Poor and fat in the US?

Mokey41

Its laziness. Plain and simple.

We were poor when I lived in Ukraine (no indoor plumbing, well water for drinking/bathing) and had zero problem with obesity. Even if you live in an apartment you can still grow at least some of your own veggies, only buy stuff on sale, do not go out to eat, coupon coupon coupon. Maybe forgo cable TV for a while or choose between that and internet (had to do that when I was in college...it was fine...just watch programs online).

So true.

I worked at a food bank for awhile and it was disgusting to listen to some of the stories. One young woman came in regularly with 3 small children and she could never make it out the end of the month without a second round of handouts. Her excuse was that after she paid her beer, smokes and "stuff" there was no money left for food for the kids. She has a cell phone, internet and no job but seemed to be fine with her kids going hungry.

We set up classes to teach people how to cook good food on a budget. No cost, all they had to do was show up and they would actually get food to take home with them after to try the recipes. We spent a lot of time setting it up and promoting it. Two women showed up, both of the older with no kids who obviously only came for the social time and the free food.

You can't make people not be lazy or get their priorities straight. I do volunteer work now that has me going to homes in a subsidized area. For the most part it's disgusting. We have a term for the stench and call it "Poor people smell". I've decided it's a mix of body odor, sour milk, and crap with a hint of vomit. There are a couple homes I refuse to go into. If you're home all day not working would it be too much to just take some time to clean your house? I think a lot of people who are living that way are there because they're just plain lazy. They can't be bothered to haul their *kitten* off the couch and wash without even thinking about working or making a good meal. The only hope is to try to educate the children and pray that they can learn to make better choices in their lives.

lustergirl

Its laziness. Plain and simple.

We were poor when I lived in Ukraine (no indoor plumbing, well water for drinking/bathing) and had zero problem with obesity. Even if you live in an apartment you can still grow at least some of your own veggies, only buy stuff on sale, do not go out to eat, coupon coupon coupon. Maybe forgo cable TV for a while or choose between that and internet (had to do that when I was in college...it was fine...just watch programs online).

So true.


I worked at a food bank for awhile and it was disgusting to listen to some of the stories. One young woman came in regularly with 3 small children and she could never make it out the end of the month without a second round of handouts. Her excuse was that after she paid her beer, smokes and "stuff" there was no money left for food for the kids. She has a cell phone, internet and no job but seemed to be fine with her kids going hungry.

We set up classes to teach people how to cook good food on a budget. No cost, all they had to do was show up and they would actually get food to take home with them after to try the recipes. We spent a lot of time setting it up and promoting it. Two women showed up, both of the older with no kids who obviously only came for the social time and the free food.

You can't make people not be lazy or get their priorities straight. I do volunteer work now that has me going to homes in a subsidized area. For the most part it's disgusting. We have a term for the stench and call it "Poor people smell". I've decided it's a mix of body odor, sour milk, and crap with a hint of vomit. There are a couple homes I refuse to go into. If you're home all day not working would it be too much to just take some time to clean your house? I think a lot of people who are living that way are there because they're just plain lazy. They can't be bothered to haul their *kitten* off the couch and wash without even thinking about working or making a good meal. The only hope is to try to educate the children and pray that they can learn to make better choices in their lives.

WOW!! I think someone needs to come down off of their high horse. I guess you should feel fortunate that you are not in this position and should not be judging people as such. If you feel this way why do you do such volunteer work? After all isn't that the whole idea behind volunteering, to have compassion for those less fortunate than yourself?

Mokey41

Its laziness. Plain and simple.

We were poor when I lived in Ukraine (no indoor plumbing, well water for drinking/bathing) and had zero problem with obesity. Even if you live in an apartment you can still grow at least some of your own veggies, only buy stuff on sale, do not go out to eat, coupon coupon coupon. Maybe forgo cable TV for a while or choose between that and internet (had to do that when I was in college...it was fine...just watch programs online).

So true.


I worked at a food bank for awhile and it was disgusting to listen to some of the stories. One young woman came in regularly with 3 small children and she could never make it out the end of the month without a second round of handouts. Her excuse was that after she paid her beer, smokes and "stuff" there was no money left for food for the kids. She has a cell phone, internet and no job but seemed to be fine with her kids going hungry.

We set up classes to teach people how to cook good food on a budget. No cost, all they had to do was show up and they would actually get food to take home with them after to try the recipes. We spent a lot of time setting it up and promoting it. Two women showed up, both of the older with no kids who obviously only came for the social time and the free food.

You can't make people not be lazy or get their priorities straight. I do volunteer work now that has me going to homes in a subsidized area. For the most part it's disgusting. We have a term for the stench and call it "Poor people smell". I've decided it's a mix of body odor, sour milk, and crap with a hint of vomit. There are a couple homes I refuse to go into. If you're home all day not working would it be too much to just take some time to clean your house? I think a lot of people who are living that way are there because they're just plain lazy. They can't be bothered to haul their *kitten* off the couch and wash without even thinking about working or making a good meal. The only hope is to try to educate the children and pray that they can learn to make better choices in their lives.

WOW!! I think someone needs to come down off of their high horse. I guess you should feel fortunate that you are not in this position and should not be judging people as such. If you feel this way why do you do such volunteer work? After all isn't that the whole idea behind volunteering, to have compassion for those less fortunate than yourself?

I work with the kids trying to show them that they can do better than their lazy *kitten* parents. The only way to break the cycle is to teach the next generation that they don't have to spend their lives living on social assistance, laying on a couch in a filthy apartment drinking beer. I have total compassion for a child that has to live like that because they have no other choices.

LadyVeng3ance

Poor and fat in the US? Fat is a often a portion control (and snacking) issue, addressing that will greatly aid in budgeting for the store.

Anyone who makes a commitment to eating right can do so for a similar cost of eating crappy. The issues are typically convenience and planning- not money. There are plenty of good cheap foods available. Even if you have to feed a family- it does not matter if you are feed 1 or 10- you may need more effort to feed 10 but the principal is the same.

For planning you can look at sites like emeals.com, they have weekly meal plans based on what's on sale at your local grocery store chain and you select the diet type. That takes the need for couponing out and also provides you the meal plan, recipes and grocery list. You can't get much easier than that. It cost a few bucks to join but the convenience will offset the cost for most.

If you still need cheaper, you'll have to put forth the effort yourself to research and plan out the meals and look at coupons, etc.

Very few of us are rich- but we made a commitment to ourselves to get healthy... anyone can do it, if they make the choice.

If you read the article that I linked in the OP, you would see it is not that easy! Healthier foods is way more expensive than crap food. At least according to the article. And according to alot of the people that have posted in this thread. I dont think they are lazy or anything, alot of them has more then one job to make endings meet, but they still struggle..

LadyVeng3ance

Its laziness. Plain and simple.

We were poor when I lived in Ukraine (no indoor plumbing, well water for drinking/bathing) and had zero problem with obesity. Even if you live in an apartment you can still grow at least some of your own veggies, only buy stuff on sale, do not go out to eat, coupon coupon coupon. Maybe forgo cable TV for a while or choose between that and internet (had to do that when I was in college...it was fine...just watch programs online).

So true.

I worked at a food bank for awhile and it was disgusting to listen to some of the stories. One young woman came in regularly with 3 small children and she could never make it out the end of the month without a second round of handouts. Her excuse was that after she paid her beer, smokes and "stuff" there was no money left for food for the kids. She has a cell phone, internet and no job but seemed to be fine with her kids going hungry.

We set up classes to teach people how to cook good food on a budget. No cost, all they had to do was show up and they would actually get food to take home with them after to try the recipes. We spent a lot of time setting it up and promoting it. Two women showed up, both of the older with no kids who obviously only came for the social time and the free food.

You can't make people not be lazy or get their priorities straight. I do volunteer work now that has me going to homes in a subsidized area. For the most part it's disgusting. We have a term for the stench and call it "Poor people smell". I've decided it's a mix of body odor, sour milk, and crap with a hint of vomit. There are a couple homes I refuse to go into. If you're home all day not working would it be too much to just take some time to clean your house? I think a lot of people who are living that way are there because they're just plain lazy. They can't be bothered to haul their *kitten* off the couch and wash without even thinking about working or making a good meal. The only hope is to try to educate the children and pray that they can learn to make better choices in their lives.

And I agree with the poster above, you should get off your high horse!
You do not know (I do not know), what it is like being -that- poor.. It is easy for us to sit here and say, get a job, clean your house, work out, but these people are probably so low (mentally, depressed etc), they dont see the point in doing anything. Its nothing to do with being lazy..
And I am gonna repeat what many people in this thread have said, it -is- hard being very poor and eating healthy, these people arent lazy, some of them even have more then one job.

I dont understand how you do volunteer work when you have that kind of mindset.

firstsip

Hold on OP... you write a post saying you want input on being poor and trying to eat healthy in the US because you "don't know," are met with several Americans that point out "it CAN be done, though it may be more time consuming"... then you say, "IT'S TOO HARD TO DO IT."

I'm pretty sure you can't base something off of one article, especially if you state you DON'T live here and aren't quite aware. As for the "some people have more than one job." I was VERY poor for a period of time, worked three jobs the majority of my working career, literally biked miles and miles to work because I could not afford to drive. Markets. Ethnic markets. Produce markets. Non-chain places. I got healthy foods cheaply and I had NO spare money, none.

Now that my fiance and I are out of that hole, we spend the same amount on food... but have lots left over now to do other things. In other words, our food budget HAS NOT CHANGED. We occasionally splurge at health food stores and things we never found have gone to when we were putting ourselves through school, but otherwise, we're shopping at the same places and buying the same amounts of food... just more so.

I don't agree with the particular poster you're all talking about who sort of washed an entire group of people because of his/her own experiences... but to say the complete opposite, that it's SO difficult to eat healthy and be poor, when you have flat out asked, "Is this true? I don't know," is ridiculous.

EDIT: "Alot" of people in this thread HAVEN'T agreed with your article, so I'm not sure why you used that as justification. For those that have mentioned it's difficult, they generally say because "well, they don't have the skills to grow their own food and they live far out from cities" or "they're preoccupied with other priorities." Those things aren't supporting the idea that it's "more expensive for healthy food"... those are bringing up an entirely new point: It requires more time and effort to eat healthy, cheaply, if you don't have certain markets, stores, etc. locally.

LadyVeng3ance

Hold on OP... you write a post saying you want input on being poor and trying to eat healthy in the US because you "don't know," are met with several Americans that point out "it CAN be done, though it may be more time consuming"... then you say, "IT'S TOO HARD TO DO IT."

I'm pretty sure you can't base something off of one article, especially if you state you DON'T live here and aren't quite aware. As for the "some people have more than one job." I was VERY poor for a period of time, worked three jobs the majority of my working career, literally biked miles and miles to work because I could not afford to drive. Markets. Ethnic markets. Produce markets. Non-chain places. I got healthy foods cheaply and I had NO spare money, none.

Now that my fiance and I are out of that hole, we spend the same amount on food... but have lots left over now to do other things. In other words, our food budget HAS NOT CHANGED. We occasionally splurge at health food stores and things we never found have gone to when we were putting ourselves through school, but otherwise, we're shopping at the same places and buying the same amounts of food... just more so.

I don't agree with the particular poster you're all talking about who sort of washed an entire group of people because of his/her own experiences... but to say the complete opposite, that it's SO difficult to eat healthy and be poor, when you have flat out asked, "Is this true? I don't know," is ridiculous.

EDIT: "Alot" of people in this thread HAVEN'T agreed with your article, so I'm not sure why you used that as justification. For those that have mentioned it's difficult, they generally say because "well, they don't have the skills to grow their own food and they live far out from cities" or "they're preoccupied with other priorities." Those things aren't supporting the idea that it's "more expensive for healthy food"... those are bringing up an entirely new point: It requires more time and effort to eat healthy, cheaply, if you don't have certain markets, stores, etc. locally.

Yep, you are right!

My apologies!

cherbapp

You'd be amazed at how much "extra" money I have since I started getting healthier. No booze (50 bucks a week prolly at the bar) no cigarettes (prolly another 25 a week) no fast food/eating out (I'd say at least 50 more.) also I eat a ton of meat, in California we produce a lot of chicken/dairy/beef. So it's not very expensive here, if you don't have to buy the "best cuts" all the time you can easily find a good 16 oz Steak for around 2-3 bucks at most places. Buying in bulk helps even more. I got 8 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breasts for 10 bucks the other day. Produce is great here too. I live on a limited budget as well, times are really tough here in the Central Valley of California right now. I refuse to eat crap because I don't have a lot if money. I have up driving my truck (there is no way I'm paying 4.50 a gallon for gas) and rise my bike now. The extra exercise is good for me anyway lol. I guess what I'm saying is that it's tough right now, everyone is struggling to make ends meet, but food is one area that you should avoid making cuts to. There are programs out there to help, they're is nothing wrong with needing a little assistance in these times.

I agree with this....getting healthy does not cost more as people tend to say it does.

As a middle class suburban family of 5 with teenagers... My excuse was that eating healthy costs more.

I was surprised to find that it is cheaper. No candy bars at checkout. Doritos are about $4 a pound...same as raw ground turkey and way more than zucchini or potatoes or lettuce or apples. Skip the little Debbie crap and make our few sugary treats from scratch. Processed foods are cheap for a meal, however actually planning ahead and shopping for the right items ends up costing about the same. Plus we never run thru drive throughs for dinner anymore....I can make better food at home for less. No more pop or flavored drinks literally saves $40 a week. Water tastes better to all of us now.

icimani

I have found that eating healthy does cost more money. For my lunch at work, it's much cheaper to get a slice of pizza and a small bag of chips than it is to get a salad with a grilled chicken breast.

However, for everything else I find it evens out. I AM spending more money at the grocery store, but I'm saving money by not eating out.

firstsip

Hold on OP... you write a post saying you want input on being poor and trying to eat healthy in the US because you "don't know," are met with several Americans that point out "it CAN be done, though it may be more time consuming"... then you say, "IT'S TOO HARD TO DO IT."

I'm pretty sure you can't base something off of one article, especially if you state you DON'T live here and aren't quite aware. As for the "some people have more than one job." I was VERY poor for a period of time, worked three jobs the majority of my working career, literally biked miles and miles to work because I could not afford to drive. Markets. Ethnic markets. Produce markets. Non-chain places. I got healthy foods cheaply and I had NO spare money, none.

Now that my fiance and I are out of that hole, we spend the same amount on food... but have lots left over now to do other things. In other words, our food budget HAS NOT CHANGED. We occasionally splurge at health food stores and things we never found have gone to when we were putting ourselves through school, but otherwise, we're shopping at the same places and buying the same amounts of food... just more so.

I don't agree with the particular poster you're all talking about who sort of washed an entire group of people because of his/her own experiences... but to say the complete opposite, that it's SO difficult to eat healthy and be poor, when you have flat out asked, "Is this true? I don't know," is ridiculous.

EDIT: "Alot" of people in this thread HAVEN'T agreed with your article, so I'm not sure why you used that as justification. For those that have mentioned it's difficult, they generally say because "well, they don't have the skills to grow their own food and they live far out from cities" or "they're preoccupied with other priorities." Those things aren't supporting the idea that it's "more expensive for healthy food"... those are bringing up an entirely new point: It requires more time and effort to eat healthy, cheaply, if you don't have certain markets, stores, etc. locally.

Yep, you are right!

My apologies!

No apologies necessary! Love seeing someone actually listen to what I say XD

firstsip

I have found that eating healthy does cost more money. For my lunch at work, it's much cheaper to get a slice of pizza and a small bag of chips than it is to get a salad with a grilled chicken breast.

However, for everything else I find it evens out. I AM spending more money at the grocery store, but I'm saving money by not eating out.

ARE you spending more at a grocery store, though?

Your one example was eating out vs. eating out. If you get, at the cheapest I can think of, $1.50 for a pizza and chips, not counting tax (if your state has that), you can easily get a BAG of good lettuce (romaine, spinach, arugala, etc.) for $1-2, and even a can of cooked chicken for $1. The salad could be divided into MULTIPLE salads, while the can could be one or two. So then that's $3-5... for more than one meal. If you think, conservatively, three days worth, you're spending $1 or less per salad (that you've made yourself). If you want even fresher, buying a pound of chicken breasts for maybe $10 at the most could yield over 10 different salads.

ahamm002

According to the article, it is alot cheaper for people to buy unhealthy food.. Apparantly they cant afford to eat healthy!

If money is so tight, why are "poor" people buying so much more food than their body requires? If money was the issue, you wouldn't see "poor" people eating twice as many calories per day as necessary. Obviously they have plenty of money to spend on food. And please don't tell me that apples are too expensive . . . right.

AnnaMC1977

Are any of you from the deep south? It's a whole different world down here...organic? Most people don't eve know what that is.

Gramps251

Are any of you from the deep south? It's a whole different world down here...organic? Most people don't eve know what that is.

I believe the conversation is discussing cost difference between eating processed food and non-processed food. (It's more expensive to eat healthy)

You don't need organic to eat healthy and in most cases organic food is more expensive.

mrykyldy2

As others have mentioned getting meat on sale is a big help. My husband and I recently had to go to a fixed income so buying things on sale is a huge help to us. I often find Boneless Skinless Chicken breast on sale for 1.88 a lb. and tend to stock up on that. I also try to get the less expensive cuts of meat on sale that I can also use in a crock pot as I am in school and the crock pot provides a much easier approach to cooking. THe major advantage is that there is one pot, four plates/bowls, and four forks/spoons to clean up that evening. It is appreciated by the person washing dishes in the evening. I am not so sure about buying protein powders if your friend is short on money to begin with. They are better off sticking to meats, eggs, and cheese for protein.

RNTanya

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.

Yep, having lived in Ireland, Alberta and now California, I can tell you that most things are cheaper here in the US including food.

Ge0rgiana

Tuna. Really cheap.

Advaya

I know for myself that I don't just buy food with my food budget. Household items, pet stuff, hairspray/makeup, and even the occasional work shirt will fall into the food budget category. As a student and low income worker, the food budget is the only place where my money is flexible. There is nowhere left to cut. And yes, I have to have the internet since I'm a student and I'm starting my own business. I usually only spend $50-60 a week for two people and not just for our food. It doesn't leave a whole lot of room for meat. Here ground beef is $8 or more a pound and that's at the cheap store in town. Let's just say, I eat beans for 1/2 the week or more. This may be why some of the poor are having a hard time. They aren't using their food budgets just for food. It's all their supplies too. Just a thought.

Very good point.

Exactly, a budget problem If she really is trying to get out of debt send her on to Dave Ramsey's website to create a budget and plan to get out of the mess. It works. If she needs to budget for clothes budget for clothes, fi she needs to budget for food budget for food...if there's not enough for both I think we all know which one has to wait.

Yeah, maybe if she was buying clothes..... She buys like one pair of scrubs at the goodwill when she runs a hole in her others... I realize the issue is with her though. But it goes well beyond just any one topic. She is in debt, she is depressed, she doesn't qualify for food stamps because she is in debt with a decent paying job. She has worked two jobs most of the time I was growing up, now she works just the one but it really leaves no time for another. Plus, working in an adult day care with mentally retarded adults all day doesn't leave much stamina left for another job. I don't know, it's tough. I wish she would eat better, but it goes beyond being able to afford it. It also has a LOT to do with how far away we are from grocery stores. The price of gas. It gets very overwhelming, and rather depressing. But I see lots of privilege here to an extent. I grew up eating mayonnaise sandwiches on white bread. I would not say I'm glad I grew up so poor (my father is actually wealthy and they had split custody, so I've seen both sides), but I know what its like to be very poor and defeated. I also know what its like to work your way out of that, but not everyone can, at least quickly. I'm 26 and I'm still working out of it. Poverty is a huge issue. For all of us. But I've been there long enough to know there isn't an easy answer, nor a quick fix for everyone. My mother was always too proud to take from food banks when I was growing up, but my best friend's parents used a food bank and I found the food they supplied to be appalling. I worked with a woman who used to be homeless and she doesn't even LIKE sweets anymore because the only thing people would donate to the food bank were candy and cakes. I guess because they are cheaper and last longer than fresh stuff. Again, no easy answer.

126siany

I see this with my mother everyday. It hurts to see it too. We live in a town 45 minutes from the nearest grocery store. We have Dollar General stores and one general store, not even really any convenience stores. My mother buys 99% of her food at the dollar store. Boxed crap, all of it. Boxed crap and liquid calories. She wants to lose weight, and I try to tell her to keep track of calories and sometimes I think she gets it, but as soon as she steps into the store I see her buy all this crap. What do I do? If i point it out, she gets pissed off. Its a no win situation. If I had money I could buy her food for her, but I'm a college student and my boyfriend's parents buy ALL of our stuff as my boyfriend has been laid off from work for a while (we both work seasonal jobs in a greenhouse but I'm there year round since she keeps me weekends only on the off season).

I don't think it's a money issue necessarily. I am far more poor than my mother and I do not eat boxed crap at all. I realize that produce and dried beans and even fresh meat are both more cost effective RIGHT now but also in medical costs down the road. The difference is that I'm a college student going to school 45 minutes away 4 times a week and can get groceries with my boyfriend's parents money. Certainly not ideal for anyone, but I truly worry about my mother. She is obese and eats all this crap. *sigh*

Food deserts definitely exist. I've grown up in one. And whats really weird, 40 years ago everyone grew their own food here. Now that we don't have time to grow (or the skills, I guess) we have nothing.

My mom doesn't shop at the dollar store, but she is heavy enough that she can't stand long enough to cook. I've started bringing her samples of things I make myself and that I can freeze. When she likes something, I make more of it to bring on the next visit. Her issue isn't financial, it's her love of carbs, sweets and "convenience" foods. She actually is willing to eat better if someone else does all the work of shopping for it and preparing it (time on feet). I'm trying to get my siblings to do this as well, as we could probably keep her pretty well-stocked as a group.