Poor and fat in the US?

LadyVeng3ance

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/06/05/opinion/granderson-poverty-health/index.html

Are there anybody on here that is in this situation?! My friend is looking to becoming more healthy, and has agreed to start insanity.
Unfortunatly he comes from a poor family, and I dont live in the U.S, so I dont know anything about the food over there!

Do any of you know of good cheap food? That you can eat while working out? Food with proteins for when you are done! Etc etc..

Help? This is incredibly frustrating..

Grenon

If your friend is looking for a protein heavy diet for working out then he is best off buying meats since they are rather cheap here in North America, such as beef, fish, pork and eggs are all rather cheap. Also post workout protein shakes are pretty cheap depending on the brand, up here in Canada you can get 2KG for ~$40, that could last you for about 2 months at one shake a day.

LadyVeng3ance

Thanks for the reply

MaraDiaz

I'm having a tougher time lately with this, too. Crock pot cuts of meat tend to be cheaper than things like ribeye steak, especially if he can find them on sale, but it is by no means easy to eat healthy and lose weight when you're poor.

126siany

Unless we are talking about ACCESS to food, income levels are not as much of a factor as people want to believe.

If you have no access to transportation and live in an area in which you can only access bodegas and convenience stores, yes, it's difficult to find what you need for a healthy diet. But if you have access to transportation and actual grocery stores, you can eat well on a budget. It takes planning and being willing to cook; and it helps if you coordinate your menu with sales, but it can be done.

If you look at the local grocery circulars to see what protein sources are on sale and then plan your weekly menu around those, it can be much cheaper than eating out or buying pre-made meals, not to mention far more nutritious.

reneepugh

Unless we are talking about ACCESS to food, income levels are not as much of a factor as people want to believe.

If you have no access to transportation and live in an area in which you can only access bodegas and convenience stores, yes, it's difficult to find what you need for a healthy diet. But if you have access to transportation and actual grocery stores, you can eat well on a budget. It takes planning and being willing to cook; and it helps if you coordinate your menu with sales, but it can be done.

If you look at the local grocery circulars to see what protein sources are on sale and then plan your weekly menu around those, it can be much cheaper than eating out or buying pre-made meals, not to mention far more nutritious.

Unless, of course, you have more than yourself to feed. Doesn't always work that way.

annie_banannie

If your friend is looking for a protein heavy diet for working out then he is best off buying meats since they are rather cheap here in North America, such as beef, fish, pork and eggs are all rather cheap. Also post workout protein shakes are pretty cheap depending on the brand, up here in Canada you can get 2KG for ~$40, that could last you for about 2 months at one shake a day.

That *might* be true in Canada, where you live, but in the US beef and fish are among the MOST expensive items sold in supermarkets.

I'm currently eating on a limited budget and have struggled with this issue myself. I have learned that for US residents, the easiest and most affordable way to eat a healthier diet is:

1) Avoid eating animal flesh & animal fat (lard, butter, etc.)
2) Avoid heavily processed foods
3) Avoid fried foods
4) Eat more non-meat items: beans, legumes (pulses) and unprocessed grains (rice, quinoa, oats, etc.)
5) Eat more fruits and vegetables. Fresh fruit & vegetables tend to be quite costly in many places, but the frozen varieties are equally nutritious and MUCH cheaper.
6) Eat peanut butter. It is widely available, very nutritious and very much affordable. Just avoid the brands that add lots of sugar & salt to the peanuts.

drakechic08

Albertsons often has meat buy 1 get 2 free. If they are low income they can research food drives and often time they hand out relatively healthy food. Often once a month they even give out meat. My sister goes to these for our family. Walmart also sells protein mix very cheap and it is high in protein. The brand I get is Body Fortress. Its just about looking, researching and clippign coupons. Walmart also will price match food and certain ones price match meat.

LadyVeng3ance

Ah, more people understand the problem!

I can imagine alot of people struggle with this..

summer8it

Beef might be expensive, but chicken can be very cheap. I see chicken leg quarters on sale regularly for 69-79 cents a pound - hard to find protein less expensive than that! Eggs go on sale for $1/dozen, and are rarely more than $2/dozen. Even fish can be purchased relatively inexpensively. I see fish on sale for $4/pound, and Walmart sells frozen salmon for $5/pound.

Of course, all these prices are for factory-farmed animal protein, so if you're a stickler for free-range/wild-caught everything, you will have to pay more.

annie_banannie

I can imagine alot of people struggle with this..

Yes. In the US, cheaper varieties of meat and chicken tend to come from animals that were mistreated, pumped full of hormones and antibiotics, and may be diseased. Things that are not allowed in Europe, but are common here.

Most American people don't question where their beef, pork or chicken came from, or how the animals were raised. If they knew the truth about "factory farms," it would turn their stomachs.

Really, the best way to do it is to completely eliminate meat from the diet. I do eat beef and chicken once in a while, but only when I buy grass-fed organic beef and organic chicke from my local butcher. NEVER the meat and chicken sold in supermarkets. It is really quite dangerous.

BCSMama

I don't know. That article focuses mainly on meat, and of course the healthier cuts of meat will be more expensive. However, we don't have much money at all and are more than able to eat healthy. When we buy meat, it's the healthier cuts, but only when it's on sale and we buy less of it. Also, things like buying a whole chicken is cheaper per pound than buying it already in pieces.

We bulk up meals with things like dry beans, brown rice and vegetables. We have a farmers market in town that sells produce that is about to expire (like would have to be used in 1-2 days) for really cheap and we buy from there a lot. The other day I got like a dozen bananas for $1 because they were over ripe. I made 2 loaves of low fat banana bread and sliced and froze the rest for smoothies. Yes, veggies and fruit can be expensive, but I always buy in season and in bulk when I can and freeze what I don't use. The other day I also got like a 10lb bag of potatoes for really cheap and ended up cutting and freezing at least half the bag. I know potatoes aren't great, but they are healthier than a lot of processed crap.

Food preparation is also important. Bake, broil and steam instead of frying foods. Make your own whole wheat bread; sure the initial cost of the ingredients is higher, but you will get more out of it in the long run. Buy plain oats instead of instant oatmeal and add your own flavorings to it. Also, don't buy many drinks (juice, soda, tea, etc.); water will do just fine.

I honestly agree that if you have access to transportation, money is no excuse for a poor diet; it's more about being educated to make the right choices.

LadyVeng3ance

Beef might be expensive, but chicken can be very cheap. I see chicken leg quarters on sale regularly for 69-79 cents a pound - hard to find protein less expensive than that! Eggs go on sale for $1/dozen, and are rarely more than $2/dozen. Even fish can be purchased relatively inexpensively. I see fish on sale for $4/pound, and Walmart sells frozen salmon for $5/pound.

Of course, all these prices are for factory-farmed animal protein, so if you're a stickler for free-range/wild-caught everything, you will have to pay more.

That was actually very informative, thank you mam!

lewcompton

If your friend is looking for a protein heavy diet for working out then he is best off buying meats since they are rather cheap here in North America, such as beef, fish, pork and eggs are all rather cheap. Also post workout protein shakes are pretty cheap depending on the brand, up here in Canada you can get 2KG for ~$40, that could last you for about 2 months at one shake a day.

That *might* be true in Canada, where you live, but in the US beef and fish are among the MOST expensive items sold in supermarkets.

I'm currently eating on a limited budget and have struggled with this issue myself. I have learned that for US residents, the easiest and most affordable way to eat a healthier diet is:

1) Avoid eating animal flesh & animal fat (lard, butter, etc.)
2) Avoid heavily processed foods
3) Avoid fried foods
4) Eat more non-meat items: beans, legumes (pulses) and unprocessed grains (rice, quinoa, oats, etc.)
5) Eat more fruits and vegetables. Fresh fruit & vegetables tend to be quite costly in many places, but the frozen varieties are equally nutritious and MUCH cheaper.
6) Eat peanut butter. It is widely available, very nutritious and very much affordable. Just avoid the brands that add lots of sugar & salt to the peanuts.

Beans and quinoa, brown rice, barley, or millet are great choices! Grow your own greens, tomatoes, onions, and garlic and you have a very cheap food source for any time of the day. Add an occasional egg or chicken if you feel deprived and are not vegan... If vegan then add tofu (Costco has it cheap) or edamame... Most of these meals will work out to less than 50 cents each...

gimpygramma

Another issue for many is storage capacity. We are able to take advantage of many specials because we can buy in bulk or cash in on the two for one deals often offered by grocery stores. If we did not have a deep freeze and good cupboard space our choices would be more limited. I store "deals" that my friend finds but would not otherwise be able to take advantage of.

Mokey41

I think the biggest problem with food and obesity is that most of the poor obese people are totally uneducated about making good food choices. I see it all the time when you stand in line at the grocery store. An obese woman with her obese children will have a cart full of junk food, chips, pop, precooked toaster foods, Pizza Pops, ice cram, cookies, etc and when they go through the checkout the bill is twice as much as mine. If they took the same amount of money and bought some frozen veggies, brown rice, chicken, milk, eggs, etc they could have some nutritious meals for less money and not be obese but then again that would require someone to get off their *kitten* and cook it rather than have the kids stuff something in the microwave.

ahamm002

Back in the old days poor people just went hungry. Now poor people have access to so much delicious food that they can't stop themselves from eating too much and they become obese . . . . sounds tragic. Of course a massive amount of that obesity is due to people (from all walks of life) drinking their calories in soda and fruit juice, and please don't tell me that tap water isn't readily available!

In reality, the real reason poor people and rich people have different BMI's is more likely due to education than access. Many of the poor people I work with are simply grossly misinformed about food. I'll tell them to stop drinking soda, and they start drinking Kool-Aid instead. Then I say drink water, and they refuse because it doesn't taste as good.

Laces_0ut

I can imagine alot of people struggle with this..

Yes. In the US, cheaper varieties of meat and chicken tend to come from animals that were mistreated, pumped full of hormones and antibiotics, and may be diseased. Things that are not allowed in Europe, but are common here.

Most American people don't question where their beef, pork or chicken came from, or how the animals were raised. If they knew the truth about "factory farms," it would turn their stomachs.

Really, the best way to do it is to completely eliminate meat from the diet. I do eat beef and chicken once in a while, but only when I buy grass-fed organic beef and organic chicke from my local butcher. NEVER the meat and chicken sold in supermarkets. It is really quite dangerous.

lol@dangerous.

126siany

Another issue for many is storage capacity. We are able to take advantage of many specials because we can buy in bulk or cash in on the two for one deals often offered by grocery stores. If we did not have a deep freeze and good cupboard space our choices would be more limited. I store "deals" that my friend finds but would not otherwise be able to take advantage of.

Good point. A freezer really helps! You can freeze meats that are on sale or even prepare the meal using them and then freeze it if you have a decent sized freezer.

Re: cheapest prices on meat and seafood: watch the unadvertised specials in the grocery. If they have overstocked something with a "Use By" date that's a week or less in the future, they practically give it away. I bought 6 lbs of ground turkey on one of those deals recently and made 3 batches of turkey chili, then froze it.

126siany

I think the biggest problem with food and obesity is that most of the poor obese people are totally uneducated about making good food choices. I see it all the time when you stand in line at the grocery store. An obese woman with her obese children will have a cart full of junk food, chips, pop, precooked toaster foods, Pizza Pops, ice cram, cookies, etc and when they go through the checkout the bill is twice as much as mine. If they took the same amount of money and bought some frozen veggies, brown rice, chicken, milk, eggs, etc they could have some nutritious meals for less money and not be obese but then again that would require someone to get off their *kitten* and cook it rather than have the kids stuff something in the microwave.

True.

126siany

An ex-boyfriend of mine accidentally discovered that Boston Market (an almost fast-food restaurant) will sell you a whole, cooked chicken for a ridiculously low price if you go within an hour of closing and they have some left. I wish I could recall the price, but it was low for a whole cooked chicken. Lower than supermarket by half.

sandylion

If your friend is looking for a protein heavy diet for working out then he is best off buying meats since they are rather cheap here in North America, such as beef, fish, pork and eggs are all rather cheap. Also post workout protein shakes are pretty cheap depending on the brand, up here in Canada you can get 2KG for ~$40, that could last you for about 2 months at one shake a day.

That *might* be true in Canada, where you live, but in the US beef and fish are among the MOST expensive items sold in supermarkets.

I'm currently eating on a limited budget and have struggled with this issue myself. I have learned that for US residents, the easiest and most affordable way to eat a healthier diet is:

1) Avoid eating animal flesh & animal fat (lard, butter, etc.)
2) Avoid heavily processed foods
3) Avoid fried foods
4) Eat more non-meat items: beans, legumes (pulses) and unprocessed grains (rice, quinoa, oats, etc.)
5) Eat more fruits and vegetables. Fresh fruit & vegetables tend to be quite costly in many places, but the frozen varieties are equally nutritious and MUCH cheaper.
6) Eat peanut butter. It is widely available, very nutritious and very much affordable. Just avoid the brands that add lots of sugar & salt to the peanuts.

Average price of chicken breast in Canada is $8 a lb, I have friends in philly who won't pay more then $2.5. Sorry mate, Canada is waaaaaay more expensive then USA.

tippett610

find a farmer's market - cheaper fruit, veggies and meat.

126siany

If your friend is looking for a protein heavy diet for working out then he is best off buying meats since they are rather cheap here in North America, such as beef, fish, pork and eggs are all rather cheap. Also post workout protein shakes are pretty cheap depending on the brand, up here in Canada you can get 2KG for ~$40, that could last you for about 2 months at one shake a day.

That *might* be true in Canada, where you live, but in the US beef and fish are among the MOST expensive items sold in supermarkets.

I'm currently eating on a limited budget and have struggled with this issue myself. I have learned that for US residents, the easiest and most affordable way to eat a healthier diet is:

1) Avoid eating animal flesh & animal fat (lard, butter, etc.)
2) Avoid heavily processed foods
3) Avoid fried foods
4) Eat more non-meat items: beans, legumes (pulses) and unprocessed grains (rice, quinoa, oats, etc.)
5) Eat more fruits and vegetables. Fresh fruit & vegetables tend to be quite costly in many places, but the frozen varieties are equally nutritious and MUCH cheaper.
6) Eat peanut butter. It is widely available, very nutritious and very much affordable. Just avoid the brands that add lots of sugar & salt to the peanuts.

Average price of chicken breast in Canada is $8 a lb, I have friends in philly who won't pay more then $2.5. Sorry mate, Canada is waaaaaay more expensive then USA.

$2.5 / lb is robbery in the U.S. for chicken.

MaraDiaz

I think the biggest problem with food and obesity is that most of the poor obese people are totally uneducated about making good food choices. I see it all the time when you stand in line at the grocery store. An obese woman with her obese children will have a cart full of junk food, chips, pop, precooked toaster foods, Pizza Pops, ice cram, cookies, etc and when they go through the checkout the bill is twice as much as mine. If they took the same amount of money and bought some frozen veggies, brown rice, chicken, milk, eggs, etc they could have some nutritious meals for less money and not be obese but then again that would require someone to get off their *kitten* and cook it rather than have the kids stuff something in the microwave.

True.

Only partly true. I was just in the grocery store. I wanted a cut of crock pot pork or beef. The prices have gone up astronomically for some reason and I had to do without. What will I use for those calories? Probably milk. Not as healthy by any means, but much cheaper per calorie.

Eggs, however, are pretty cheap sources of protein, OP. Tired as I am of them, I still eat them regularly for this reason.

RunsOnEspresso

Unless we are talking about ACCESS to food, income levels are not as much of a factor as people want to believe.

If you have no access to transportation and live in an area in which you can only access bodegas and convenience stores, yes, it's difficult to find what you need for a healthy diet. But if you have access to transportation and actual grocery stores, you can eat well on a budget. It takes planning and being willing to cook; and it helps if you coordinate your menu with sales, but it can be done.

If you look at the local grocery circulars to see what protein sources are on sale and then plan your weekly menu around those, it can be much cheaper than eating out or buying pre-made meals, not to mention far more nutritious.

This. When I had about $50-75 to last me two weeks, I would get the ads for Fresh & Easy and Frys. I'd figure out what meat was on sale and what fruit/veggies were the cheapest. If something I needed wasn't on sale (like soy milk), I kept a mental list of where these items were cheapest without sale (aka comparison shopped). It wasn't easy but I ate healthy and cheaply.

PanteraGirl

I don't know much about US prices either as I am in Canada....but one thing that made a world of difference for me is watching weekly flyers and signing up for coupon sites. They surprisingly do have healthy food coupons. When I find certain good foods at great prices, I will freeze them so that I'm not paying regular price the following week.

Also if your friend makes purchases for house hold and hygiene stuff with sales and coupons...it will add for more money in the budget to put towards healthy food.

126siany

I think the biggest problem with food and obesity is that most of the poor obese people are totally uneducated about making good food choices. I see it all the time when you stand in line at the grocery store. An obese woman with her obese children will have a cart full of junk food, chips, pop, precooked toaster foods, Pizza Pops, ice cram, cookies, etc and when they go through the checkout the bill is twice as much as mine. If they took the same amount of money and bought some frozen veggies, brown rice, chicken, milk, eggs, etc they could have some nutritious meals for less money and not be obese but then again that would require someone to get off their *kitten* and cook it rather than have the kids stuff something in the microwave.

True.

Only partly true. I was just in the grocery store. I wanted a cut of crock pot pork or beef. The prices have gone up astronomically for some reason and I had to do without. What will I use for those calories? Probably milk. Not as healthy by any means, but much cheaper per calorie.

Eggs, however, are pretty cheap sources of protein, OP. Tired as I am of them, I still eat them regularly for this reason.

We weren't talking about beef:huh:

However, the droughts this summer are going to dramatically raise the price of all animal products and some grain products. Food for humans, food for pets, and consumer items you never even knew contained corn. :sad:

sladamssr

I've recently started going to Ethnic Market places and stores. The Latina store in my neighborhood has a butchery and the meat is always cheaper and fresher than the Big Box stores. Also for fish try an Asian Market, you'll be hard pressed to find fresher fish than there.

Jkmumma

I live in a downtown area. FORTUNATELY, not with a struggling financial situation. I live in a fairly decent area, but, like most downtowns, you have scattered "good" and "bad" streets. Within a mile of my house I have 3 Irish pubs, at least 10 other drinking establishments, taco bell, arbys, two fast food chinese places, a fast food japanese place, a fast food mexican place, 2 ice cream stands, 3 sandwhich places, 3 pizza places, a giant burrito place, and a pharmacy with a huge processed and junk food section. We have pretzel stands, and hot dog stands. Guess what we don't have. A single grocery store.

To get to a grocery store, I have a 20-30 minute drive, depending on where I choose to go. It's a pain in the butt for ME, with a car, and money for food and gas, to get to and from a grocery store. Even I have to plan ahead though, there's no such thing as "grab something on the way home from work" The grocery store is a big deal outing.

After a pricing adventure, I learned that processed food, calorie per calorie, is MUCH more expensive than grocery items. for 5 dollars at taco bell, I can have over a thousand calories, easily, and a soda. There's a full meal. I can't get a full mean of healthy food, if I want, say, meat rather than beans as a protein source, for 5 dollars...

Therein lies the problem: Access to healthy food, convenience and availability of processed and fast food crap, and the cost of eating healthy as opposed to eating junk. We are a country that caters to the lifestyle that leads to obesity, and it shows in our statistics. They have made it so much easier to be unhealthy, and all the advertising caters to that.

Yes, it is much harder to eat healthy when you are living below the poverty line. Add to this a lack of education about healthy food choices, kids growing up with poor choices, living with poor choices, and feeding their kids poor choices. Wait: there I go calling them choices again... They aren't really, when it's the only accessible option, it's not really a choice, now is it.

Thinking back to my broke college days: Mac and cheese, Ramen noodles, and vending machine crap, because I didn't have a place to store anything else, and it was far cheaper than anything in the cafeteria, except maybe the drippy greasy pizza...

But hey, in corporate America, it's easy to get ahold of their product... Much harder to get ahold of a farmer's product....

126siany

I don't know much about US prices either as I am in Canada....but one thing that made a world of difference for me is watching weekly flyers and signing up for coupon sites. They surprisingly do have healthy food coupons. When I find certain good foods at great prices, I will freeze them so that I'm not paying regular price the following week.

Also if your friend makes purchases for house hold and hygiene stuff with sales and coupons...it will add for more money in the budget to put towards healthy food.

If you have internet access, check your store's website. They often have printable coupons or coupons you can add to your store loyalty card. If you don't have internet access--the public library will work if you can get there.

I realize the truly financially stressed probably don't have smartphones, as they are a luxury. But if you do have one, store apps often offer different coupons that can be either added to the store loyalty card or scanned at the register.