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

opuntia

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.

I can relate to some of this - especially the bit about there being a limit to the things a person can focus on. I can focus on health now I am in a position where I have a routine, and my evenings are free. There have been times in my life when this literally wasn't possible for me - although I have never said 'I don't have the money to be healthy'. I never gave a reason, as I never had to justify myself to anyone, but if I did, I would have said I didn't have the multitasking and organisational skills in the particular circumstances I was in, or the time or energy. In such situations, I continued in the circumstances because they were temporary, and they were a means to an end which in itself would improve my health - if they weren't, I would have looked for different circumstances.

There have been paths in life which I purposely haven't chosen because I knew they would be detrimental to my health and I wouldn't have the resources to live healthily and happily along these paths - things like having children, or going to med school. But at the same time, I don't restrict myself from everything that will cause difficulties in focusing on health. Health will always be somewhat difficult to focus on for me - there are so many aspects to it. I include emotional health, intellectual health and spiritual health as well as physical health. All these things together are health, and maintaining and improving health in all these areas could easily be a full-time job.

Culley34

Planet Fitness is like $10 / month. 33 cents a day. Worth it?

LadyL2012

Don't buy that excuse at all. Veggies and salad is a hell of a lot cheaper than convenience food around here at least. It's all about getting your priorities right and making cutbacks on things you don't need. Your health is more important than Sky TV or IPods etc.

If you're too poor to buy healthy food, you're probably too poor to buy food altogether.

Koldnomore

I'm in Canada, I have never found groceries to be overly expensive here based on our incomes. A few thoughts..

Yeah....they are. But they're worth it. $3.99/lb for orange peppers is expensive.

Yes, you are right. it IS expensive. but why are you buying ORANGE peppers when GREEN peppers cost less than HALF of that?

I buy the specialty stuff and stuff that's not in season when I want it, but yeah, it is expensive.

and THAT is why.. This is not expensive, it is a CHOICE. If you look at less expensive vegetables..carrots, green peppers, celery, cabbage, turnips , tomatoes are super cheap right now, romaine also is cheap.

Buy meats now and freeze them. There's going to be huge feed shortages this winter so the farmers are slaughtering tons of animals right now. I haven't seen meat this cheap in a while - fish too crazy cheap! I love my deep freeze - best investment ever.

harveyoakwood

I have lots of little secrets to save money. The most important thing is to document all of your spending. This way you can see where your money is going and what percentages you spend in certain categories such as: FOOD, TRANSPORTATION, ENTERTAINMENT, SOCIAL, ETC.

1. Carpool
2. Buy clothes and other items at thrift stores
3. Use Coupons
4. Pack your lunch for work/school
5. Stop dining out so much
6. Drink water
7. Instead of gym memberships, look up exercises on YouTube
8. Do-it-yourself home repairs. (Don't know how? Google it.)
9. Use the internet for entertainment
10. READ READ READ. I would suggest reading material that has something to do with personal finance or budgeting. You can never learn enough and there are countless tips available. For instance, this forum is a wonderful place to start.

I just finished a book called Money Saving Tips: A Poor Man's Guide to Prosperity. You can get it on Amazon. It is VERY USEFUL and easy to read. I inserted the link below.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?rh=i:aps,k:money+saving+tips+a+poor+man's+guide+to+prosperity&keywords=money+saving+tips+a+poor+man's+guide+to+prosperity&ie=UTF8&qid=1347387437&ajr=0


So, if you say you can't save, it is your own fault. Be conscious of your money. Know where it's going and what it is doing for you. QUIT WASTING and start being smarter. Don't make excuses, just do.

I wish you all the best of luck! May your lives be wealthy, healthy, and satisfied!

AmyP619

I agree. I find that our grocery bill is actually the same now as it was before when we were eating unhealthy. We stopped buying some things and started buying others...it really evens out. Yes, some healthier options are more expensive, but your health is completely worth it!!! You also don't HAVE to spend money on a gym. There are tons of activities you can do outside of a gym and at home to get fit! It really isn't expensive to lose weight and get healthy. Sometimes you just need to be creative! But yes, I completely agree that many people spend money on pointless, meaningless things when they could be spending it on things that are actually worth something!!!

bridgeto1984

I'm not too sure if this is available outside of Canada, but there is a website (www.soscuisine.com) that offers meal plans for weight loss based on grocery specials in a specified range from your postal code. "I can't afford to eat healthy" is a poor excuse. What it boils down to is "I'm too lazy to cook myself a proper meal".

OnTheWayToPerfection

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.

DON'T PUT IT PEOPLE'S HEADS THAT THEY HAVE TO SPEND MONEY TO LOSE WEIGHT!!


You DON'T have to have money to make yourself a priority.

Walk around the neighborhood- FREE
Swaping good foods for bad- $$ evens out
Go for a bike ride- FREE
Do your own kickboxing routine- FREE
Jumping jacks- FREE

You don't have to go bankrupt trying to lose weight.
I started off with the 30DS and healthier eating. Down 25lbs. No gym membership! Only $10 spent to get started.

whatsasimba

Some people here were talking about how it's MORE expensive to eat veggies. I'm sure that's a regional thing. Here in the garden state we have a lot of farms, farmers markets, etc.

I laid out a big sum of money ($351) at the beginning of the year to join a CSA in my area: http://www.paradiseorganicfarms.com/

Every week from June to November I get a HUGE box of organic, locally-grown produce. I'm talking potatoes, zucchini, watermelon, cantaloupe, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, fennel, you name it. It's basically $15 dollars a week, and there's so much food that bulk-wise, it's probably around 1/2 of my diet. It forces me to eat a TON of vegetables, cook creatively and eat healthier.

I have to buy add-ons like proteins, grains and such, but it's a really cheap, healthy way of bulking up my diet.

determinedhealthy

bump

alibean

I think more than finances, it's about not liking/wanting/having the time to cook. I guess it's easier for some people to buy off the $1 menu than to cook a meal. I am one of the only people I know who cooks every night. Most people order out -VERY expensive. Or they will eat junk/fast food because its fast and cheap.

osualex

It is much cheaper to cook than to order out, and *usually* if not always, cheaper to cook healthy. You don't have to buy meat, beans, rice and veggies is a healthy, cheap and complete meal, and one I eat myself. I'm a volunteer so I'm usually broke myself, and I manage to eat healthy and exercise. If you really want to, you can. Now, can you have protein powder on a budget? No. Can you eat Paleo on a budget? No. But these are not the only ways to eat healthy.

However - there are places where poor people live that are completely cut off from healthy foods, but it is unlikely these people would be posting on MFP (And if they were, we would figure out how to help them!)

http://www.fooddesert.net

PamelaKuz

Food is expensive here, but so is eating out. I buy healthy stuff that's on sale. I pretty much plan my weekly menu on what meat and veggies are on sale. I stock up on the staples at Walmart once every couple of months. Maybe I'm cheap, but I rarely pay regular price for anything,

stines72

my whole family has a family membership at our gym! saved tons of money... plus i didnt have any money to have my own membership and begged my mom for help with that and she happily paid for me health is worth it