How rude of me!

welcome!!! im a maryland-er too!!! :bigsmile:

SNAP. You can find a way and you won't remain hungry... don't forget that much of the hunger we experience is psychological not physical. I recommend more water and more vegetables and you'll get there. When I am at work, I sit there with a plate of cut up veg in front of me and graze on that through the day and IT WORKS... no more do I crave chocolate and chips and junk because psychologically I know there is food there to eat.

Try it and see how it works for you.

Hi, nice to meet you Nae. My name is Lisa!

I agree with the expensive part. I was telling my husband that when I shop and purchase the healthier foods, my shopping bill is significantly higher and I don't seem full either. I try to eat more fiber and more protein (hence I try and incorporate a protein shake into my diet daily) but liquids just dont seem to cut it for me.

Special K cereal tastes good and is great for you. Not too bad price wise. Buy a box and have that for breakfast or some apples with peanut butter. Either of those seem to fill me up in the morning. I am not a huge breakfast person to begin with...

Always purchase chicken breasts (if you like chicken!) when they are on sale. $1.79/&1.99 per pound if in tri state area. I stock up on them when they are at a low price. Tons of ways to use and at them.

I am new at this myself! Good luck, YOU CAN DO IT!!!

I understand what you are saying.
I would recommend you go to Dr Oz's web site. He is doing a get healthy challenge. On one of his programs he
explained how to spend a small amount of money on all healthy foods for you.
Yes, eating healthy can seem expensive. So having someone give you a break down/list of how to shop and what to buy
will really benifit you.
To help you out I went onto the site and got a link for you.
http://www.doctoroz.com/question?query=grocery+shopping
I hope that helps you in the grocery department.
As for the working out part...that is a good one. I want you to think about this fact. Lets say you dont take...20 minutes to work out in a day. When you are old what are the health risks that you may develop? High blood pressure, diabetes, some different cancers, stroke, etc. Those will require doc's apt that will suck up your time. You could be on meds or you could need different treatment. That will mean your quality of life will go way down.
So if you think about it, giving yourself the least amount of exercise will benifit you in the long run. It doesnt have to encompass your whole day. It doesnt mean you are being selfish or arrogant. It means you want to lead a wonderful energized life full of happiness.
The Dr Oz site also can help you with inexpensive work outs ;-]
Feel free to add me if you wish. You can also look at my profile. Remember...anything worth doing is worth the effort ;-] And I believe your health is a worthwhile thing.
jac

Oh yeah, and I should mention that there are a bunch of people doing Jillian Michael's 30 day Shred video - it is a tough, solid 20 minute workout - if you can squeeze 20 minutes in, you can make a difference in your health If Jillian drives you bonkers, just put your headphones in and follow along - it's a 7-10$ video, depending where you find it (mine was at Walmart for 9$)

in regards to 'healthy food being expensive' - I've read and heard this so many times. If you are in a large city, I would recommend not shopping at the grocery store for your fruit and veggies, fish...

here (in Montreal, Canada) there are a ton of fruit and veggie shops with amazing prices (usually half of what the chain grocery stores charge). Fish markets are often cheaper as well. While it might not be convenient to have to go to 10 stores to get food for my family, they are all within a 20 minute walking distance, so that counts as exercise too.

There is always time to exercise. There is one woman on this site (wish I could remember her name) who wakes up at 4:30am to go to the gym before work (she has a full time day job and evening classes). While I personally find that crazy - I admire her dedication. Every little bit counts, and the more you exercise, the more energy you get (sounds counter-intuitive, but it's true).

I really hope you find the support and motivation you need - this is a great site with a great hive-mind!

Good Luck!

I'm super-broke, too, and thought the same thing about healthy eating. But now I realize that I was leaning too hard on packaged food, which really isn't any cheaper, and a whole lot less healthy.

For instance... I was big on Hamburger Helper and Rice a Roni. Add a pound of meat and a buck or two gives you a meal. Except they're PACKED with sodium. Buying plain brown rice or whole wheat pasta (even regular pasta) and even just using pre-made sauces is healthier and cheaper. Making my own sauces would be cheaper and healthier still, but I am admittedly lazy.

Lentils are my new best friend. Packed with fiber and protein, I add some - maybe half a cup - whenever I make rice. And under $2 for a bag. And I love frozen veggies. Don't have to worry about them spoiling, and they taste "fresher" than canned.

Online recipe sites rock. You can find anything you want just by googling, and there's usually healthier alternatives. For instance, I love Chili's Southwest Eggrolls (YUMMMM!), and found a recipe online. Instead of making them as deep fried eggrolls, I use the mixture for the filling (chicken, peppers, tomatoes, corn, beans, spinach, cheese - for the most part, pretty healthy) in whole wheat tortillas and bake them as enchiladas.

Watch the store circulars for specials. I browse them online since i don't get the newspaper. One place has Thomas' muffins, buy one get TWO free. They often have the same sort of special on whole grain breads. Stock up. Things like that can be frozen so they don't spoil before you get a chance to use them.

Eating healthy doesn't have to be expensive. Dry beans are cheap, high in protein, very versatile, and very good for you. Eggs are cheap. Frozen veggies are healthier than canned and are cheaper and easier to store than fresh. You can make your own soup very easily (even easier if you have a crock pot). In-season fruits and veggies aren't expensive at all -- potatoes, carrots, and apples are cheap year-round. You can buy lean meats for under 3 bucks a pound, and if you're eating recommended serving sizes of 3 or 4 oz. a pound goes a long way!

Staying active doesn't have to be expensive either. There are things you can do around your house, for free, with no equipment. Do a YouTube search for workout videos you can watch on your computer. Or you can do simple things without a video. Jumping jacks and dancing to get your heart rate up. Old-school gym class stretches to keep your muscles warm. Pushups for arm strength (do them from your knees if you can't do them with a straight body, or even against a wall if you want). Do bicep curls with cans of food for a little resistance. Crunches and reverse crunches and planks to work your core. No excuses here! This stuff is all free!

Time is also not an excuse. You don't have to do this for 2 hours every day. 5 minutes in the morning is better than nothing. 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes after work is even better. If you don't have 20 minutes to your name in the course of the day, then you need to re-prioritize! I see that you pick your boyfriend up late and have to stay up late -- why aren't you using that time to do a little workout? It's there for the taking!

You can do this if you want to!

I just started exercising before breakfast - that way I get 20 to 30 minutes right off the bat! Then I try to get a bit more in during the day - I do find if I do it right away before anything else, at least I get the minimum done.
And I do cook my own soups sometimes - all the ideas above are great. thanks for all the tips.

joaniegray