Biggest Loser does it again

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Replies

  • dawnna76
    dawnna76 Posts: 987 Member
    To some of us that may not sound like a challenge but to the contestants it is. Generally speaking they didn't get overweight because they made healthy decisions in the grocery store. They bought conveienence foods and overpriced boxed dinners of crap. Learning to cook food from scratch ands shop for said ingredients is a challenge all In it's self
  • aakokopelli7
    aakokopelli7 Posts: 196 Member
    Family of 5, I am the only girl (besides the dog). Our bill is around $300 a month. I do coupon a little and go for sales but really we do a pretty decent job at healthy. If you do the math that's 60 bucks per person a month.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Whey protein lasts several months?
  • n0ob
    n0ob Posts: 2,390 Member
    Whey protein lasts several months?

    I've got some that at least 3 months past expiration if you want it...
  • chocl8girl
    chocl8girl Posts: 1,968 Member
    Sometimes I think the show is determined to show how out of touch with reality they are!

    Last night's episode included a challenge to buy a week's worth of groceries on a "budget" of $70 per person.

    Our average is higher when you factor in the staples, but we often only spend about $70 for the two of us! Last week was $150, but it included $50 worth of whey protein, which lasts him several months, as well as allergy meds. Basically, we budget $100 a week, including paper towels and similar things that come from the grocery store or Costco. Pure groceries comes out to about $45 per person.

    Has anyone else figured this out for their family? Was anyone else surprised that $70/ person was considered challenging?

    My goodness, I wish I HAD $70 per person a week to spend on groceries. :( For me and my two kids, I am lucky to be able to spend $100 all together every two weeks on groceries, and it doesn't go very far at all.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    My husband and I spend about $70 per week for the two of us. But when he's deployed my grocery bill only goes down to about $55. We live in Georgia and shop at the commissary though so our dollar probably stretches a bit farther than it would other places.
  • lafilleavectoi
    lafilleavectoi Posts: 125 Member
    No. A week's budget of $70 is a lot. I usually spend $40 week.
  • Hearts_2015
    Hearts_2015 Posts: 12,032 Member
    see, i thought that their point was the opposite. ppl don't realize how far the dollar can go at the supermarket, so long as you're making careful decisions. ppl assume that it's expensive to eat healthy, but it CAN be done on a budget, easily.
    Totally agree, no matter where you live, I believe it's more what you're purchasing, hunting down bargains, farmers markets, CROPS programs, Education (many grocery stores now have free classes, tours etc. with Nutritionists and Dietitians to help out)... for me, $70 is decadent and I could do about $100 a month and eat very healthy. I'm pretty resourceful though, that might have something to do with those of us that are saying $70 is plenty?
    To some of us that may not sound like a challenge but to the contestants it is. Generally speaking they didn't get overweight because they made healthy decisions in the grocery store. They bought convenience foods and overpriced boxed dinners of crap. Learning to cook food from scratch ands shop for said ingredients is a challenge all In it's self
    Good point! When first starting out healthy food seems crazy expensive until you understand, healthy food = veggies, fruit, etc.:laugh: aka, "real food"..food not in a box etc.

    It was the first time they went to the supermarket to actually shop for food for themselves after learning to eat healthier and only had 15 minutes time to do it. It is not like they have been doing this for months and had perfected their shopping to a lesser amount. I think all the teams also ended up spending less than the allocated $70.
    OH! Well that makes all the difference in the world, I don't follow reality shows so had no clue. I agree it would be very challenging, even for me if I'd not planned my menu, 15 minutes might prove a wee bit challenging. :flowerforyou:
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    yeah i was wondering what store they went to where she was able to buy all that produce and protein (and organic!) for that price.

    i live in cali as well and the only place i've ever been able to find that comes kind of close to that is trader joe's, but actual grocery stores... no way.

    and yeah i agree that wouldnt go far in NYC. the only way you could shop for that cheap is if you did your grocery shopping in chinatown where food can be super cheap. no way you can do that at a gristedes , c town and definitely not whole (paycheck) foods :laugh:

    personally i spend 200-300 per month on food for just me, but i'm also pretty fancy and i love certain brands and i buy quite a bit of spices. i'm sure there's cheaper versions of things but i have a pretty good palette so i can taste the difference between a delicious french butter and a crappy knock off butter

    also if you're on a budget OP, why are you wasting money on throw away things like paper towels. just go to ikea or someplace like that and get a pack of cloth napkins that you can reuse
  • christy_frank
    christy_frank Posts: 680 Member
    I feed 6 and I budget $200/week in groceries and we can eat really well on that. Most weeks I am way under. Some weeks I go $50 or so over but then I find I have some food that carries over into the next week. We buy a lot of fresh produce and we buy our meat at a local meat market.
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    see, i thought that their point was the opposite. ppl don't realize how far the dollar can go at the supermarket, so long as you're making careful decisions. ppl assume that it's expensive to eat healthy, but it CAN be done on a budget, easily.
    Totally agree, no matter where you live, I believe it's more what you're purchasing, hunting down bargains, farmers markets, CROPS programs... for me, $70 is decadent and I could do about $100 a month and eat very healthy. I'm pretty resourceful though, that might have something to do with those of us that are saying $70 is plenty?

    This is exactly it. For my $110/month I look through the circulars and see what is on sale and base my meals around that.
  • RobinvdM
    RobinvdM Posts: 634 Member
    I've got a budget of $250 for 4 people ($62/person), which includes food and household necessities like cleaning stuff, shampoo, etc. I used to think it was too expensive to eat healthy until I actually looked around and saw where I could live cheaper AND better.

    I do know that I would be spending more on the same items up where my parents live - they are out in the boonies of Northern Maine and they price gouge pretty bad, charging up to $2 extra on some things.
  • appelsiinipuu
    appelsiinipuu Posts: 97 Member
    To some of us that may not sound like a challenge but to the contestants it is. Generally speaking they didn't get overweight because they made healthy decisions in the grocery store. They bought conveienence foods and overpriced boxed dinners of crap. Learning to cook food from scratch ands shop for said ingredients is a challenge all In it's self

    this.

    It was the first time they went to the supermarket to actually shop for food for themselves after learning to eat healthier and only had 15 minutes time to do it. It is not like they have been doing this for months and had perfected their shopping to a lesser amount. I think all the teams also ended up spending less than the allocated $70.
  • determinedbutlazy
    determinedbutlazy Posts: 1,941 Member
    When I was at university, I was living on $20 a week for food, and I ate pretty damn well.

    I owe it all to Aldi!
  • barb1241
    barb1241 Posts: 324 Member
    We spend $50-$60 a week for two ppl-me and the hubs. That is for food only, not toiletries, dog food etc., but I cannot imagine calling $70/person/weekbeing on a budget-it is over twice what we spend. I am careful and buy only what I aabsolutely cannot do without or what's on sale at rock bottom prices, though. And part of our budget is spent on a produce co-op so we get a lot of fruit and veg at better prices than the grocery store. We eat modest portions of meat, mostly whole grains, not too many snacks. Sometimes I go berserk on fancy cheese, but we only eat a little at a time.

    I wish the show would've spent a lot more time and gone into much more detail about what they were buying-not just the total price and "lean protein and vegetables", and how to prepare it. Lots of people don't know how to get the most food for the money-and more still don't know how to cook food that is not from a box or can. It's not to disrespect anyone, but that's the biggest issue I see with folks who want to eat healthy on a budget-ya gotta chop and chop and chop those fruits and verg and then know how to make the food taste good too-it's a LOT of work, especially for busy families.

    If I could make a wish-I would wish for more education for folks.
  • danasings
    danasings Posts: 8,218 Member

    Has anyone else figured this out for their family? Was anyone else surprised that $70/ person was considered challenging?

    It is challenging in California. That is where the show is filmed.
  • Hearts_2015
    Hearts_2015 Posts: 12,032 Member
    oops... double post
    toung.gif
  • Ocarina
    Ocarina Posts: 1,550 Member
    Wow you all are making me feel bad.

    $600 a month on food and cleaning/non food essentials here for two people.

    Granted I shop at Whole foods exclusively but we have a meal plan... tons of fruits and veggies and everything is made from scratch at home.

    I can afford this. I used to budget off $100-200 a month but omg... not fun!! After a gargantuan income increase we have no desire to be prude with our food bill. We aren't wasteful though! Just always seem to break $150.

    I live in a city too... not sure if that would account for some higher expenses?

    Food budget is fun to talk about :)
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,385 Member
    I feel it was challenging for sure especially since the store they went to seemed to be a smaller neigbhorhood store. I feel $70 was not unrealistic cost if trying to eat healthly and I feel that they were trying to show viewers it is not as expensive as they may think.

    The bottom line is everyone has to pick and choose when it comes to groceries. A lot more comes into play and they could not cover it all in one show challenge for sure. And I loved the way when they started to actually cook they realized items that were left off. This really happens to me even when I shop with a list.
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member

    Has anyone else figured this out for their family? Was anyone else surprised that $70/ person was considered challenging?

    It is challenging in California. That is where the show is filmed.

    I disagree with the assertion that California, specifically SoCal, is expensive to buy food in.
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    Actually $70 per person per week is a hell of a lot. Sorry but I just went shopping today for our foo....$61 TOTAL for the 3 of us adults here. That's going to easily last a week.

    There is a reason why it's called the biggest loser....
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,385 Member
    I wish the show would've spent a lot more time and gone into much more detail about what they were buying-not just the total price and "lean protein and vegetables", and how to prepare it. Lots of people don't know how to get the most food for the money-and more still don't know how to cook food that is not from a box or can. It's not to disrespect anyone, but that's the biggest issue I see with folks who want to eat healthy on a budget-ya gotta chop and chop and chop those fruits and verg and then know how to make the food taste good too-it's a LOT of work, especially for busy families.

    If I could make a wish-I would wish for more education for folks.
    That is certianly my biggest challenge with preparing all of my foods. But again they can't cover it all in alloted time :)
  • Queen_JessieA
    Queen_JessieA Posts: 1,059 Member
    I am in GA and I spend $100 for a family of 5 at the grocery store. That is mostly organic veggies/fruits, meat, dairy and other things. I try not to buy a whole lot of packaged foods. I pack my kids lunches daily for school.
  • ashlinmarie
    ashlinmarie Posts: 1,263 Member
    I live in Japan and my only shopping option right now is at the commissary which usually has good deals on everything except fruits and veggies and it costs me and my husband about 150 for two weeks.
  • mfoy94
    mfoy94 Posts: 228 Member
    Sorry if you live in a ****ty area where food is expensive but... coupons coupons coupons and sales! We buy toilet paper in bulk at my house when its on sale at target. They also often give 5$ giftcards for certain items purchased and those suckers add up fast! :)
  • knk1553
    knk1553 Posts: 438 Member
    The area I live in gives me the options of: whole foods, fresh market, trader joes and Harris teeter to shop at unless I want to drive 15-20 miles out of my way to go to Walamart, lowes, or Kroger. I probably spend around $50 a week on stuff for myself, but if you do ~18-21 meals a week, plus snacks out of that then it isn't bad. I have started getting better about buying just what I need but it's definitely a learning process. I have a hard time with eating the same stuff for days in a row, and with one person thats pretty much what has to happen. Things are also ultimately cheaper in bulk. I could probably spend $70 a week on groceries if I didn't shop the specials and bought organic.
  • jadedone
    jadedone Posts: 2,446 Member
    Damn, I don't want to admit this but I have trouble keeping it under $170.00 a week for 2 people....Most times I over spend and its around $200.00 a week and my husband goes out to eat for lunches every day. I guess I have got to look at my grocery list because I'm not doing it right...

    Oh, I would definitely add in salmon with a budget like that! And scallops!

    I doubt you are doing anything wrong, especially if you live in a large city. But if you want tips on cutting back, there have been a few threads on that lately.

    I am a bit surprised that all the CA cities are getting a mention, since SF is so near farm land where my fruits and veggies often come from!

    Meat is pricy. Especially if you want to avoid the factory farmed stuff.

    I know $70 is doable, but it takes some work to eat the way I want.

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