"I don't have the money to be healthy..."

IveLanded

I wanted to address something I see a lot in real life and here on MFP, especially with women.

So often women write their plea for help and it's noted with "But I don't have money for the gym" or "I don't have money to buy healthy foods".


Before those words leave your mouth or your fingers the next time, tell me....what IS your health worth? What is the exact dollar amount that you are willing to pay per month or per year in order to improve your life and possibly be around longer for your loved ones?

Before those words leave your mouth or fingers again, take a real hard look at your budget and what you spend your extra money on. Maybe even track ALL your non-essentials for a month. How many times are you eating out a month?? How many mochas at Starbucks? How many packs of gum did you grab while checking out at the store? How many times did you find some really great deal on a shirt on clearance at Target so you spent the extra $10 on that trip? The reality is that MOST of us here with computers and internet live a life that probably has an extra $50 a month (or more) that we typically spend on non-essential things.

I'm not judging. And I'm not saying everyone needs a gym membership in order to be successful. What I'm saying is this....you probably ARE worth a $50 a month investment in getting healthy and staying healthy. If that's a couple of boxes of protein bars instead of pop-tarts or a gym membership or a set of work out DVDs or whatever. You're worth it. You probably have it. It's just about shifting priorities. And I think it's ok to make yourself a priority every now and again.

justjenn1977

You're worth it. You probably have it. It's just about shifting priorities. And I think it's ok to make yourself a priority every now and again.

^^this... plus the fact that the ymca offers scholarships... they also have deals worked out with MANY insurance companies to offer low cost memberships


plus all the exercises you can do without the gym... body weight exercises... walking... biking... etc

weemawhit

I used to say that when I really just wasn't emotionally ready to tackle my health yet. Granted, I was very strapped for cash and my time was limited, but I still definitely could have improved my habits. There are only so many things that we are capable of doing at once, though. Once I finished school and began my career, I threw myself into this fitness and healthy eating thing. I'm really enjoying it, and it's MUCH easier this time around, because I have the necessary energy and time. It's easy to say that I wish I would have started calorie counting sooner, but I just wasn't ready.

People have to come around to self-improvement organically. I get so frustrated when people assume that everyone's primary goal is to be a super model! Ha. (I know that's not what you're suggesting though!) Health and being super skinny/hot/whatever just isn't everyone's #1 priority, and we can't assume that everyone is equally concerned. (Same thing goes for make up, tanning, fashion, and whatever else. Maybe if we had 36 hour days!)

To those people who wrote those kinds of "pleas for help", give yourself some time. If you're spending too much energy just making yourself feel guilty about making less healthy decisions, you are only making the situation worse. Stress = weight! It's a viscous cycle, but everyone deserves their own love; whether that means setting your calorie goals aside for a day, or working out on a more regular basis.

firstsip

This. This. This. This.

ESPECIALLY the "I don't have money for a gym." You have a body that can run, walk, and/or jog. You have a body that can be used for strength training.

And MOST cities, large or small, have an ethnic market or a farmers market somewhere where healthy foods (produce specifically) can be found incredibly cheap.

And yeah, I agree with you--is it worth it more to go out to that movie every week if you ultimately can't fit in the theater seat?

avaMFP

AGREE

firstsip

I used to say that when I really just wasn't emotionally ready to tackle my health yet. Granted, I was very strapped for cash and my time was limited, but I still definitely could have improved my habits. There are only so many things that we are capable of doing at once, though. Once I finished school and began my career, I threw myself into this fitness and healthy eating thing. I'm really enjoying it, and it's MUCH easier this time around, because I have the necessary energy and time. It's easy to say that I wish I would have started calorie counting sooner, but I just wasn't ready.

People have to come around to self-improvement organically. I get so frustrated when people assume that everyone's primary goal is to be a super model! Ha. (I know that's not what you're suggesting though!) Health and being super skinny/hot/whatever just isn't everyone's #1 priority, and we can't assume that everyone is equally concerned. (Same thing goes for make up, tanning, fashion, and whatever else. Maybe if we had 36 hour days!)

To those people who wrote those kinds of "pleas for help", give yourself some time. If you're spending too much energy just making yourself feel guilty about making less healthy decisions, you are only making the situation worse. Stress = weight! It's a viscous cycle, but everyone deserves their own love; whether that means setting your calorie goals aside for a day, or working out on a more regular basis.

Health REALLY should be everyone's #1 priority. You are nothing to those around you if you die young, and your college, work, anything are not worth it if you shorten your lifespan in order to achieve something (I'm saying this as someone who put myself through college on three jobs, going to school full time). It's a sad society where you link health to "attractiveness" right off the bat. Health is about sticking around as long as possible with what little time we've got.

Moxie42

Agreed! I also think it's just a common myth that eating healthy has to be expensive- if you're trying to eat nothing but organic, vegan perfectness from Whole Foods, sure...but I've noticed most people who say that simply think fast food is cheaper. But it's not true. For $6 a person can either get a single crappy meal at a fast food place, or buy enough veggies for salad for 4 days! And substitution is key- it costs LESS to buy regular coffee from Starbucks than frappucino. And low-fat or non-fat or light versions of most foods are the same price as regular.

One tip for anyone who lives near a Trader Joes or Fresh & Easy- those stores are a lot cheaper than you might think! I used to think TJs was super-expensive because I used to buy nothing but fancy cheeses and desserts from there! Once I started getting all my regular shopping there, I started saving a lot of money- literally went from $120 to $90 for each shopping trip. F&E has great deals for meats and pre-prepared meals.

gaiareeves

I'm a 19 year old student. I have a budget of around £53 ($85) a week. That's for food, transport, any and all necessities. I usually can only afford to spend half of that on food, if that. But I manage to eat healthy just fine. I can't afford the gym, either, but you don't need a gym to exercise. There's plenty of things you can do for free.

drusilla126

My mom uses that one all the time. And yes I get it it's not easy pinching pennies but heck she does a lot of shopping for clothes when she has a full closet. She also gives the no time excuse. It irritates me because I know I used to say the same thing. Now I'm starting a new job and stressing about having to get up at 5 to be in the gym for 6 out by 8 on the bus by 9 to be to work for 10 but hey it's about how much you want it.

LorinaLynn

A big pack of chicken breasts and a couple bags of frozen vegetables will go a lot further and be a lot healthier than anything off the Dollar Menu.

PibblesRun

you dont need a gym membership to exercise. Theres no excuse for not exercising. But the money thing...I can see how people cant afford healthy food. Grocerys are so expensive now, and it cost 5 times as much to buy healthy than junk. If its healthy food or my childs diapers which will I choose...hmm. Some weeks things are streched so tight I go without alot of healthy items till next pay day, and I do know how to budget and whats needed and whats not, adn trust me we dont have anything thats not needed, and before you say internet...that is pretty much a necessity now. Everythings electronic, online etc.

butterflylady86

The benifits of being healthy out weight the money spent. I'm going to get to my goal weight. I will be healthy and stronger for it. Those are just excuses to not get healthy and fit. Peace

weemawhit

I used to say that when I really just wasn't emotionally ready to tackle my health yet. Granted, I was very strapped for cash and my time was limited, but I still definitely could have improved my habits. There are only so many things that we are capable of doing at once, though. Once I finished school and began my career, I threw myself into this fitness and healthy eating thing. I'm really enjoying it, and it's MUCH easier this time around, because I have the necessary energy and time. It's easy to say that I wish I would have started calorie counting sooner, but I just wasn't ready.

People have to come around to self-improvement organically. I get so frustrated when people assume that everyone's primary goal is to be a super model! Ha. (I know that's not what you're suggesting though!) Health and being super skinny/hot/whatever just isn't everyone's #1 priority, and we can't assume that everyone is equally concerned. (Same thing goes for make up, tanning, fashion, and whatever else. Maybe if we had 36 hour days!)

To those people who wrote those kinds of "pleas for help", give yourself some time. If you're spending too much energy just making yourself feel guilty about making less healthy decisions, you are only making the situation worse. Stress = weight! It's a viscous cycle, but everyone deserves their own love; whether that means setting your calorie goals aside for a day, or working out on a more regular basis.

Health REALLY should be everyone's #1 priority. You are nothing to those around you if you die young, and your college, work, anything are not worth it if you shorten your lifespan in order to achieve something (I'm saying this as someone who put myself through college on three jobs, going to school full time). It's a sad society where you link health to "attractiveness" right off the bat. Health is about sticking around as long as possible with what little time we've got.

We're talking in the past tense, though. To many people, health is primarily about looks. I only meant to help shed some light on where people are coming from when they say that kind of thing.

CallMeCupcakeDammit

If I ate off the dollar menu all the time, I could afford to go to the gym!

weemawhit

If I ate off the dollar menu all the time, I could afford to go to the gym!

:laugh: :flowerforyou:

Uuuhlexis

Veggie's just AREN'T expensive. If you take a half an hour out of your day to cook instead of buying premade CRAP you save money and calories.
Even those healthy dinners. Tiny portions, full of sodium. I can make something 15x better than that with about 20 minutes worth of effort.

mhotch

Living Healthy

Your medical bills will be minimal , if at all

What you save, in over-eating and eating out too much, can be used for healthy at home choices. { a starbucks coffee cost upwards of $3 each, a bowl of homemade oatmeal will cost less than a dollar!}

While a gym is nice, exercise can be done at home, in a park, on a street, with a tattered ole tee-shirt and a pair of sneakers. We all own that!

SaraBrown12

Personally i think eating healthy is more important a priority to some1 who is strapped financially. So many have said running is free, walking is free, u can buy 30 day shred off amazon for less then the price of 1 gym session. The maths will always work out if you want it enough. I also don't think eating healthy is more expensive then eating frozen shyte. Difference is i need to go to the shop more to keep fresh stuff with a shorter shelf life in stock. So turn 1 £90 weekly shop into 3 £30 shops.

ltkasmala

I watched a video last spring as a sub where this same comment was mentioned. The family complained that the dad (who was obviously overweight) had two medications he took that ate away a lot of the family's budget, so they had no choice but to eat out all the time because it was so much cheaper.... My thought was maybe if the man ate better and lost weight, me might be able to do away with the medications (not knowing what they were, I can't honestly say).

I completely cut out meat early in the summer and can't say that what I am eating now is that expensive. Fruits and vegetables are actually pretty economical in my opinion! And I live on a budget, too!

Then they complained that they worked all day and had two kids and there was no time to cook. I work and take nine hours in graduate school and cook on the weekends. It solves that problem pretty simply!

I am a "class A whiner", but it works my last nerve, too, when people have excuses like this! I do pay $15/month to go to a gym, but right now can only go on the weekends--over the summer I went 3x/week--but have enough exercise DVDs at home where I can keep up w/o the gym all the time. And taking your dog for a walk around the neighborhood (or just yourself) is FREE! Plus the scenery and fresh air are probably worth the investment of time!

Most of my family died before they were 50 of heart related issues; I presently am 52. And I don't plan on going any time soon, so it's worth it to me to get in shape and loose whatever weight I can! Period!

Rawr1978

My gym is in a rec centre. I pay $90/month for the entire family, me alone would be $45. It's worth every penny. I dont work out at home, i have 3 kids who love to "exercise along" aka get under my feet.

BrewerFan2

I noticed that since I actually eat everything I purchase now instead of throwing half of it away like I used to I tend to save a lot more now. I used to go through these phases of wanting to "eat healthy" and buy all this healthy food and end up throwing it all away at the end of the week because it ended up rotting. Now I tend to shop more often because I only buy what I will eat within the next couple of days so therefore it will not go to waste. Plus I have been stocking up and Foodsaving for the winter as well some veggies and fruits too.

AmyFett

I don't have the extra 50 or so dollars a month to go to the gym. I barely make it just paying rent and utilities. This is why, I saved money to buy my own elliptical. Kept tabs on garage sale groups on facebook, I got myself an elliptical, weights, and treadmill for 80 dollars total. Way cheaper, no wasted gas to go to the gym. This is the smart move, IMO.

Uuuhlexis

I don't have the extra 50 or so dollars a month to go to the gym. I barely make it just paying rent and utilities. This is why, I saved money to buy my own elliptical. Kept tabs on garage sale groups on facebook, I got myself an elliptical, weights, and treadmill for 80 dollars total. Way cheaper, no wasted gas to go to the gym. This is the smart move, IMO.

nice work!!

kmm7309

I'm NOT saying I disagree with you at all, in fact, I completely agree.

I am saying that maybe these things need to be taught to those who use excuses like this.

Kind of like a college who has classes on time management for students who complain that they don't have time to do their homework.

I definitely agree that it can be done, but sometimes the whole thought of changing your lifestyle and making room for other priorities can be overwhelming to some people. "People almost always live right within their means" (my husband never understands NFL stars filing bankruptcy, but this is why this statement is true).

MyM0wM0w

Or when they post that complaint to somplace like FB using their mobile device. So, you can't afford to eat healthy but you've got that data plan? WOOT!

I find that if something is that important you'll make the time/find the money to do it. There is almost always someplace that you can skim money from (lowering cable/internet/phone package, skip a few movies a month, etc).

Rawr1978

I watched a video last spring as a sub where this same comment was mentioned. The family complained that the dad (who was obviously overweight) had two medications he took that ate away a lot of the family's budget, so they had no choice but to eat out all the time because it was so much cheaper.... My thought was maybe if the man ate better and lost weight, me might be able to do away with the medications (not knowing what they were, I can't honestly say).

I completely cut out meat early in the summer and can't say that what I am eating now is that expensive. Fruits and vegetables are actually pretty economical in my opinion! And I live on a budget, too!

Then they complained that they worked all day and had two kids and there was no time to cook. I work and take nine hours in graduate school and cook on the weekends. It solves that problem pretty simply!

I am a "class A whiner", but it works my last nerve, too, when people have excuses like this! I do pay $15/month to go to a gym, but right now can only go on the weekends--over the summer I went 3x/week--but have enough exercise DVDs at home where I can keep up w/o the gym all the time. And taking your dog for a walk around the neighborhood (or just yourself) is FREE! Plus the scenery and fresh air are probably worth the investment of time!

Most of my family died before they were 50 of heart related issues; I presently am 52. And I don't plan on going any time soon, so it's worth it to me to get in shape and loose whatever weight I can! Period!

Cutting out red meat and pork saved me TONS of money. The produce, however...i live in Canada. We're expensive for fresh foods. I cheap out and buy canned/frozen...i like canned peaches, cant stand fresh ones.

Uuuhlexis

Cutting out red meat and pork saved me TONS of money. The produce, however...i live in Canada. We're expensive for fresh foods. I cheap out and buy canned/frozen...i like canned peaches, cant stand fresh ones.

I sprinkle frozen peas and carrots into EVERYTHING

IveLanded

We're talking in the past tense, though. To many people, health is primarily about looks. I only meant to help shed some light on where people are coming from when they say that kind of thing.

I completely understand and I get it. I was on the same boat....I made lots of excuses for years because I just wasn't ready. When I WAS finally ready, it was easy and moving the $$$$ from Starbucks to the gym and good shoes was an easy choice. I completely get it and your right..........still doesn't usually make those reasons anything more than excuse, kwim?

AmyFett

you dont need a gym membership to exercise. Theres no excuse for not exercising. But the money thing...I can see how people cant afford healthy food. Grocerys are so expensive now, and it cost 5 times as much to buy healthy than junk. If its healthy food or my childs diapers which will I choose...hmm. Some weeks things are streched so tight I go without alot of healthy items till next pay day, and I do know how to budget and whats needed and whats not, adn trust me we dont have anything thats not needed, and before you say internet...that is pretty much a necessity now. Everythings electronic, online etc.

Same here. I need the net for school--online college. I don't have anything fancy. My family pays bills and we buy most things second-hand since losing everything in a fire 2 years ago. We literally DON'T have the extra money for things.

CallMeCupcakeDammit

I am very proud of what's in my shopping cart when I go to the grocery store. Then the total pops up on the register and I want to vomit. Even though I'm completely strapped and can't even take my kids on a vacation, I'm happy with the fact that they're eating healthy foods and are learning good habits for when they are living on their own (I hope!). I work out at home because I can't afford a gym membership for a few more months, and it's working for me.

neverstray

People who say that wouldn't workout if they did have a gym membership. They are the people the gyms count on for their livlihood. They don't want me there because I use the hell out of it.