Trying to lose weight on a tight budget!

I spend about 8 dollars a day on food now (I spoil myself) but when I was borderline homeless (Couch-hopping), I used to survive on a dollar or less a day.

Rice in bulk. 15 pound bag for 8 dollars or so. It goes pretty far. Peanut butter is a dense calorie food for not a lot. Flour+eggs+water tends to make a lot of different foods and is reasonably priced.

My mother was ery over weight and so is my sister. I was smaller when I was young but now I am really battling. I think of my mom and altho she was a good mom to me i don't want to be like her. Put a picture of your mom on the fridge or near the tv. when you want to be lazy think of her and is this the way you want to be. My mother died of a heart attack in her 70's. I plan on kayaking instead. You can fight bad habits just has to be worth it to you.

Do you have ALDI or Trader Joe's in your area? Both those stores are extremely budget friendly. I also have has success with cutting down on grocery bills by cutting reducing meat consumption.

Unfortunately, no.

Dang! That's what I was going to ask! Aldi saved our budget! Hmm..if you have the patience, coupons work wonders. You can also get groceries at Dollar Tree. Many of them even have freezer sections!

My whole life I have felt....and been called....overweight. Although now I look back at photos and realize I was quite slim! The only time I ever lost significant weight is when my now-ex husband ended our 18 year relationship in 2012 by telling me he was sneaking around with my now-ex best friend and was leaving me for her!
I went into a depression and didn't eat a stitch of food for over three weeks, until my Mother made me go to the doctor. I lost about 16lbs. I could notice it in my face, thighs and my belly.
I started to feel better in a few weeks after medication and a lot of friendship therapy. I actually started to enjoy my new found size! For the first time in many, many years, I fit into a size 30 jean!! I was always a 36 or more!
A few months later, I met an amazing man, we are still together and going strong. But....recently I noticed I have put on at least 20lbs since the spring of 2013. My fav Guess skinny jeans (size 30!) which he bought me now no longer fit I can't even get them up past my knees. I cried for almost an hour. It's crazy how we never notice the weight piling up until it's too late but notice every little bit that leaves!
My finances also got seriously messed up and I am now living paycheck to paycheck. I can't afford most of the healthy stuff I want and should be eating, I can't afford a gym membership or any equipment. I DESPISE the cold so I don't get outside much in the winter. I sooooo want to fit back into those Guess skinny jeans....can anyone offer some pointers to someone on a serious budget?? Oh....and I have very little willpower or motivation. LOL I will be the first to admit, I am lazy...it's how I grew up. I didn't grow up in an active home, my mother is overweight.
Any advice will be appreciated....but please be gentle! LOL

In reality you don't need exercise to lose weight but the end result is nicer if you add exercise. I'm doing almost everything at home. You really do not need much money to start exercising, just the determination to do something each day. Check out the APPS tab on MFP to find a lot of apps like the Runtastic apps that are free or very low cost for the pro version. They feed the results fight into MFP saving you the time of doing so. Search the App Store or similar. Some of the apps do not feed into MFP so you have to manually enter in the results. I have under $20 spent on these types of apps that I use daily. I have an elliptical (bought well before joining MFP) but if you don't have one and choose to spend the money, now is a good time to pick up used exercise equipment at the resale shops since folks got them for Christmas and have already become tired of them. I also picked up a Total Core at a liquidation store (major savings) for $19. Walmart (Canada) has inexpensive skipping ropes if you want to add that to your routine. They also have dumbbells rather inexpensive. I paid $6 for two 3 lb dumbbells perfect for my arm exercises. I highly recommend a pedometer (about $15) then set a goal of 10,000 steps a day. I can easily get that accomplished in my home each day. Dollarama has resistance exercise bands for $2. There are a lot of YouTube videos (free) and depending on your library, exercise DVDs are free to rent. I chose not to join a gym but I did join a community activity centre that offers more than just exercise classes and equipment. It was $30 for the year and exercise classes are drop-in at $2 each. Set up a routine and stick to it.

When it comes to food, I avoid anything 'weight loss' specific and processed foods BUT that's the way we normally eat so there were no real changes that way for me. I only had to change portion size. Shop the outside aisles of the grocery store. Buy dried beans and rice in large packages and learn how to cook them. Even if you buy nothing, do splurge on a kitchen scale (about $15). That can be one of your most valuable tools in weigh loss for accurate tracking of calorie intake.

My whole life I have felt....and been called....overweight. Although now I look back at photos and realize I was quite slim! The only time I ever lost significant weight is when my now-ex husband ended our 18 year relationship in 2012 by telling me he was sneaking around with my now-ex best friend and was leaving me for her!
I went into a depression and didn't eat a stitch of food for over three weeks, until my Mother made me go to the doctor. I lost about 16lbs. I could notice it in my face, thighs and my belly.
I started to feel better in a few weeks after medication and a lot of friendship therapy. I actually started to enjoy my new found size! For the first time in many, many years, I fit into a size 30 jean!! I was always a 36 or more!
A few months later, I met an amazing man, we are still together and going strong. But....recently I noticed I have put on at least 20lbs since the spring of 2013. My fav Guess skinny jeans (size 30!) which he bought me now no longer fit I can't even get them up past my knees. I cried for almost an hour. It's crazy how we never notice the weight piling up until it's too late but notice every little bit that leaves!
My finances also got seriously messed up and I am now living paycheck to paycheck. I can't afford most of the healthy stuff I want and should be eating, I can't afford a gym membership or any equipment. I DESPISE the cold so I don't get outside much in the winter. I sooooo want to fit back into those Guess skinny jeans....can anyone offer some pointers to someone on a serious budget?? Oh....and I have very little willpower or motivation. LOL I will be the first to admit, I am lazy...it's how I grew up. I didn't grow up in an active home, my mother is overweight.
Any advice will be appreciated....but please be gentle! LOL

Also....I thought I would add that I am in Canada....and unfortunately our foods etc seem to be more expensive than in the US. There is a farmer's market near me but their prices can be high. I am also a picky eater, lol, I don't like a lot of veggies (peppers, onions, zuccinni, mushrooms, celery, cauliflower) so that makes cooking a little tricky and sometimes bland. LOL
Our (mine and my bf) budget is $65 a week right now. We always buy eggs and a few kinds of proteins (chicken, pork) for meals when it's on sale along with some frozen dinners for lunches. I could use some ideas for afternoon snacks and easy breakfasts though!


I do like to walk....mostly in the summer. When it is -18 degrees celcius out like today, I realllly would rather not go for a walk!
I never thought to check youtube for workout and meal ideas, thanks to all for that advice!

I should have noted that we are in Canada as well, Ontario. I find a lot of American prices higher than Canadian but there is more selection. Smoothies might be one solution to using more vegetables. Just be careful with the calories. I here you on the walking out doors at those temps. I have been doing most of my walking in my home. I get walking in when shopping as well. One of the malls a couple of towns over has a mall walking club. Maybe there is one near you?

hey there, I'm a student on a budget and here is what has helped me



budgetbytes.com so many great CHEAP healthy recipes. She breaks down the price per serving and some of her recipes are in the mfp database!!!

also, the crockpot is a real life saver I will buy whatever hunk of meat is on sale, throw it in the crock pot with anything really (dressing, boullion, stock, veggies) and it comes out delicious every single time! you can throw a whole chicken in, cook it, pull the chicken off the bone and make a stock in the crock pot. I eat this with rice and its a very cheap meal. 10 bucks MAX and it lasts for DAYS

i try to go to the store and buy what I need for a specific meal, and then leave. I buy things that I have a concrete plan for. I used to buy buy buy tons of produce at a time, or other perishables that seemed like healthy choices, but had NO plans for them and they would rot. Buy what you need for a specific meal, and cook in bulk!


blogilates.com
is a website by cassey ho. Totally FREE mat workouts that are really fun and challenging. All you need is a yoga mat. or the carpet!! i am working my way through her FREE beginners calendar, all with workouts attached. I bought my yoga mat at marshalls for about 13$

hope this helps, and best of luck on your journey, you can do it!!

Try agirlcalledjack.com amazingly cheap and healthy recipes. She has become well known here in the UK speaking about the problems around food poverty and the rise in use of foodbanks.
If you want to eat healthily and cheaply it can be done you just have to be prepared to think creatively and spend some time planning ahead. Others have given some very good advice.
Good luck!

Tasty beans & rice recipe:

Put 2 cloves of garlic and 1/2 onion (both chopped) in a pan with a little olive oil for a few minutes, then add 2 cans of beans, 3 chopped tomatoes, and spices (get as experimental as you want):
cumin
chili powder
paprika
a liiiittle oregano and a liiiittle cinnamon

Add some chopped kale or spinach and cover, let simmer til the tomatoes cook down and it's nice and saucy. Top with chopped cilantro. I make this while I boil a cup of brown rice and then divide it up into lunches for the week. Avocado and Tapatio are the best toppings, but I know avocado is expensive. Tapatio is not, however. Also you'd save a lot using dry beans, but I'm a fellow lazy person