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

I actually spend less now than I did before. I used to buy lots of tv dinners and boxed meals. My grocery bill has been cut $20-$30 a week on average.

I don't understand how it has risen? We have always spent about $70 at the grocery store for 2 people. Since we went healthier the bill has not gone up. I look for coupons. Fresh Vegetables go way farther in a meal than processed box stuff. A head of broccoli may be $2, but so is a box of mashed potatoes. Canned vegetables are even cheaper. We always look for the "bargain" meats. The ones that are about to expire so we get them 30% off.

We eat breakfast, salads every day and dinner will consist of a protein choice and one vegetable, and then skinny cow ice cream for dessert. Our grocery bill for 2 people has not changed, it may have even gotten cheaper because we choose to fill up on veggies rather than chips, boxed sides, frozen crap, etc.

I guess it depends on what type of "diet" you are doing. We don't do organic or weird milks. We drink real milk and regular vegetables. Why does your grocery bill increase on that?

I'm spending about $(CAN)100 every 2 weeks on food and what amounts to $15/week for my zumba classes and my swimming. My grocery bill has gone up but my food expense over all are down since I don't eat out nearly as much ( less than once a week )

I buy cans/bottles of bubbly water. I think of it as my gym membership. Some people spend money on the gym to be fit... I spend my money on bubbly water to be healthy. As I just can't drink it it flat, but get my water in if it tickles my throat.

I think my grocery store cost went up, but the up-side is I don't eat out at all. I even work at an Italian restaurant. I carry my lunch and snacks with me. For portion control. And I eat healthier now, so of course that cost a bit more. But, again the up-side is, I'm going to look and feel better when this journey is over.

I spend about $50 a week for myself and the husband spends about $70 and more.
I plan my meals, do an inspection of what I have on hand, and shop for what I need for the week.
Husband gets ready to eat meals either from freezer or cans.
I do cook for him on week ends, he wont eat my food because if I'm eating it then it's "diet food". It's not diet food, it's healthier food cooked better.

We average $125 a week or so but that includes a TON of organic produce and 2 school lunches for my kids everyday. (we go through 2 big containers of rasperries, a bulk thing of blueberries, a 5lb bag of apples, a bag of grapefruit, several pounds of bananas, a big bag of kiwi, a bulk thing of strawberries every week, not to mention the amount of dairy and eggs we go through then of course the meat, pasta, bread, and snacky stuff too!.) We are a family of 4.5 The total includes non grocercy items like vingegar, dish soap, and laundry detergent.

ETA: I should add that before we started eating cleaner we were spending about $80/week on JUNK and processed foods (we still buy them but at least it takes less of our cart now), and at least $30-40 picking up something a few times a week because I didn't want to cook, or we wanted chips, ect. Since we've started eating better no one is asking for chips, or mcdonalds, ect.

I don't understand how it has risen? We have always spent about $70 at the grocery store for 2 people. Since we went healthier the bill has not gone up. I look for coupons. Fresh Vegetables go way farther in a meal than processed box stuff. A head of broccoli may be $2, but so is a box of mashed potatoes. Canned vegetables are even cheaper. We always look for the "bargain" meats. The ones that are about to expire so we get them 30% off.

We eat breakfast, salads every day and dinner will consist of a protein choice and one vegetable, and then skinny cow ice cream for dessert. Our grocery bill for 2 people has not changed, it may have even gotten cheaper because we choose to fill up on veggies rather than chips, boxed sides, frozen crap, etc.

I guess it depends on what type of "diet" you are doing. We don't do organic or weird milks. We drink real milk and regular vegetables. Why does your grocery bill increase on that?

A lot of it depends on what you are switching from, too. I've never bought a lot of boxed sides or processed junk. So for me eating healthier means, say, replacing some of the pasta I'm having for dinner with a vegetable. 1 cup of most vegetables costs more than 1 cup of pasta thus my dinner just got more expensive. Maybe it's not drastic for that one instance, but when you have a budget as small as ours adding even 50 cents per meal creates a significant increase.

blimy

'Course, it says lamb... but horse to say what it really contains?

Although I live with my partner I buy food and cook just for myself as he has no interest in eating what I eat. I don't have a car so I do my shopping online with Ocado. It tends to cost me between £60-£80 per fortnight, so £30-£40 per week.

I save money by not eating much meat, because I can't afford to eat large quantities of the quality of meat I want to eat. I buy organic chicken certified to Soil Association standard (the highest welfare standards in the UK). Two breasts, about 500g, cost £10 when not on sale, and I divide them into 4 so I can have a small portion of chicken with some meals. I also buy frozen wild caught king prawns when they're on sale. I will very rarely have an organic steak.

I buy a lot of beans, dried and canned, and I buy organic eggs, which aren't cheap and so make a meal in themselves. I buy high quality reduced fat pork sausages and freeze them - 2 of these with some beans is a good amount of protein in a meal. I buy frozen spinach, broccoli and edamame beans, partly because they're cheaper and partly because fresh veg tend to go off before I get around to eating them.

What else...potatoes. Wholewheat noodles. Wholewheat bread and bagels. No sugar peanut organic peanut butter. Apples. Cucumber. Fresh carved turkey breast, free range. Greek yoghurt. Rice pudding. Granola bars. Nuts, cheese, oatcakes. Wholegrain rice crackers, sweet and plain. Reduced fat hummus. Wholegrain couscous. String cheese. All of the above organic as far as I can afford (especially things made of milk.) Oh, those individual serving cans of tuna, canned in sunflower oil or brine (I've tried olive oil but I just don't like the taste in the tuna.) I could save money on this by buying bigger cans and saving them in the fridge, though. I cook in olive oil (whichever is a good oil on sale that fortnight) and coconut oil (stock up when Holland and Barrett have their 1p sale. This is where I get my manuka honey and acidophilous tablets as well - about £30 and it will all last me six months if not more.) Sometimes I get cream cheese, fruit juice...sometimes coconut milk.

The main thing I do to save money though is that I eat the same meals all the time. Breakfast is always a wholewheat bagel with peanut butter and manuka honey. Lunch is a turkey, cheese and cucumber sandwich with a string cheese, an apple, and a granola bar (these are my one real indulgence.) Tea could be any of the following:

- garlic, potato and white bean soup with a boiled egg, some cheese and a couple of rice cakes
- baked potato with tuna, cheese, simmered black beans and/or hummus, with a big heap of cooked veg
- butterbean and sausage stew with broccoli and spinach
- stir fry with spinach, broccoli, wholewheat noodles and whatever protein I've got that week
- protein cooked in coconut oil with wholegrain couscous and veg
- omelette with veg and protein

Snacks are Greek yoghurt and honey, nuts, oatcakes and cream cheese, rice pudding, fruit.

Edit: I used to spend much more than this on food. I went through a phase where I shopped just for that night's meal. Those £15 add up. Then add on takeaways and alcohol. When I stopped doing all that I was astounded how much more money I had and I was able to afford all the above.

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.

I LOVE ALDI! I get majority of my groceries here. Quality is great and cost effective. They are owned by Trader Joe's.