budget friendly diet and exercise plan... help!

sAlexRice13

I'm having some troubles... I'm a married mom of 2, and living paycheck to paycheck(which barely makes it from one to the other)... I recently gave birth to my second little one(3 months ago) and I'm 30lbs over my healthy/goal weight. So my question is: what are some budget friendly ways to diet and exercise? It seems like the foods that are actually good for you are so much more expensive, and gyms or workout equipment is a fortune! I go walking and play with my kids, and the only other workout options I've had are those "dance off the pounds" DVDs. I really like them but with a stay at home hubby and 2 young kids its not always an option to take over the TV for my workout... I want to get healthy, lose those extra 30lbs of baby weight, and look trim again... Please help!

adopp062715

You can go on you tube and find workout videos on there. Wal mart has some pretty cheap/decent dumbbells. Or go to a second hand sports store. They should have decently prices dumbbells as well. If you have time on your lunch break and an area that is safe, go for a walk/jog then. I do that now. Run on my lunch break so I don't take too much time away from my fiance and fur babies (dogs).

thavoice

I'm having some troubles... I'm a married mom of 2, and living paycheck to paycheck(which barely makes it from one to the other)... I recently gave birth to my second little one(3 months ago) and I'm 30lbs over my healthy/goal weight. So my question is: what are some budget friendly ways to diet and exercise? It seems like the foods that are actually good for you are so much more expensive, and gyms or workout equipment is a fortune! I go walking and play with my kids, and the only other workout options I've had are those "dance off the pounds" DVDs. I really like them but with a stay at home hubby and 2 young kids its not always an option to take over the TV for my workout... I want to get healthy, lose those extra 30lbs of baby weight, and look trim again... Please help!

Budget friendly diet and exercise?

Dieting is eating at a caloric deficit. Eat less than your body needs = eating less food = spending less on food.


Mother Nature's gym is free, and your own body weight is your resistance.


Cheap. Simple. No excuses.

adstott

I try to eat as healthy as I can afford and I do all workouts at home, either on the tv or walking/running. My best advice if you want to lose it is to make time to do it. Get up a half hour earlier then you normally would. I try to do my workouts before my son is even out of bed. And so far I've had great success and I will continue to if I put the time and effort into it.

segovm

I find a giant bag of frozen chicken and a few giant bags of frozen veggies to be pretty cost effective. I've never calculated it out but I'm pretty sure it's cheaper than how I used to eat all the time, at least not a lot more expensive.

The exercise stuff is pretty easy, hit up youtube and type in at home workouts and I am sure a million things will pop up. Anything that gets you moving is better than sitting on the couch so you really can't go wrong.

If you can't take over the TV and the hubby is home go outside and walk / run / bike.

VeryKatie

Try jumping rope and running outside - those are two cheaper exercises (one time shoe cost and a jump rope is around $15. You can even get jump ropes with weights in the handle so you can get a bit of weight endurance training in too).

For food... since you're cutting calories, can you simply buy less food? That would be alright on the budget.

Buying in bulk might be a good option too but even then, you have to wait until the bulk food is on sale. So it might be a bit more money the first time you buy the bulk food but then you have time to watch the fliers. I even get my mom or sister to let me know if they see a good deal. Buying in season fruits and veggies can help as they will usually be cheaper at the right time of year.

Can you start a garden? You can grow your own food and gardening is alright for burning calories too. If you have a friend who is interested in gardening, they may even share seeds and tips. You could look into canning your own veggies and fruits for winter. I don't know what the price point is on that.

I haven't mastered this either. When I eat out less (since it's so expensive) my grocery bill goes way up!

Persian99

As far as foods go, its often cheaper to get stuff from scratch and make it than it is to buy prepared foods. Buy some grains, oatmeal, beans, etc. They don't spoil and you have lots of possibilities. When I was a mom with a baby, a crock pot meal was always easy because I didn't have to spend much time in the kitchen attending to it. Also, a banana costs less than a candy bar. There are ways to shop on a budget and still buy healthy. A huge money saver for many people: drink water instead of soda. Don't even bring soda into the house. Or juice - juice has as much sugar and calories as soda.

As far as exercise, now that the weather is warming up, it might be a good chance to get outside. Do you live within walking distance to a park? Take the kids for a walk to the park and let the older one play. Learn a yoga routine and throw down an mat anytime anywhere in the house and get to moving your body. Lots of stuff can be done.

PinkyPan1

When I started I would put my computer on the kitchen counter and follow walk at home videos on youtube. My kitchen was my gym. Now I get up and walk at sunrise for exercise. I would also leave my computer on the counter and walk in place I checked out FB, MFP and other sites. As far as diet is concerned all you have do to is eat at a deficit. In other words eat less and cut back on the junk foods. Drink lots of water and keep moving.

amberj32

There are many budget friendly things to do for diet and exercise. You can continue to eat the same things you are eating but eating less of them. Make sure to log all your food in the diary. Stay at your calories. If you have a 99 cent store close you can get a lot of produce there. That will help with eating healthier foods. You can start a garden. Lots of fruits and veggies you can just grow in pots and they do well. It's usually fun for the kids too. You can go on walks with the kids. Before the kids wake up in the morning or when they go to bed, you can put in a workout dvd. The library has workout dvds to rent also.

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/
From nerd fitness (haven't tried yet, all the details in link)-
20 body weight squats
10 push ups
20 walking lunges
10 dumbbell rows (using a gallon milk jug)
15 second plank
30 Jumping Jacks

sAlexRice13

Pretty much all I drink is water(except for the occasional home brewed green tea with a tbsp of honey). We almost never eat out due to low funds... And we have no internet at the house(can't afford it). I get online on my phone occasionally but only have 2gb of data available. I've been trying to just eat less, and keep it to lean proteins and such, but I don't have much support at home... Hubby has no desire to change his diet so I'm pretty much on my own. I literally live in a tiny community in the middle of the desert, lol... Produce and lean meats are so expensive sometimes(out here at least), I get as much as I can with our budget but I find that it doesn't always last til more food money comes in. The other tips and such here I will definitely try out. Thanks

jeanstudies

Great ideas, bump!

luffins

There's a smart phone app called Sworkit. It's great when you can't leave the house but still want a bit of a work out. It also syncs your calories burned to MFP. There's the free app but you can also upgrade to Pro and get a few more workouts out of it.

I hope this helps. Good luck

MrsHollingsworthThomas

I was going to recommend YouTube but I see that you have limited internet use.
The best advice I can give would probably be just to get up and get out... moving.

I agree that jumping rope is a GREAT form of cardio and very low cost. You can get a decent jump rope for about $5 locally.
Go for a walk or jog (maybe you can take the kids with you)
Sometimes, when I don't feel like being bothered with equipment or anything else, I put on my work out music playlist, put in my headphones and just DANCE for a good 15-30 minutes. lol. When it's all done, I've usually worked up a really good sweat and it doesn't FEEL like working out. Maybe you can dance a bit with the kids!

Also, you can kind of make your own cardio work outs. When you do have internet access, spend a few minutes looking up cardio exercises and get the moves down; jot down on a piece of paper the moves you like and then just do them on your own.
I'd suggest you have some good music to keep you going and keep you moving quickly with a higher heart rate.
Maybe try something where you do a few kickboxing moves, jumping jacks, side steps, walking in place... there's plenty of 'moves' you can kind of piece together (maybe do 10 sets of each on each side) to create your own work out.

The key thing is to get moving.

As far as food, I would say to focus on portion control. Make sure to log everything you eat and count your calories. They key is definitely to have a calorie deficit each day.
Stay hydrated (water, water, water) and you should just be able to continue eating what you've been eating but maybe just in smaller amounts. That should keep you from going too much over budget on groceries.

Hope this helps.
Feel free to 'friend' me if you need some encouragement. I'm no 'fitness guru' or expert, but I like to change up my work out a lot, so I have lots of low-cost/free ideas for exercise and am always researching more!!

Good luck!

skinnybythanksgiving

You can put the kids in a stroller/front baby carrier and walk in parks, neighborhoods, even walmart. It will be good for your older child too. I had a friend that walked with her husband in walmart several times a week. You can get a mini trampoline. You can buy weights and work out your own routine and do it at home. You can even walk in place while you watch tv with your family. Canned foods make good weights. My favorite exercise is walking in the park and I do hand weights at home and count my calories regardless of what I eat. That's the way it works, if you can't get what some people think you must have to lose weight, just track what you do have to eat. Truth is you'll lose the weight anyway. You definitely want to get a food scale, that's the only thing I would think is an absolute must. See if you have craigslist out there, it's a great place to find stuff for much less.

Bags of dried beans, rice, barley, oat bran, pasta, etc. should be available. Frozen fruit and vegetables can be reasonable and sometimes have more nutrition in them than fresh ones. You can use dried milk. You'll do great!:flowerforyou:

mjdmom5

It's so hard sometimes to eat healthy on a budget! And I disagree with the posters who say eating less helps all that much. Here's what I've found helps. Frozen/canned fruits and veggies: they are just as good for you as fresh, as long as you buy kinds with no added fats or sugars. I buy fresh when I can, but here, frozen veggies are $1/lb, frozen fruit is $2 or $3/lb, canned fruits and veggies are around $1 - $1.50. I mix frozen fruit with milk for smoothies. Bags of frozen chicken here cost $6 for 3 lbs. I cook about a pound for lunches during the week. Brown rice and beans (even canned) are inexpensive as well.

This is a good blog - http://goodcheapeats.com. If you can get to the library for an hour or so, you can get some good ideas.

If you are willing to use government aid, you probably qualify for WIC, which provides milk, eggs, cheese, cereal, bread, produce, etc for kids under 5 and pregnant/nursing moms. If not, look for a food pantry. Even if it doesn't have a lot of really healthy stuff, you can feed your hubby the crap you get there and use the savings for the good stuff.

Try the library for workout tapes. Walk early in the AM or after the kids are in bed (you said you live in the desert, so I suspect midday walks with littles might be a bit hot!). Fit in 5 minutes of dance, strength moves, stairs, etc several times a day - it adds up.

You can do it!

thavoice

It's so hard sometimes to eat healthy on a budget! And I disagree with the posters who say eating less helps all that much. Here's what I've found helps. Frozen/canned fruits and veggies: they are just as good for you as fresh, as long as you buy kinds with no added fats or sugars. I buy fresh when I can, but here, frozen veggies are $1/lb, frozen fruit is $2 or $3/lb, canned fruits and veggies are around $1 - $1.50. I mix frozen fruit with milk for smoothies. Bags of frozen chicken here cost $6 for 3 lbs. I cook about a pound for lunches during the week. Brown rice and beans (even canned) are inexpensive as well.

This is a good blog - http://goodcheapeats.com. If you can get to the library for an hour or so, you can get some good ideas.

If you are willing to use government aid, you probably qualify for WIC, which provides milk, eggs, cheese, cereal, bread, produce, etc for kids under 5 and pregnant/nursing moms. If not, look for a food pantry. Even if it doesn't have a lot of really healthy stuff, you can feed your hubby the crap you get there and use the savings for the good stuff.

Try the library for workout tapes. Walk early in the AM or after the kids are in bed (you said you live in the desert, so I suspect midday walks with littles might be a bit hot!). Fit in 5 minutes of dance, strength moves, stairs, etc several times a day - it adds up.

You can do it!

yes. eating less food is cheaper. you lose weight by a deficit. less food is less money.

louisianagirl1612

If you have internet access at home you can access tons of cardio workouts online. Another option for building strength without buying weights are body weight exercises, great for getting that toned look. If you can save up for some weights or resistance bands these also are great for getting in some strength training in lieu of a gym membership. Also, if you have the time, clipping coupons is a good way to save $$ for healthier food purchases.

SezxyStef

It's so hard sometimes to eat healthy on a budget! And I disagree with the posters who say eating less helps all that much.

How can you disagree with that...calorie deficit for weight loss...even if you eat Kraft dinner, hot dogs and french fries everyday you can still lose weight as long as you are in a deficit.

To the OP...exercise is free...walking kids, playing with kids, even with internet access with fitnessblender.com

"healthy diet" is very subjective. Eat at a deficit, try to get in as many nutrients as possible and you will lose weight.

I have a garden and it's exercise (trust me) even if it's a patio garden...

KnightsGal76

I love it when people who don't have money issues says that if you eat less then your grocery bill will be less I think they obviously don't really know what it means to live paycheck to paycheck or they don't have a family they also have to feed.

I too live paycheck to paycheck, I have 4 children and a husband (so I am trying to feed 6 of us) and the "good" diet food is EXPENSIVE!

My recommendations are that you will find the best prices on foods that you have to do more work on. Instead of buying the bag of baby carrots, get the 10lbs bag that you have to peel and cut yourself. Buy heads of lettece and cabbage and chop it up yourself for salads, Chicken that you have to de-bone and skin is less per pound than the chicken in a bag that is ready to be thrown in the oven. Beans are your friend! cans of beans and uncooked ones. They are a good source of protein and are cheaper. Cutting out drinks that have calories will also lower your food bill (milk, coffee creamer, soda, etc).

futuremanda

Plan your meals for the week partly around what is on sale at the grocery store. If you don't get the flyer for some reason, it is usually on the website!

Don't be too hardline about what is "healthy". For example, frozen waffles and english muffins often go on sale, and you can use them to make sandwiches. I used to add cream cheese, chives, bell peppers, and dill, and maybe a sausage patty from a roll in the freezer section when I was on a budget. Frozen pizzas often go on sale, and if you give everyone 1 slice + a side (fruit that is in season, and fits in your budget, or even divide up a bag of popcorn) then it isn't bad at all calorie wise.

I second buying foods that take more prep. Boneless, skinless, chopped, peeled, etc, you pay for that convenience. You can also save the scraps in freezer bags and use them to make your own broth, which you can use to cook with. You can make soups or substitute for oil. Don't buy lunch/snack packed items -- buy big bags and portion out into sandwich bags yourself if anyone is bagging a lunch.

You can make sauces and freeze them separately. Freeze in ways that you can thaw just enough -- either for one meal or for a week's use. Then when you make pasta, or rice, or beans, or whatever, portion the sauces minimally. No 3 ladles per person, mix it in just enough to be tasty.

Bags of beans may be cheaper than canned. Frozen or canned may be cheaper depending on sales. Always compare, don't just buy the same thing every time.

See if you have any bakeries or butchers or anything that you could get to. Sometimes they are surprisingly cheaper. Not for everything, mind you, but you might be surprised what you can get.

Buy whatever you can in bulk. And make lots of food and freeze it, if possible, as you can dip into it in weeks that you have less in the budget. If you can swing it, stock up on certain sale items -- you can buy bread to freeze, buy extra butter or margarine when it's on sale, etc.

If you have any resources to get food for free or subsidized, use them.

Basically, you don't have to eat any certain foods to diet. You just have to hit your calorie target. It does NOT have to be all "clean" or whatever. Buy the best foods you can in your budget. Buy things you and your family like. Look at ways to cut calories (substitutions, lower portions, etc). Choose your extras wisely (snacks, desserts, drinks are all basically extras that COULD be cut, but if you can work some of them in, do it -- hot chocolate for the week might be cheaper than ice cream, and would be easier on the calories, and you can still make it into a fun evening thing.)

You also do not have to exercise to lose weight. You can lose the 30 lbs without! But it's nice, so it's worth trying to fit in. YouTube has tons of great free stuff, and you can run it from a phone/computer/tablet/whatever. If that is not an option, look for printable things and either print them or copy down the routines by hand. Try to move more in general. Chores, food prep, shopping, etc is all activity, and it's all good for you, even if you can't fit in much in the way of a sustained workout. (If you do this, don't log it.)

StaciMarie1974

Youtube for workout videos and strength routines. If internet is limited, access occasionally at free places like the library to give yourself new ideas. You can do a lot of body weight exercises, and use household items for additional weight. Squats, lunches, crunches, pushups, etc. (Milk Jug filled with water, for example, as a homemade weight.)

As to food: the bottom line is eating less of it, smaller portions overall. And try not to fall into the idea that some foods are good and others are bad, and you can only have the good foods. Great ideas above for shopping on a budget - but for weight loss the key is paying accurate attention to detail as to how much you're taking in.