Help...please....at the end of my rope... I NEED this.
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"$1.99 for a gallon of skim milk"
Wow.....where are you that milk is only $1.99?????????????
Yes where is that??? The cheapest I can get milk especially skin is $3.89 a gallon!!!! I look far and wide!!!0 -
There are all kinds of websites that will help you match coupons to local store sales. I mentioned previously The Grocery Game, it is for a small fee but I have heard of free ones as well. Do your homework. You CAN do this!0
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You don't have to spend lots of money on healthy food. I am a SAHM with a 8 month old baby, 4 year old, and my husband one that gets a paycheck. Money is ALWAYS tight and I eat healthy and spend aproximately $100 on all 4 of us for a weeks worth of groceries. I would love to eat organic but we just don't have the money for that.
I check the sales ad every week before making my grocery list. I plan my meals around the sales. HEB has what they call meal deals. You purchase an item or maybe a few and get an item or items for free. HEB also has coupons placed by all the products that are on sale so I look for the coupons in the store. I don't know where your from, but I'm pretty sure HEB is only in Texas. So you might check your local stores for the sales and clip coupons to help save on grocery bills. I try to stay around the perimeter of the store, fresh fruit, fresh veggies, meat, dairy, and grain products. I buy whatever veggies are on sale and buy big packs of frozen vegetables. I stay away from all canned veggies. Most of your junk food will be in the middle. I buy full fat dairy products and just keep my portions under control. I also don't buy any low fat or specialty foods. If you check the labels, low fat products might be lower in fat but have extra sodium, and/or sugar in them. Read the labels and portion control is the key. I try to stay towards the leaner meats like chicken but I do buy ground beef. I cook the beef and drain and wash the grease off. I cook at home most of the time. We eat out about once a week. If you work , cook the meals in advance. If you normally cook at dinner, double the serving sizes and refrigerate the leftover for you and your fiance to take for lunch the next day.
As far as exercise goes, you don't have to have money to exercise. For strength, google at home workouts. There are tons of workouts that do not require a single piece of equipment. If you have a Pinterest account, there are tons of them under fitness. Go for a walk in the park, around the neighborhood, or run for your cardio.
You mentioned debt which is a big stress or. Google frugal living. We were spending $100 on directv so we looked for alternative solutions. We ended up buying a Roku ($50-100 one time fee) for each room (bought one at a time) and pay for Hulu Plus (8.49 a month) and Netflix (7.99 a month). If you choose this method, Netflix has a bunch of workouts available. Honestly, we love the roku and prefer it over directv. We also cut off our home phone since we both have cell phones. Look for frugal ways to save money so you can buy things you need, want, pay bills, save, and pay debt off.
From the post, you sound very stressed. You need to find a good way to relieve the stress. Try yoga, relaxing bath, read a book, take a walk, go for a run, or do something you enjoy.
If there is a will, there is a way. You can do this and lose the weight. Use that feeling of discontent to drive you to your goal weight. And when you want to give up, remember the feeling and keep going. If you want to give up, remember you can push through it and meet your goal, or eventually end up starting over again. To me, pushing through sounds much better than starting over again. Add me if you want. And ignore all the negative responses.0 -
Yea, sorry, but I call bull**** on "I can't afford the food to lose weight" excuse. 1500 calories is half the cost of 3000.
I gotta call BS on that statement!! You can go to McDonalds (or where ever) and purchase 3,000 calories for a couple of bucks. But get that healthy salad, and grilled chicken or whatever and you are out 5 - 7 bucks!
Yeah, we could solve the obesity problem overnight if we just started charging by the calorie for food.0 -
Spinach leaves are your friend. Cheap for a good amount, too.
Boneless skinless chicken breast. Better to buy fresh, but the frozen bags are cheap. So much you can do with it, too.
Healthy cereals are usually a good investment. You get a week's worth for like $3.50-$4.00.
Eggs - Buy them in bulk and use them in the following proportion: 1 whole egg, 2 egg whites.
Whole grain pasta.
Canned no salt added tomato.0 -
Also, replace the vegetable oil with Coconut oil if you cannot afford extra virgin olive oil. Coconut oil is a nice all-purpose oil. Very healthy.0
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I understand the depression and the PTSD. I have both as well, and although its such a struggle some days, I've noticed with my new job that when I'm actually up and doing things and working and am distracted, I ultimately feel in such a better mood. I still get caught up in little bouts, but keeping a common goal and making sure you give yourself as much positive encouragement as you can will help. Even if it's on little sticky notes or a whiteboard, just to remind you.
I'm not digging the un-supportive views from the fiance, though...
like everyone else said, eating healthy doesn't have to be expensive. It is all about portion control and exercise. The deemed "healthy" foods that seem expensive, really aren't when you consider. There's a trick to it! These foods are usually very filling if eaten at the right pace in in the right portion. Therefore, you'll be having smaller portions of the "expensive" stuff, and being able to keep it and use it longer than something cheap that wouldn't fill you up at all.
Also, the internet is FULL of coupons. I'm sure you can google just about ANY item or store and get some sort of printable coupon worth at least a little bit of money off. Or, start couponing. There are plenty of coupons in daily papers, and there are always fantastic sales going on.
I don't have exercise equipment, so I too, am trying to find ways to exercise with little to no help. This means taking walks, jogging a big, doing jumping jacks and crunches, riding my bike, etc.
You'll get there.
Feel free to add me as a friend, and I can be there any time to help you with some positive encouragement, or even if you just need to talk about problems fueling the depression and PTSD.
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Like I said in my last post, yeah, you can get a bag of chips for a dollar. But those chips are snacky food that you'll be going back and forth to all day, and if your household is anything like mine, that big family sized bag of chips will be gone in 2 days. The pound of broccoli, for the extra $0.25, will serve as a healthy side in just about any dinner, or work as a topping for salad. It will fill you up faster than a bowl of chips would.Yea, sorry, but I call bull**** on "I can't afford the food to lose weight" excuse. 1500 calories is half the cost of 3000.
I'm sorry that you are in a bad spot right now. Calories in vs calories out is definitely one place where you do have control.
First of all eating healthy is costly duh! IF I compare how much I was spending on food before I started this it was ALOT less why? well because I am buying healthier and fresher food derrrrrrrrrr! I could get a bag of chips for $!.00 as opposed to $1.25 per lbs on let's say Broccoli,.98 liter of soda as oposed to $1.99 for a gallon of skim milk or 3.99 for Special K cereal as opposed to the always on freaking sale fruit loops or lucky charms at my local store for $1.79.....
ANYWAY I say the less you work out the less caloric intake you need that is a no brainer.I didn't exercise until I lost my first 15 lbs (confidence boost) then I just walked first for 10 min not too fast and not too slow then I slowly kept increasing my time and speed.Also drink LOTS OF WATER. I drink tap bcasue I refuse to spend $4.00 on a case of bottled waters and create more waste lol
Good luck hun and your more than welcome to add me xo0 -
OP: Shop at the fringes of a grocery store, not the center aisle. Anything prepackaged is always going to cost you more. Get oats, dried beans, brown rice and whole wheat pasta (if on sale.) All these things will fill you up and are better for you. Another thing I do is shop at a Farmer's Market at about the last hour of closing time, I find the sellers will do steep discounts just to move their stuff.0
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Ohhhh yes. Last minute Farmer's Market steals. They're always so amazing, just because no one wants to load everything back up if they don't have to.OP: Shop at the fringes of a grocery store, not the center aisle. Anything prepackaged is always going to cost you more. Get oats, dried beans, brown rice and whole wheat pasta (if on sale.) All these things will fill you up and are better for you. Another thing I do is shop at a Farmer's Market at about the last hour of closing time, I find the sellers will do steep discounts just to move their stuff.0 -
You will get a lot of support here - I've sent you a friend request:flowerforyou:0
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It's surprising how cheap fast-food is in the US when you compare it to a healthy stock of fresh veggies, lean meats etc. At least, it is if the movie 'food inc' is anything to go by.
The thing is you need to build it up slowly, learn how to cook wholesome meals and learn how to shave off calories (and cost) wherever possible. You don't need to buy expensive branded food items (weight watcher for example) in order to lose weight. You can make a meal out of a tiny list of ingredients if you prepare and plan properly. You don't need to go to trader joes and buy expensive organic veggies, you don't need to buy exotic ingredients that cost a bomb just because they're in the recipe you found online.
Take it one step at a time, teach yourself how to cook from cheap basic ingredients. Cheap dried herbs and stock powder are your friend!
Where I live in the UK (which is much more expensive than the US!) a large Subway meal costs about £6.50 per head, more if you have the drink and the cookie. For the same price for two people I can buy some cheap chicken breast, an onion, a pepper, a tin of chopped tomatoes, some spices and a small bag of brown rice, and even a bag of apples and some natural yoghurt for dessert. Or the ingredients for a chilli, or a bolognese, or a stir-fry, and probably make enough to have some left over for lunch tomorrow!
Start small. Baby steps. When you're learning something like a new language, you have to take it slowly. This is no different.
How's this for a start?
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/recipes/healthy/cheap-and-healthy/
Food isn't your enemy. It's your best friend. You're just spending too much time together
LOVE the last line!!! I agree, I live in Ireland, have 30 euro per week (Ireland is really expensive, we go to the UK for deals!) I make everything from scratch and eat really well (too well maybe). Whole meal pasta is the same price as white pasta etc.
Also that webpage rocks think I'll be making that chickpea soup this week!
You can do this, we all can!0 -
"$1.99 for a gallon of skim milk"
Wow.....where are you that milk is only $1.99?????????????
Oh, I can answer this one! Walmart is selling it super cheap again. They go through cycles, and right now it's one of their super deals!0 -
"$1.99 for a gallon of skim milk"
Wow.....where are you that milk is only $1.99?????????????
Oh, I can answer this one! Walmart is selling it super cheap again. They go through cycles, and right now it's one of their super deals!
Nice....was at Walmart the other day, paid $3.64
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"$1.99 for a gallon of skim milk"
Wow.....where are you that milk is only $1.99?????????????
I was at Aldi's today and paid 2.84 for a gallon of skim milk. It's not 1.99 but not much higher. This 2.84 is their regular price, not a sale price0 -
"$1.99 for a gallon of skim milk"
Wow.....where are you that milk is only $1.99?????????????
Oh, I can answer this one! Walmart is selling it super cheap again. They go through cycles, and right now it's one of their super deals!
Nice....was at Walmart the other day, paid $3.64
Yeah, I noticed that they cycle through these incredible prices pretty quickly. They also had cases of soda for $5.99, which is about $2 less than they usually carry them for. I'm off soda for a while, so I didn't buy any, but I was tempted to "stock up"!0 -
Never in a million years would I have expected to have received this many responses. I apologize for my lack of replying until now. After I made this post I went to take a shower, then my fiance got home and I became distracted, followed by sleeping and a walk to the store, etc. I'm finally sitting down to an alarming amount of support that I just almost cannot believe but absolutely appreciate. I only feel bad that I cannot respond to each and every one of you individually, but I will notate that I took the time to read all four pages of information.
A little bit about my situation, although unrelated to the topic of budgeting and willpower-finding entirely, is that we also have no car (but walking is not something I'm unfamiliar with - I love it as an exercise regimen), and live with 2 other people as a roommate thing so fridge space and freezer space especially is extremely limited. About my budget, though, because someone mentioned I am/was only a cashier part-time, I have daycare expenses for my daughter that are back owed to the tune of 1,000.00 and stacking monthly (her father is footing things and neither of them live with me). Then a prior other bill that is sitting around for another 200, but not stacking as it's just something back owed that I could not pay and now won't be able to for a while. Regardless, none of that truly has anything to do with weight loss so I'll get back on topic - just thought I'd throw the information out there.
Almost every single one of you are and were eye openers to me, and provided me with very valuable information. I spoke with my fiance and did some mental self searching and I completely agree with the sentiment that it is all in my hands. But my mind is not always this 'stable', for lack of a better term. I am in fact seeing a psychiatrist very soon, so that matter IS being addressed, for those concerned. I realize that this is completely within my control as to whether or not this is important enough to me to put on the right mindset. Just like cigarettes, or drugs, food is a serious addiction for me, as is carbonation which is why I keep returning to sodas. So in all honesty I came here hoping that someone would do exactly what all of you have done, which is not only to provide me with the moral support I desperately desire, but to offer real-world suggestions for what I can do on such a limited budget. Sure I could have perused the internet for a zillion hours, but I came here because this community is a place I trust, a place where the results are PROVEN and photos provide me EVIDENCE to support people's claims. I don't know, but it feels more real here. So, just for anyone maybe wondering why I came here lazily instead of doing my research, that was/is why...
Sit ups are my favorite do-it-yourself exercise, alongside walking, and I fully intend to start on a daily or bi-daily basis. My biggest fear right now is that if I jump into everything altogether, I will quickly blunder or feel/become overwhelmed. Then again I also fear that if I don't jump into it, I won't take it seriously enough or something. I don't know. Fear is an excuse for a lot of things in life and I need to stop making excuses. Just do it.
To those of you who have listed meal plans, external links, exercise regimes, and who have extended your knowledge, wisdom, and even friendship courtesies to me, thank you from the bottom of my despaired heart. By no means do I wish to throw a pity party but I truly appreciate every word of it all. I can't make exact quotes since I just processed many pages of many paragraphs of text but rest assured that I will bookmark my thread and come back to these posts as a means of support to myself when all else fails or when I need direct examples. Such as the breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacks list, I was astonished. And I will gladly take anyone up on their friendship offers, as I obviously need all the help I can get...
In my history, there was a time when I did weigh over 200 lbs, I was 205 to be exact. I discovered this at the doctor's office, and that's the day I started getting scared for my health. My grandfather suffers diabetes, and I don't ever want to end up that way. I made it down to 160lbs through counting calories and exercising, back when foodstamps were there to help me and I wasn't the only one bringing in the groceries and I had a vast array of options to go off of. I was losing weight to the tune of 10 lbs a month and everything was on my side, including my mental health. I had no way of knowing that my mind would suddenly turn topsyturvy overnight and my world would be flipped upsidedown and I would say to myself "Just enjoy life and enjoy all the food you want - so long as you're happy, right?"
That one line, that one sentence, will come back to haunt me. But I need to be ready. And now, thanks to this website, I hope I WILL be ready. MFP has helped me before, but I was so ashamed of my failure after all of that hard work and time, that I stopped coming here and regained all of my weight. I feel/felt like a failure but I decided to come back, because this amazing, wonderful community is the one place I feel I have some hope. Where I can SEE people like all of you, what you have done, and what you're doing. And moreover, where I can FEEL the support and maybe when I'm in a better place give some of it back.
Enough. I'm sorry for talking your heads off, but to be fair you spent the time replying so I figured I'd give the same respect in kind. Thanks again. I wish you all the very best. And I wish myself the very best. T.T
[EDIT] P.S. - http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/2672/giantsub.png
Because some people were questioning the 'sub' tactic, I decided to take a picture. The sub I mentioned is over a foot in length, and quite thick, easily accounting for an entire day's worth of food, and is $3.98 at my local store, with half a sub pre-cut for only $1.98. Meanwhile vegetables are 2.00-3.00+ per lb. T.T But I had not considered frozen vegetables, which would probably be cheaper, if I have enough freezer space. Our landlord has two large dogs and two cats, all of which he freezes a lot of chicken legs/etc for and home-cooks for them every day/night, so freezer space is veeeerrrryyyyyy tight sadly. But hey, thought I'd throw the perspective out there.0 -
Start logging in your diary again! I have miles to go but I always feel better when I get back on track. It also makes me feel better when I eat "clean" (fresh fruit and vegies, lean meat, etc) and take a walk. Baby steps! Also, cooking at home is SO much cheaper than eating out and you can control the fat, salt & calories. I think the fat/sugar/salt in prepared food is addictive. Just keep moving forward.0
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Agree with needamulligan. Don't ruminate over what you can't do, focus on fixing the stuff you can fix. Don't start tomorrow or next week or wait for the *right* time. Start today.
Also, some words about fears:
Don't fear failure. Don't fear that you can't get things right all in one go. Don't fear falling down. Fear not getting back up again. Fear never starting what you want to do and achieve in life. Some people say fear is bad, I say learn to put fears where they belong, learn to leverage or manage those fears, and make them work for you.
Good luck.0 -
Heres some things to cut back on: sodas (waste of calories and money!!!), adult beverages-same thing!, chips (waste of calories and money and they don't satisfy your hunger!)
Here is what I do: drink water (it is nearly free), get lunch meat (sometimes I even eat it without the bread to save calories!), pick some cheaper fruits/veggies (whatever is in season will be cheaper). By eliminating sodas at $6.00 a case, eliminating chips, and other junk food, you can afford healthy food!
Its a myth that you can't afford healthy foods. You also can't afford health bills such as if you have heart problems,diabetes, etc!0
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