are my friends.
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While I was losing weight I was also getting far more fit and spending a lot more time and money on that aspect.
Any reduction in food bills was more than outweighed by what I spent on 3 gym memberships, bicycles, bicycle kit, cycling events and gadgets....
At maintenance with all the increased activity and exercise I've ended up eating more than when I was fat but at least my sports/fitness expenditure has plateaued (a bit...). That's OK as I there's not a better investment than investing in your health and enjoyment.2 -
Kind of. I lived of £1200 for two years (rent w/out utilities was £600) and no income whatsoever for nearly half a year before. I do have good savings, but this taught me to be frugal, and still do the things I enjoy if not very day or every week. Good book-keeping is key here. I build a small spreadsheet for my phone that for every month (new sheet) shows the money coming in and how much is left. I have a couple of spending categories, like food, house (cleaning, home improvement, tools), beauty and care (deo, but also hairdresser), rent, utilities and taxes, health (insurance and things I can't get on insurance), transport (mostly bike repair and occ. train ride), and fun and go through that list at the end of each month and consider whether it was worth it. The advantage of a spreadsheet on my phone is that I can add data immediately when I spend money as there are no receipts or card payments at my local market or many small shops.
Now I earn a lot more again but still only give myself about 500 Euro for everything but all the contracts I have to pay every month. Thus groceries, local and provincial taxes, water, health not covered by insurance, and all the nice things in life go off this. As I have the money I do go over every now and then if really needed. Bigger repairs, or a vacation that doesn't fit my allowance. If I didn't have the savings or a good income I'd probably reduce the monthly allowance by 100 Euro and safe those for emergencies until I had an emergency fund big enough to cover 3-5 months of living.
In a way I think this is similar to counting calories. Being a number geek, I do enjoy both
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pandareads wrote: »pierinifitness wrote: »I believe, but can’t prove it, that there’s a spillover benefit of disciplined weight-loss to other areas of life.
This might explain why the more weight I loose the cleaner my house gets. I love it, I feel like I’m getting my whole life together.
Damn! This didn't happen here. I hired a cleaner now for 2 hours two times per month. But living frugally has at least taught me that I don't need a big home. Small flat = less heating = possible to live close to work within my means = no car needed = lots of shops and market nearby = no car needed. And most importantly: quick cleaning, even though I still don't do it 2 -
Outstanding personal finance management @yirara, behavior that’s not typical of most people. And, a good analogy comparing it to food journaling.
Capturing data, classifying and summarizing it creates information that if studied and analyzed creates behavior responses which if occurs in a landscape of goals, inches us along towards success, however we define it.
I’m a financial type in the rat race and I’m impressed with you, keep up the good work.1 -
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@jennlynne2018, really like the spending fast term, thanks for adding to my vocabulary.0
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I think there's a sense of agency or empowerment that comes with learning you can achieve some big life goal by chipping away at it it. Eating, exercise, and finances are commonly major realms where we can feel that. Learning how to accomplish goals in one realm does have carryover to others, both confidence and practical skills.
That said, I've really never much had financial budgets, and I expect to be calorie counting forever. (No, I'm neither rich, not is my financial life even remotely a wreckage. For some reason, I have much better intuitive money management ability than intuitive eating ability, including a helpful intuitive distaste for debt. Go figure. ).
I do find the sense of empowerment from weight loss, and the goal-achievement skills, carrying over to other parts of life, though.
Congratulations on getting your debt under better control, OP, that's a great thing. Having less debt, and adequate emergency/investment funds, if achievable, takes a lot of negative drama out of life.
I'm naturally frugal, as were my parents, but unfortunately my mother did not pass her caloric frugality on to me as well.1 -
pandareads wrote: »pierinifitness wrote: »I believe, but can’t prove it, that there’s a spillover benefit of disciplined weight-loss to other areas of life.
This might explain why the more weight I loose the cleaner my house gets. I love it, I feel like I’m getting my whole life together.
My house only gets cleaner for these reasons:
1. I'm procrastinating working on something else
2. I'm premenstrual
3. I'm expecting visitors
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DH and I have paid off all debt except the house and are on track to have that paid off before we turn 40. We never ate out that much to begin with so trying to lose weight didn't change that part of the budget much, but I do find that the grocery bill is lower while eating healthy just because simple meat and fruit/veggie meals are cheaper to make than the more elaborate/decadent things I was cooking fairly often before.
I actually find sticking to the finances much easier than sticking to calories in a lot of ways though. For example, If I want an outfit that's WAY too expensive, I don't find myself feeling deprived or sad about it and moderating my shoe shopping is a lot easier than moderating potato chips.0 -
kshama2001 wrote: »I think there's a sense of agency or empowerment that comes with learning you can achieve some big life goal by chipping away at it it. Eating, exercise, and finances are commonly major realms where we can feel that. Learning how to accomplish goals in one realm does have carryover to others, both confidence and practical skills.
That said, I've really never much had financial budgets, and I expect to be calorie counting forever. (No, I'm neither rich, not is my financial life even remotely a wreckage. For some reason, I have much better intuitive money management ability than intuitive eating ability, including a helpful intuitive distaste for debt. Go figure. ).
I do find the sense of empowerment from weight loss, and the goal-achievement skills, carrying over to other parts of life, though.
Congratulations on getting your debt under better control, OP, that's a great thing. Having less debt, and adequate emergency/investment funds, if achievable, takes a lot of negative drama out of life.
I'm naturally frugal, as were my parents, but unfortunately my mother did not pass her caloric frugality on to me as well.kshama2001 wrote: »pandareads wrote: »pierinifitness wrote: »I believe, but can’t prove it, that there’s a spillover benefit of disciplined weight-loss to other areas of life.
This might explain why the more weight I loose the cleaner my house gets. I love it, I feel like I’m getting my whole life together.
My house only gets cleaner for these reasons:
1. I'm procrastinating working on something else
2. I'm premenstrual
3. I'm expecting visitors
Heh. We're sounding very similar.
#1, I'm retired; #2, I'm post-menopausal; so #3 . . . maybe.
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Anyone else on a debt loss journey alongside their weight loss? I am finding these two go hand in hand! Cutting my calories has certainly helped me with staying in budget! I’m finding that budgeting calories and money are very similar processes! While I’ve always had a money budget, I’ve never followed much of a food budget (hence the weight gain). Glad to be back on track with my weight and my finances! By the end of the year, I hope to be debt free except my house and down to my goal weight of 115!
Well done, I have a well established pattern of over spending when Im losing weight and over eating when Im trying to cut back on spending.
Shame1 -
kshama2001 wrote: »pandareads wrote: »pierinifitness wrote: »I believe, but can’t prove it, that there’s a spillover benefit of disciplined weight-loss to other areas of life.
This might explain why the more weight I loose the cleaner my house gets. I love it, I feel like I’m getting my whole life together.
My house only gets cleaner for these reasons:
1. I'm procrastinating working on something else
2. I'm premenstrual
3. I'm expecting visitors
For me it's reason 3, though as I'm an introvert geek who enjoys being alone I never really get visitors.
2 kind of, when my thyroid decides to release a big pile of hormones next to the hormones I already take and I end up being hyper. 1 -
While I was losing weight I was also getting far more fit and spending a lot more time and money on that aspect.
Any reduction in food bills was more than outweighed by what I spent on 3 gym memberships, bicycles, bicycle kit, cycling events and gadgets....
At maintenance with all the increased activity and exercise I've ended up eating more than when I was fat but at least my sports/fitness expenditure has plateaued (a bit...). That's OK as I there's not a better investment than investing in your health and enjoyment.
I didn't save a lot on food, as I was already doing a lot of cooking from scratch (from preference) before I started focusing on my calorie "budget," so it was only the reduction in amount of food, not a shift to less expensive food. And like you, I eventually started spending more on things related to physical activity (gym membership, yoga classes, dance clothes, shoes for various activities, an extra yoga mat to have one to keep in the car for classes and one in n the house for home practice, etc.)
But I hope in the long run I'm saving major sums on health care, and I also find that physical activity and socializing sub in some degree for non-active forms of entertainment and socializing, so those costs go down.1 -
Good luck with your goals OP.
Me personally - no, didnt find a correlation.
But was quite happy with my money management before losing weight so nothing needed changing there really.
Unlike weight which had crept up over time to an unhealthy level.0 -
The way I eat now in comparison to the way I ate in the past I certainly save a lot of money now when it comes to my grocery bill.
I cook just about all my meals at home (except for one, maybe two during the week), I don't drink calories and I make a lot of things from scratch using basic ingredients.
However, I spend money on clothes, workout gear, fitness classes and items for my home gym so I'm not really saving money overall.2 -
I think there's a sense of agency or empowerment that comes with learning you can achieve some big life goal by chipping away at it it. Eating, exercise, and finances are commonly major realms where we can feel that. Learning how to accomplish goals in one realm does have carryover to others, both confidence and practical skills.
That said, I've really never much had financial budgets, and I expect to be calorie counting forever. (No, I'm neither rich, not is my financial life even remotely a wreckage. For some reason, I have much better intuitive money management ability than intuitive eating ability, including a helpful intuitive distaste for debt. Go figure. ).
I do find the sense of empowerment from weight loss, and the goal-achievement skills, carrying over to other parts of life, though.
Congratulations on getting your debt under better control, OP, that's a great thing. Having less debt, and adequate emergency/investment funds, if achievable, takes a lot of negative drama out of life.
I agree with every last thing said above. Particularly the bit at the beginning though about chipping away at big goals - absolutely an empowering experience.
For me, I did these things separately and it was relative financial fitness I achieved first. When I finally became debt-free in early 2008, after years of massive consumer debt, I was at my heaviest weight and worst physical shape of my life. It was time to tackle that, which I did...albeit very slowly at first!
Also agree that having one or two areas of your life in order can improve other areas. There's certainly something to that as well.3 -
I’m seeing the same effect! My new coffee is helping me save so much money because I’m eating less and bonus that I’m actually losing weight!-2
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seltzermint555 wrote: »I think there's a sense of agency or empowerment that comes with learning you can achieve some big life goal by chipping away at it it. Eating, exercise, and finances are commonly major realms where we can feel that. Learning how to accomplish goals in one realm does have carryover to others, both confidence and practical skills.
That said, I've really never much had financial budgets, and I expect to be calorie counting forever. (No, I'm neither rich, not is my financial life even remotely a wreckage. For some reason, I have much better intuitive money management ability than intuitive eating ability, including a helpful intuitive distaste for debt. Go figure. ).
I do find the sense of empowerment from weight loss, and the goal-achievement skills, carrying over to other parts of life, though.
Congratulations on getting your debt under better control, OP, that's a great thing. Having less debt, and adequate emergency/investment funds, if achievable, takes a lot of negative drama out of life.
I agree with every last thing said above. Particularly the bit at the beginning though about chipping away at big goals - absolutely an empowering experience.
For me, I did these things separately and it was relative financial fitness I achieved first. When I finally became debt-free in early 2008, after years of massive consumer debt, I was at my heaviest weight and worst physical shape of my life. It was time to tackle that, which I did...albeit very slowly at first!
Also agree that having one or two areas of your life in order can improve other areas. There's certainly something to that as well.
That is similar to me. I was athletic in my younger years. Started a business in my 20’s and ran hard with it, but neglected other areas, especially health and fitness. All the sudden I’m well into my 30’s with a decent business, but at 34% body fat. Now, this severely neglected area in my life is getting my attention. I’m realizing that it’s the same concept as growing a business. There are activity metrics to hit and if you do them consistently over time, results can’t help but follow.3 -
Not really much correlation for me, except for a few months when I was eating out all the time and my food budget was outrageous - but I already had a money budget (that was a discipline I needed to learn after my divorce) so I knew how much I was spending!
Since I tend to go for better tasting, higher quality, fresher, lower calorie options, that means I'm buying more expensive products than when I was eating more, plus some protein powders and the like and it doesn't really save me anything.0 -
I am eating so much less that we are saving a ton on groceries and often split meals or only order appetizers when we eat out. The flip side to this is I have replaced EVERY item of clothing (including coats) that I own. I am now starting in on my shoes and rings (yes, those are all too big now).
Thrift stores have helped but this is a cost to consider when you lose a significant amount of weight. Also since I am not done yet I will have to replace many of my clothes yet again. We have been careful not to spend too much, but even being careful it can add up1 -
Anyone else on a debt loss journey alongside their weight loss? I am finding these two go hand in hand! Cutting my calories has certainly helped me with staying in budget! I’m finding that budgeting calories and money are very similar processes! While I’ve always had a money budget, I’ve never followed much of a food budget (hence the weight gain). Glad to be back on track with my weight and my finances! By the end of the year, I hope to be debt free except my house and down to my goal weight of 115!
Good stuff 👊
I did it myself. Lost over 30lbs and paid off my credit cards.
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