How rude of me!

janaegriffin87

I made a topic yesterday without writing in here. HI EVERYONE! My name is Janae but you can call me Nae and I am a health enthusiast! AKA....I know a little about being healthy but rarely do it LOL. I am 23 years old from Baltimore, MD...I graduated college about 2 years ago and now I am working a full time job (while trying to balance a million other extracuricular activities). I want to tone up and eat healthier but three things stand in the way of that: 1) Eating healthy is expensive and I am broke! 2)I can't find the time or energy to work out because I am always tired or busy 3) I STAY HUNGRY!

So any help would be appreciated Thankies and its nice to meet u all! We'll get thru this together!

luv2ash

I am a realist---not gonna sugar coat anything---but do you think those are just excuses? I used to say things like that all the time---and I have learned that I was cheating myself and harming myself by doing that. Just something to think about.

Good luck on your journey--put your mind to it, commit and you will succeed.

monstertwelve

welcome!!! im a maryland-er too!!! :bigsmile:

IndyRick

If it's important enough to you, you'll find a way. If it's not...you won't. It's pretty much that simple! YOU CAN DO THIS!

ashers1819

SNAP. You can find a way and you won't remain hungry... don't forget that much of the hunger we experience is psychological not physical. I recommend more water and more vegetables and you'll get there. When I am at work, I sit there with a plate of cut up veg in front of me and graze on that through the day and IT WORKS... no more do I crave chocolate and chips and junk because psychologically I know there is food there to eat.

Try it and see how it works for you.

dawnslaughter

hiya.

most people make the mistake of thinking that if you are on a diet you have to eat salad, salad and more salad.

you should eat 5 fruit and veg portions aday an apple = 1 portion

but you can eat what you want so long as you use portion control,

i have chinese food on friday, i have special fried rice because i know the calories of a tub of that

just switch for healthy choices. eat chicken breast not dark meat and dont eat the skin.

eat whole meal bread, and pastas, they are more filling so you need less.

but you can eat white bread and pasta , you will notice though that one slice of wholemeal brad has about 98 cals white about 120 but for every slice of brown you eat you need 2 or 3 of white to get the same full feeling.

i eat normal meals have been losing weight for 6 years now, i cant do the salads it is so hard and boring . i love food.

Briacha

Hi, nice to meet you Nae. My name is Lisa!

I agree with the expensive part. I was telling my husband that when I shop and purchase the healthier foods, my shopping bill is significantly higher and I don't seem full either. I try to eat more fiber and more protein (hence I try and incorporate a protein shake into my diet daily) but liquids just dont seem to cut it for me.

Special K cereal tastes good and is great for you. Not too bad price wise. Buy a box and have that for breakfast or some apples with peanut butter. Either of those seem to fill me up in the morning. I am not a huge breakfast person to begin with...

Always purchase chicken breasts (if you like chicken!) when they are on sale. $1.79/&1.99 per pound if in tri state area. I stock up on them when they are at a low price. Tons of ways to use and at them.

I am new at this myself! Good luck, YOU CAN DO IT!!!

Alysgrma

Hi and welcome! Let me tell you something about what I know to be true.
1. As my pastor says.."If you really want to do something you will find a way to do it" no exceptions!
2. Healthly eating is less expensive then not...because once your body gets use to the fruits & veggies you
will stop wanting all the junk and that junk is what cost more money!! I am a single person helping with my granddaughter with limited amount of money & time and I eat healthy now.
3. There is ALWAYS TIME TO EXERCISE..before work, after work, before bed....it all goes back to my #1

If you really want it you will find the time and engery to do it!!!

Good Luck in your future

teasdino

I understand what you are saying.
I would recommend you go to Dr Oz's web site. He is doing a get healthy challenge. On one of his programs he
explained how to spend a small amount of money on all healthy foods for you.
Yes, eating healthy can seem expensive. So having someone give you a break down/list of how to shop and what to buy
will really benifit you.
To help you out I went onto the site and got a link for you.
http://www.doctoroz.com/question?query=grocery+shopping
I hope that helps you in the grocery department.
As for the working out part...that is a good one. I want you to think about this fact. Lets say you dont take...20 minutes to work out in a day. When you are old what are the health risks that you may develop? High blood pressure, diabetes, some different cancers, stroke, etc. Those will require doc's apt that will suck up your time. You could be on meds or you could need different treatment. That will mean your quality of life will go way down.
So if you think about it, giving yourself the least amount of exercise will benifit you in the long run. It doesnt have to encompass your whole day. It doesnt mean you are being selfish or arrogant. It means you want to lead a wonderful energized life full of happiness.
The Dr Oz site also can help you with inexpensive work outs ;-]
Feel free to add me if you wish. You can also look at my profile. Remember...anything worth doing is worth the effort ;-] And I believe your health is a worthwhile thing.
jac

humpalc

Another way to get some good food ideas is to check other people's food diaries - quite a few people have an 'open to friends' or 'open to public' food diary - check out what some of the 'losers' (LOL) on MFP are eating - the recipes board has some good stuff on it, too.

One thing that has helped me is to cook a couple of things in bulk when I've got a free evening or a couple hours on the weekend - a big batch of black bean burrito filling and/or veggie lasagne, then freeze it in lunch-size portions so for a couple of weeks I have a go-to at work lunch option.

I have also found that the money I have saved by not buying pop, chips, and snacky-junk has taken the sting out of the higher cost of fresh produce.

humpalc

Oh yeah, and I should mention that there are a bunch of people doing Jillian Michael's 30 day Shred video - it is a tough, solid 20 minute workout - if you can squeeze 20 minutes in, you can make a difference in your health If Jillian drives you bonkers, just put your headphones in and follow along - it's a 7-10$ video, depending where you find it (mine was at Walmart for 9$)

petithamu

I never quite understood the 'it's expensive to eat healthy' part...because I always find my grocery bill decreases when i buy a load of vegetables and fruit! Eating healthy doesn't need to be expensive at all. Chicken breasts is not that expensive and sometimes I buy a whole chicken, roast it and then discard the skin and take all the meat out. One full chicken and have enough meat for 2-3 days either for stirfry, a quick chicken sandwich, etc. If salmon is too expensive then try other oily fish like mackerels because they're always cheaper. I also don't buy them filet, I buy them as a whole fish and i can just take it home, bake it and take the meat out myself. If you're worried about fresh vegs going bad, I started buying frozen veggies. Sometimes frozen is better because if you find a good brand, they freeze as soon as they crop so no nutrition is lost.

There is always a way, just trial and error. Help is always here!

Tiffany

janaegriffin87

I really needed to hear all of this! Thank you all so much.

Everyone is right, if you want to do something you will do it. I think I just need to reprioritize and put achieving my fitness goals at the top of the list. Maybe eating healthy will give me more energy which will in turn help me to get up and work out.

Here are my fitness downfalls:

-At one point I was working out during my lunch hour at work, then I feel off because I needed to research things on the internet for a side project I am doing.

-Once upon a time I got up daily at like 4:30 am to do Jillian Michaels yoga and then 1) I got used to the workout and 2) Now, although I set like 4 different alarms I STILL won't get up in the morning!

-I use the cold weather as an excuse not to go running (my gym membership is delinquit, I have no treadmill at home)

Eating healthy won't be easy because I am still trying to figure it out and it seems complicated (I've heard so many different things). Then again, now that I read over this these all still sound like excuses! Eek!


This is so awesome, I feel like I have an online family :tear: ^_^

petithamu

Oh yeah, and I should mention that there are a bunch of people doing Jillian Michael's 30 day Shred video - it is a tough, solid 20 minute workout - if you can squeeze 20 minutes in, you can make a difference in your health If Jillian drives you bonkers, just put your headphones in and follow along - it's a 7-10$ video, depending where you find it (mine was at Walmart for 9$)

On that note, 30 Day Shred is amazing. It jump started my journey 45 days ago and I stuck with it for 30 days, got some great results! Check out my blog if you want to get an idea of what the Shred is like: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/petithamu/view/30-day-shred-result-66089

velix

in regards to 'healthy food being expensive' - I've read and heard this so many times. If you are in a large city, I would recommend not shopping at the grocery store for your fruit and veggies, fish...

here (in Montreal, Canada) there are a ton of fruit and veggie shops with amazing prices (usually half of what the chain grocery stores charge). Fish markets are often cheaper as well. While it might not be convenient to have to go to 10 stores to get food for my family, they are all within a 20 minute walking distance, so that counts as exercise too.

There is always time to exercise. There is one woman on this site (wish I could remember her name) who wakes up at 4:30am to go to the gym before work (she has a full time day job and evening classes). While I personally find that crazy - I admire her dedication. Every little bit counts, and the more you exercise, the more energy you get (sounds counter-intuitive, but it's true).

I really hope you find the support and motivation you need - this is a great site with a great hive-mind!

Good Luck!

janaegriffin87

Jillian Michaels is the best! I only have her yoga DVD, but I've heard TONS of good things about her 30 day shred....no matter how much money I have I am going to go buy it tomorrow!

LorinaLynn

I'm super-broke, too, and thought the same thing about healthy eating. But now I realize that I was leaning too hard on packaged food, which really isn't any cheaper, and a whole lot less healthy.

For instance... I was big on Hamburger Helper and Rice a Roni. Add a pound of meat and a buck or two gives you a meal. Except they're PACKED with sodium. Buying plain brown rice or whole wheat pasta (even regular pasta) and even just using pre-made sauces is healthier and cheaper. Making my own sauces would be cheaper and healthier still, but I am admittedly lazy.

Lentils are my new best friend. Packed with fiber and protein, I add some - maybe half a cup - whenever I make rice. And under $2 for a bag. And I love frozen veggies. Don't have to worry about them spoiling, and they taste "fresher" than canned.

Online recipe sites rock. You can find anything you want just by googling, and there's usually healthier alternatives. For instance, I love Chili's Southwest Eggrolls (YUMMMM!), and found a recipe online. Instead of making them as deep fried eggrolls, I use the mixture for the filling (chicken, peppers, tomatoes, corn, beans, spinach, cheese - for the most part, pretty healthy) in whole wheat tortillas and bake them as enchiladas.

Watch the store circulars for specials. I browse them online since i don't get the newspaper. One place has Thomas' muffins, buy one get TWO free. They often have the same sort of special on whole grain breads. Stock up. Things like that can be frozen so they don't spoil before you get a chance to use them.

janaegriffin87

@petithamu I am checking out your blog now...what an inspiration! I can't wait to start that DVD!

@velix that 4:30 a.m. chic used to be me! However my boyfriend gets off of work late and I have to pick him up at 11 p.m. and sometimes 2:30 a.m., so I'm usually so tired that I sleep until 7:30 a.m. now....an hour before I have to be to work! So then I end up rushing to get there!


@Lynn that is such a good idea! I am definitley gonna start looking things up online! The Superfresh is like a 5 minute walk from where I work, so I'll start there. I've never been to a whole foods market, so I want to try that too. I am a HORRIBLE cook, but these recipes sound like fun! I want to try some!

janaegriffin87

One friend recommended Weight Watchers, but I would hate to invest in yet another fitness program when I didnt keep up with Ballys. I don't have this money to waste!

joaniegray

Thanks for the post - you are right - eating healthy is expensive!! What do you try to eat that is healthy and cheap??

One of my favorites is plain (real) oatmeal with apple and a bit of brown sugar for breakfast or an egg on toast. I find both are filling and not terribly expensive. I made 2 servings of oatmeal (or even 4) at a time and just reheat oatmeal next day. I could use some tips on lunches tho. For example today I am having a tuna sandwich - I might change it to half a tuna sandwich and a bowl of lentil soup. I could really use lunch ideas and I am sick of salads plus salad is very expensive in winter (I live in the great north). Any ideas on healthy 300 calorie lunch (and cheap?)

Joanna

ajbeans

Eating healthy doesn't have to be expensive. Dry beans are cheap, high in protein, very versatile, and very good for you. Eggs are cheap. Frozen veggies are healthier than canned and are cheaper and easier to store than fresh. You can make your own soup very easily (even easier if you have a crock pot). In-season fruits and veggies aren't expensive at all -- potatoes, carrots, and apples are cheap year-round. You can buy lean meats for under 3 bucks a pound, and if you're eating recommended serving sizes of 3 or 4 oz. a pound goes a long way!

Staying active doesn't have to be expensive either. There are things you can do around your house, for free, with no equipment. Do a YouTube search for workout videos you can watch on your computer. Or you can do simple things without a video. Jumping jacks and dancing to get your heart rate up. Old-school gym class stretches to keep your muscles warm. Pushups for arm strength (do them from your knees if you can't do them with a straight body, or even against a wall if you want). Do bicep curls with cans of food for a little resistance. Crunches and reverse crunches and planks to work your core. No excuses here! This stuff is all free!

Time is also not an excuse. You don't have to do this for 2 hours every day. 5 minutes in the morning is better than nothing. 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes after work is even better. If you don't have 20 minutes to your name in the course of the day, then you need to re-prioritize! I see that you pick your boyfriend up late and have to stay up late -- why aren't you using that time to do a little workout? It's there for the taking!

You can do this if you want to!