What a diet costs in reality, What do you pay per week?

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  • elle_272
    elle_272 Posts: 4
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    I agree! My food bill has gone up too, as my partner and I are now eating a lot more fresh fruit and veg - which is pricey wherever you buy it from! We do tend to buy a lot of frozen veg as cheaper and lasts longer, but substituting fruit for my usual snacks of chocolate and crisps is proving to be a LOT more expensive! It will all be worth it though! :-)
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
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    Odd. I've always called it porridge and never oatmeal.

    OPer, I just checked your diary. You're eating on average 500 calories less than me. How the hell can you be spending more than 8 times what I'm spending?? :bigsmile: Do you just throw money at passing buses or something?
  • determinedbutlazy
    determinedbutlazy Posts: 1,941 Member
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    You could cut your food bill massively by shopping at Aldi. Their fresh veggies are cheap (as low as 39p for the "fresh five" of the week) their dairy is ridiculously cheap too. Buy frozen fish fillets from them too, and frozen chicken breast from Iceland or Asda (5kg for less than £10 is a LOT of protein) and buying pasta etc in bulk to make your own snack pots.
    It's cheap to eat well if you're willing to buy in bulk or buy frozen. I wish to hell and back I was in the UK right now because my average shopping bill here in Japan is equalling about £80 a week which is UNTHINKABLE to me.
  • windycitycupcake
    windycitycupcake Posts: 516 Member
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    $150-225 per week depending if i have to buy vitamins.
    i also drink a lot of tea which costs $2.99-$3.99 per box
  • carrietehbear
    carrietehbear Posts: 384 Member
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    As a single person, I have to get very creative with eating healthy and not wasting produce/meats/food in general. My weekly grocery budget comes out to roughly $50 a week. This includes protein powder, meats, veggies, lunch items, & other toiletries. This is a bit more than what I used to spend living with a roommate in a different city. Cost of living in the new city is much higher so I don't really think it is the healthy eating that is increasing the bill. The most expensive part of my new healthy lifestyle is what I spend I the gym/personal training. My membership comes out to $5 per week and my trainer $30 bucks per week. Total weekly cost- $85 bucks.
  • Car0lynnM
    Car0lynnM Posts: 332 Member
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    I don't know how much I spend per week, but one thing I would do is cut out purchased water. Unless the water where you're from is not drinkable, don't buy it. Also, buy generic (private label) whenever you can. If you're buying anything organic, do research on it. Some items don't matter if they're organic. Like bananas, oranges, etc. Things with a peel. There are definitely ways to save money, just takes practice and careful shopping.
    That being said, consider the money you spend as an investment--in yourself. You're worth it. :smile:
  • leaderzzz
    leaderzzz Posts: 113 Member
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    $150-225 per week depending if i have to buy vitamins.
    i also drink a lot of tea which costs $2.99-$3.99 per box

    Whats an Aldi?

    Quoted wrong I appologise..
  • leaderzzz
    leaderzzz Posts: 113 Member
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    Odd. I've always called it porridge and never oatmeal.

    OPer, I just checked your diary. You're eating on average 500 calories less than me. How the hell can you be spending more than 8 times what I'm spending?? :bigsmile: Do you just throw money at passing buses or something?

    Probably!
  • AwesomeSquirrel
    AwesomeSquirrel Posts: 632 Member
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    Well given that I'm sitting here waiting for ASDA to deliver a weekly shop (too much bulky stuff for me to take on the bus this week) I'll give my count. I won't eat all of this in a week, some of it will be bulk cooked and some of my snacks will keep me stocked for 2 weeks-ish so I'll count my weekly spend as 66% of the below.

    Eggs: £3.50 total
    2x 6 pack Happy eggs £3.50

    Meat: £8 total
    Chicken thighs 1 kg (6 servings) £4
    Beef mince 500 g (5 servings) £2
    Carver ham 200 g (5 slices) £2

    Food cupboard: £3 total
    Chopped tomatoes 4x400g £2
    Wholewheat lasagne 250g (5 servings) 50p
    Wholewheat conchigele pasta 500 g (5 servings) 50p

    Oatmeal: £1.98 total
    Quaker oats 1kg (20 servings) £1.98

    Snacks: £9.60 total
    Kallo wholegrain ricecakes 1 cylinder 90p
    Snack a jack caramel/chocolate chip ricecakes 2 cylinders £3
    Caramelised onion hummus £1
    Milk chocolate cookies (in-store bakery) 5 cookies 90p
    Apple/mango juice £1.50
    Sesame bagels (4 bagels) £1
    Garlic bread £1.30

    Dairy: £12.80 total
    Skimmed milk, usually 4 pints per week so 2x 89p (could bulk buy 4 pints/£1)
    Babybel cheese (8 cheeses) £2
    Activia yoghurts 2x4-pack £3
    Brie 200g £1
    Reduced fat Creme fraiche 300 ml 90p
    Parmesan cheese 200g £3.20
    Ricotta £1

    Fruit + veg: £13.04 total
    Pears £1
    Oranges £2.25
    Potaotes (2.5 kg) £2.20
    Spring onions 75p
    Broccoli £2
    Leeks 41p
    Carrots 89p
    Mangetout £1
    Mushrooms 85p
    Fresh basil 69p
    + extra random fruit in a few days eg. apples £1

    Water: £0
    I always bring my water bottle from home and refill.

    TOTAL FOOD COST/week: ~£35
    VITAMINS: multivitamin + omega 3/6/9 supplement from ASDA: £10 for 3 months (85 p per week)
    WORKOUT COST: Yoga studio £75 per month, £18.75 per week

    LIFESTYLE COST/week: £54.60

    Note to the OP: I've always found ASDA to be the best value. I either shop at a massive one on my way home or if I need to buy lots of things (this week I also got TP, laundry detergent & fabric softener) I pay for home delivery (roughly £3 during the week, £5 on weekends).
  • Lupercalia
    Lupercalia Posts: 1,857 Member
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    Luper, nuts are so expensive when or where I buy them... don't know why..and holly, I think your right about seasons, I did not think about that. I am also not a very 'seasoned shopper'.

    My supplements are multivitamins, and protein drinks I have allowed £70.00 per month for protein and £30.00 for the multivits = £25.00 per week. My protein drink is expensive probably because I buy it off the shelf as opposed to on-line and I prefer the taste of the drink compared use to other brands

    Nuts are far more expensive here in the UK than what I was buying them for in the US, which makes no sense--Spain with all their almonds ain't that far away! Then again, most food is more expensive here, it seems. But really, nuts are outrageous! If I was eating nuts, I'd be looking to buy online in bulk quantities....perhaps one can get a better deal that way.

    Yeah, your protein drink seems incredibly expensive. I buy 4.5 kilos of great quality whey (Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey) for £85 (shipping cost included). I use two scoops/day of that, so it lasts me a good while. You might want to look around for a comparable protein to whatever you're using to see if you could find something more economical which is also still agreeable to drink. I know they can be really nasty, so that might be easier said than done. Perhaps you could buy greater quantities and get it at a better cost? There was a good thread going in the UK group about protein, with lots of links included--you might check that out if you missed it.
  • applekrisp1988
    applekrisp1988 Posts: 69
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    Whats an Aldi?

    A dirt cheap store, sells generic stuff that is just as good as store brands but way cheaper. Wish we had one here.
  • acogg
    acogg Posts: 1,870 Member
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    Eating healthy is saving me money due to eating out less and being more conscientious of my food choices. The expensive part has been replacing my wardrobe as I get smaller.
  • skinnyinjapan1
    skinnyinjapan1 Posts: 15
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    How some people can feed a family of 3 or 4 on 100 dollars per week is incredible... I spend about 1200yen on average per day on food >< which makes it 8400 yen per week or about 80-85 dollars per week.

    This does include 300yen on 1,5l of Coke Zero and 1,5l of Evian per day; fresh strawberries (5 large ones for 500yen); lots of veggies, meats, octopus, shrimp & salmon.

    And then I don't even buy good cheese. :( God I miss cheese. Bought a tiny bit of brie the other day from an import shop for 400yen. Totally worth it!
  • seaflyer
    seaflyer Posts: 7 Member
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    Get something like a Brita or PUR pitcher instead of buying bottled water. Go to the websites of your favorite products and look to print up coupons for same - lots of them do this! I spend much less now because I'm eating the same things I ate before, mostly, but in smaller quantities. Shop smart - shop the BOGO deals and stock up a little. I only buy the fruit that's in season as it's cheaper. If you have a yard I'd suggest planting a fruit tree or some veggies. If it's not on sale, I don't buy it. It will be on sale soon and I'll get it then. Except for milk. That's never on sale. I buy the Cabot Greek yogurt(plain) as it has the fewest calories & the most protein. It's cheapest at Walmart, unless the grocery store has a sale. Good luck to you!

    I generally spend less than $50 per week for food & beverages but I'm smaller, an excellent shopper, and am only buying for me.
  • leaderzzz
    leaderzzz Posts: 113 Member
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    SS thanks for that list, It looks great, I forgot to mention, buy ready made pastas etc from co=ops healthy range, and that's not a cheap option at £3.00 ish per purchase..

    Somebody has mentioned lentils and a few other items for being rich in protein and that sounds like a great idea... Allergic to mushrooms and don't like fish....
  • AwesomeSquirrel
    AwesomeSquirrel Posts: 632 Member
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    SS thanks for that list, It looks great, I forgot to mention, buy ready made pastas etc from co=ops healthy range, and that's not a cheap option at £3.00 ish per purchase..

    You need to start making your own I think =) Invest in some Lock&Lock containers and get cooking! I know my weekly food cost is lower than many of my collegaues' because I always pack my lunch (soup/casserole in a thermos).

    Same with the people who suggested buying big packs of nuts and portion them out. I make my own trailmix. I buy big packs of things at Real Foods and mix them up in portions. While Real Foods can be really pricy they are actually competitively priced for nuts + dried fruit/coconut. You can also buy rice and different kinds of oats by weight from them which might well work out cheaper for you.
  • ashleab37
    ashleab37 Posts: 575 Member
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    bump to work mine out later...
  • jadelyndsey
    jadelyndsey Posts: 150 Member
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    Whilst the word ‘Diet’ is used to for me to lose weight, unfortunately it does not mean cost savings by far, in fact my shopping bill has risen a little, the obvious benefits are there when on a diet, but for me, it has hit the pocket a little. Here is an example of what it can cost to cover a week ( me only)
    Eggs per week £ 8.00
    Chicken per week £12.00
    Green vegetables per week £15.00
    Porridge oats per week £3.00
    Milk 8 litres per week £3.50
    Vegetables per week £12.00
    Fruit per week £10
    Yoghurts and other dairy products £14.00
    Protein drinks and vitamins per week £25.00
    Purchased water £7.00
    Purchased snack foods (pasta etc) £15.00
    Nuts £6.00
    Meats £20.00 per week
    Spices, oils and flavorings £10.00

    Gym membership £10 per week.

    Total costs: £170.00 per week ( $263 Dollars)

    This is actually about £40 pounds more than I had spent on a regular diet, but the diet is clean and fresh and has the supplements to help me achieve my goals; I believe the cost above could be substantially saved, and would be really interested anyone can come up with a better price for the above than me...

    Or even better, what do you pay for yours?

    I'm a very skint/broke university student, and I have just under £100 per month to live on.

    I do my weekly shops on a Saturday, and I've just come back from mine. This week I spent £12.54, but the week prior I spent £22.90, on average I spend about £18 per week on food. I would say I am lucky in the fact that my boyfriend works at a butchers, and he frequently brings me fresh chicken breasts, extra lean minced beef, lamb steaks etc therefore all I need to buy is the cheaper extras like fruit, veg, rice, pasta, oats, (you get the drift).

    Today I bought the following for £12.54:
    Houmus (be good to yourself, Sainsburys)
    Chicken breast deli slices
    Low fat white cheddar (be good to yourself, Sainsburys)
    Warburtons wholemeal square wraps
    1 large red onion
    5X small bananas
    Rachels organic low fat garden yoghurts
    1% fat skimmed milk
    60 sachets truvia (not tried this yet, I've heard good things and it was on offer for £1.89!)
    Jordans healthy porridge oats
    Hellmans extra light mayonaise
    Tomato puree with garlic and herb

    Last week I bought very different things, and I have a full drawer of salad stuff left still (some of it's nearly ready to throw out but being a frugal student I'll still eat until it's basically wilted and brown haha).

    So yeh, weekly about £17-£18 but if I had to buy my own meat it would probably be about £15-£20 more than that...
  • ashleab37
    ashleab37 Posts: 575 Member
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    Fresh fruits & veg; $10
    2L Almond Milk; $5
    1kg Yoghurt for smoothies; $5
    String cheese etc for snacks; $7
    Yoghurt for breakfasts; $10
    Raisin toast; $2
    2.5kg chicken breast; $30
    2-3 serves of steamed veg a day; $15
    1 pizza base; $3
    Cheese; $5
    Ham/salami/etc; $3
    Cream cheese; $5
    18 Eggs; $6
    Lamb; $5
    Random stuff needing to be replaced once in a while (flour, spices, oils, carb staples, protein powder, etc); $20 average
    Coffees at lunch; $16
    Out for dinner once a week; $45

    $191 a week. I'm lucky to get fresh fruit delivered to work 3 days a week. I can do it cheaper if I need to but I could DEFINITELY eat nicer than I do. Food aint cheap in aus.
  • Faye_Anderson
    Faye_Anderson Posts: 1,495 Member
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    A family of 3, we spend £140 a MONTH on a food shop from Asda or Tesco (Sainsburys was getting ridiculous for the amount of substitutes/ items not in stock) My husband works in Morrisons so we're lucky that he can bring home lots of discounted fruits and veg at the end of his shift (sell by dates are well off, we usually get a week out of things that would of been wasted), probably adds another £30 a month, if you go to the supermarket at the right times you can get huge reductions on perfectly good food.

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