Losing weight with little to no money.

DOMTIA1012 · January 2013

Anybody have any specials tips or tricks that they have for losing weight on the cheap?

neverstray · January 2013

I dont' have any specific tips, but do a search because this question is asked a lot and there a lot of really good ideas, in addition to new ideas you might get here.

cmriverside · January 2013

Well, you can't afford much food then, so that should help. :ohwell:

Beans and rice, milk, tuna, lettuce, eggs, whole chicken or whatever is on sale (check with your butcher at the grocery for sale meats). Buy frozen vegetables in bulk, on sale. You can live on less, just have to plan ahead.

Firefox7275 · January 2013

Beans, lentils, frozen vegetables, dried fruit, canned oily fish, organ meats like liver, peanut butter, pumpkin and other seeds, whole oats. Free apps/ podcasts on your smartphone, second hand home exercise DVDs, spend out on on a proper sports bra and decent footwear, don't have to be expensive but fitted to you following a gait analysis (free in a proper sports/ running store).

lizziebeth1028 · January 2013

Buy the foods you normally do but eat within your calorie goal. Weight loss is calories in v. calories out, stay consistently in your calorie goal and you'll lose. OR If you're looking for a healthier route - chicken, lean beef, eggs, milk, yogurt, fresh fruit, veggies, quaker oatmeal.......all these are relatively inexpensive foods.

3saLarson · January 2013

For me it's cooking at home. No take out, or pre packaged foods. It takes a bit to enter the recipes, but it helps me to stay in budget.

concordancia · January 2013

Beans are a good source of protein and fiber.

If you find healthy foods on sale that will keep, stock up. We buy chicken and ground turkey at Costco, frozen fish at the local supermarket. Our freezer is always full.

Some farmer's markets offer good deals on veggies, however, others cater to yuppies who will spend more to make themselves feel good.

After a bit of research, we have chosen a grocery store which tends to have the lowest prices, it is not the closest, but we stock up once a week and my partner can stop on his way home from work to refill veggies - salad greens just don't last long enough to buy two at a time.

It is cheaper to walk than to drive.

One of you local parks probably has a fitness trail.

Itsallbs15 · January 2013

Coupons and a lot of them. I cut $100+ off my grocery bill every month with coupons alone. Also, if you use coupons to get hygiene stuff, that gives you more money to spend on fruits and vegetables. As someone mentioned ask the butcher/meat department for meat that they really need to sell and will give at a discount. This should also work in the produce section. Don't forget to look for coupons on sale items. That is always a huge relief of cost.

FinFoxPT · January 2013

As with all the above for me it's about what i can get and where. Theres lots of supermarkets to get fruit and veg but at the market i can get a mixed bag of salad/veg/fruit for £1.00. As for meat i go for cheaper cuts which usually end up being tastier too. I always have meals i can make more of and freeze too, thats a big help. Slow cooker meals are best for this.

Hope this helps

Fin x

bcattoes · January 2013

Anybody have any specials tips or tricks that they have for losing weight on the cheap?

Eat less calories and/or burn more calories.

BeingAwesome247 · January 2013

Coupons and a lot of them. I cut $100+ off my grocery bill every month with coupons alone. Also, if you use coupons to get hygiene stuff, that gives you more money to spend on fruits and vegetables. As someone mentioned ask the butcher/meat department for meat that they really need to sell and will give at a discount. This should also work in the produce section. Don't forget to look for coupons on sale items. That is always a huge relief of cost.

This....also I know for me personally, I hate buying frozen fish and chicken....but it's usually on sale so I deal with it hahaha better than ramen!

maureenfarren · January 2013

I agree with you. People need to stop being lazy and plan your meals. I always cook a few meals ahead and put them in containers. It is very easy if you plan....

LoraF83 · January 2013

Food: Rice, eggs, beans, frozen veggies, potatoes, bananas, apples, pasta, shop for cheap cuts of meat on sale and cook them in the crock pot

Exercise: Run outside (free), body weight resistance training (also free) - google "Convict Conditioning", Youtube workout videos (free again)

Money is not a deterrant or a necessity where weight loss is concerned.

wendybird5 · January 2013

One budget saver for me has been the 99 Cent Store. I can get a lot of my veggies and fruits (salad greens - not iceberg lettuce, but actual raw spinach, red lettuce, etc, cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, radishes, bell peppers, apples, oranges, bananas, mangos, squash, broccoli, cauliflower) as well as tuna canned in water, salsa and whole wheat pita bread from there. Often I can get eggs or skim milk as well. They have frozen veggies as well if you need something that will last longer. It's also a good place to get other household items (toothpaste, dish soap, paper towels, kitchen items, dishes, lightbulbs and more) to save money over all so you can afford to spend more on lean meats and more.

Also, if there's a Trader Joe's near you, they tend to have a lot of great foods reasonably priced. I love their microwavable long grain brown rice. It's lower priced and better nutritionally than the Uncle Ben's stuff you get at the regular store and very convenient to take to work. Their pre-made salads are great as well - just watch out for the calories.

wlkumpf · January 2013

don't fall into a gimmick trap, especially on your low days when you just want to find a "cheat". Even if they help short term most people gain back the weight if they do this.

Look for what is on sale, visit the websites of your 3 favorite stores, make a list based solely on what is on sale, pick the best and then you can price match the rest at most stores

I can usually find chicken on sale and a lean beef steak or roast.
I make less meat for tacos (I use xtra lean made with bulk taco seasoning) use fat free refried beans (off brand saves like .50 cent ans sucks so I shell out for the good ones) and because we do this we have leftover meat for another meal.
Some of my favorite things are soups and you can sub at least half the meat for various beans! Love it!

I buy whatever veg is on sale that week, or the ones that are always cheap, this week cucumbers were 2/1$ and peppers were 3/1$ in my town, spinach bags were only .99 and have like 4 cups in them. add on some 3 or 4/1$ oranges and a small bag of apples and that is a pretty good supply! I myself try to avoid bananas, but my daycare kids go nuts for them, so I always have to buy them as well.

maillemaker · January 2013

In the end, it's about calories, so rich or poor, it doesn't matter how you eat fewer calories.

What matters is the kinds of foods you can afford to buy.

Cheap food often means processed food that is high in carbohydrates. A diet high in carbs can cause spikes in blood sugar that can make you feel hungry faster than if you ate the same number of calories in protein instead.

I find a diet heavy in fats and protein makes it easier to keep appetite in check. But this can be more expensive than packaged box meals that go on sale - fresh produce like eggs, meats and cheeses almost never do.

trophywife24 · January 2013

Log everything you eat.

Do not buy anything pre-made... no boxed snacks, crackers, bakery things, pre-made sandwiches, deli food, nothing that's already been prepped..... which of course also includes fast food.

I've recently started only buying ingredients for things instead of buying pre-made, processed foods. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen lately but, no kidding, I just took $70 off of our weekly grocery trip to feed a family of four. It's totally doable, you just have got to meal plan and you have to cook.

heypurdy · January 2013

running

angelacooper3 · January 2013

Get smart with left overs. Make soups and stir fries with leftovers from joints and veggies, omlettes with bits of veg rather than letting them spoil. Im lucky that I have a great local butcher, his braising steak is far better quality than the rump from the supermarket so I buy that if I want a treat. Dont buy cheddar cheese, use fresh parmesan instead, its more expensive but you only need a little as the flavour is so strong. Bulk out casseroles, stews and soups with dried pulses and beans.

lewcompton · January 2013

Park the car, walk, bike or public transit...
Stack up some old phone books and wrap together with duct tape to make a stair to step up on and set it in front of the TV instead of the recliner. Two cinder blocks side by side does the same thing.
Eat beans and lentils purchased dry are really cheap and brown rice (bought in bulk its not that bad... 25# thru Costco for example is about $17).
Eggs are a great low cost protein source... 15 dozen is under $20 at Costco.
Frozen veggies are cheap and nutritious.
Grow a garden for exercise and the cheap produce. If you are in a really cold area then hold off on that until spring.
Jicama sliced thinly makes great tortillas that are extremely low calorie and nutritious.
A little Tapatio sauce goes a long way for flavor.
Sweet potatoes are really good for you and fairly inexpensive.
Be creative and look for ways to incorporate things into your quest for better health and you will find them. This is only a few of many... Feel free to add me if you want more support.

MsMargie1116 · January 2013

if you have an Aldi in your area, they have really good, inexpensive healty foods. They don't have many name brands, but their generics are all made by company's that make the name brands but just slap a different label on it. And they are INEXPENSIVE!!! You can get a steamer bag broccoli FLORETTES (sp?) for like $1.09 here in the D/FW area in Texas, and they usually go for like $1.79 for name brands...

jenbenefit · January 2013

Make the most of free exercise - All I have spent money on is an exercise mat, a hula hoop (impluse sale buy lol), gym shoes and 1-3kg weights so far. I live in the UK and that was all welllll under £50. Thankyou january sales

Youtube videos are the best Also - amazon can do cheap exercise videos.

WATER IS FREE IS YOU HAVE A TAP. Who doesn't have a tap? (sorry if you don't have a tap

)

I didn't realise how much I was spending on buying lunch everyday from down, those 3-5pounds/dollars/yen/euro/whatever soon add up. I make a different pasta salad every week which is dirt cheap. Wholegrain pasta for £1, frozen veggies for 50p, then usually salmon, chicken, tuna...boom! A weeks worth of lunches for less than a fiver usually :smokin:

And if you do, give up smoking. The £7 i spent a wee wasn't alot, but that's £364 a day. I spent a pound a day on killing myself. Much better things to be doing!

Ooh and freezing foods. Buying the stuff going out of date in the supermarket and freezing it, or making meals and freezing it.

Good luck!:flowerforyou:

allie491 · January 2013

jog!

divincenzo1 · January 2013

My tips would be join coupons.com and before you go shopping go through and see what items you want to buy are on a discount. I buy those smart ones frozen meals a lot to keep in the house for if I run out of fresh food or need somethign really fast. They have sales all the time...plus if you buy a lot they last (hence frozen). If you can find a farmers market I would try to get your fruits and veggies there...you spend half the money and if/when things go bad you don't have to worry about it as much. I live in the Boston area and they have a great one in the city

Be mindful of brand names....no need to buy a brand name when the generic is $1 cheaper right next to it. And my last advice is find a cheap grocery store...for me I go to Market Basket...literally a fraction of the cost of Shaws or Stop & Shop.

caitconquersweight · January 2013

I only buy whole foods and don't waste my money on diet shakes or protein bars. I feel like I don't need the extra calories and fat and sugar when I can eat whole foods for less money. I work out at home or take walks.

suzii32 · January 2013

You can get free work out videos at any library,also You Tube has workout routines...plenty of Jillian Michaels on there. I also agree with shopping at Aldi's, they have a brand of healthy food, called Fit and Active, everything I have tried so far has been really yummy! Hope that helps!