Broke = Fat

No, don't give up. There are so many people on this site that are in your situation. Try clipping coupons. I think if you go to eatbetteramerica.com they have good coupons. I get the family pack of boneless skinless chicken breast from Walmart for $10 and it makes about a weeks worth of meals for us. Get some frozen veggies to go along with it. I think you can make it work. Go to freecycle.org and find a free scale. You can track your progress with a measuring tape. Good luck.

Some of the cheapest things out there are fresh veggies. Not corn and potatoes but broccoli, cauliflower, bulk carrots, cabbage etc. Stay away from calorie dense or pre packaged foods they tend to cost more and are less healthy. As far as a scale? Skip it, run to your local Walmart or equivalent and pick up one of their $0.98 measuring tape from the craft/sewing section.

Don't throw in the towel right yet. Do some research and if your other half and children aren't down for the healthier eating I guess they better hurry up and get hungry. My daughter stares at her food most of the time like "what are you trying to poison me with?!?!" but that's all there is and sooner or later they all get hungry enough to dig in.

If your doctor is near, I am sure they wouldn't mind letting you weigh yourself there, thats what I did when I first started dieting, they didn't mind at all.

It is hard and when you shop for a family on a tight budget it is even worse! It cost more to eat right, if I bought only healthy "good" food for my family it would take my two week budget and cut it in half! Plus, it would add alot of prep and cooking time to my week nights. Not cool for a working mom with active kids! =/ I feel your pain! No answers yet from this end, but I so get what you are saying!!!

you know many supermarkets have scales where you can weigh yourself, go check!!
and about food if you really want to lose weight in your situation theres a way, we live paycheck to paycheck and we always have healthy food around for us 4... dont cheat yourself...

Don't lose faith! If you eat much smaller portions youll be fine. Studying burns calories. And if you feel cranky, go walk outside for a bit and it will help give oyu some peace and quiet. And youll be far from the fridge. lol

You are completely right for making the decision to change your life for the better! come on, i know youre stronger than that to question yourself before you even get started!
Its so hard, i know. I struggle everyday myself, but sometimes you have to work with what you have. I mean tribes have no money but they eat smaller portions, and do a lot of exercise and they are fine. Follow that rule and you will too.

Ive found that when you arent tracking your weight loss, you lose the most. Just follow your diet rules and forget about "have i lost anything?" becuase the stress of thinking "i have to lose weight" literally, fisiologically doesnt' let you lose weight. So in a way youre better off, and i think youll notice a change when you put on your clothes and they fit looser.

The fact is that you need to make a change in your life. Today. There is never a perfect time to diet, cuase no one likes to do it. Excerising is annoying. And im a student too so i know how hungry and how bad cravings can get when you have a test coming up. Its the biggest reason why ive gained the weight i have. BUT YOU CAN DO IT. if other people have those crazy wieght loss stories, why cant you? you deserve to be healthy too.

So just maybe scavange the fridge from some fruit for breakfast. Or skip supper if you didnt do any exrcise, and go to bed early to avoid temptation. They is a solution for everything. Don't you want to look in the mirror and feel great? To walk around proudly and have more energy? to feel peace with the fact that you wont end up with diabetes, or a heart attack where they have to saw your rib cage in half to save you? or a stroke that leaves you unable to go to the bathroom on your own?
The question is do you want to be healthy when you are old or not?
If you cant afford a scale, forget about it. Save up if you can. But for now just keep dieting and exercising.
The rest will follow. You deserve this. Good health. A happy heart. A peaceful soul.

You can get frozen vegetables and fruits for super cheap. They are usually flash frozen so they maintain their nutritional values, unlike nasty canned vegetables. They also tend to be cheaper than fresh. My favorites are edamame and spinach - but there are tons of options. There are many affordable healthy whole grain products you can buy as well. Beans are great and very cheap. I have a very tight budget and never use it as an excuse to eat crap. Don't throw your money into nutritional black holes (junk food). Don't remember where I got it, but my non-digital low-tech food scale works well and cost me $5. Well worth the investment. You can do this! Don't let a tight budget be an excuse to stay unhealthy! P.S. The whole family could benefit from eating healthy foods. I don't cook individual meals in my house - it's not a restaurant! They should all get on board!!! :flowerforyou:

edited to add: By the way, since we started eating healthier (mostly just eating less) our grocery bill has gone down by about $100 to $150 a month. All that extra crap we used to eat doesn't make it into the cart anymore...

These are all great posts, but Lethal, can you tell us what you do have to eat, so we can try to help you find better ideas for your food?

I guess I would suggest buying eggs, beans, nuts (I know they are pricey... it sucks) and protein-rich foods in bulk if at all possible, and try try try your best to ditch stuff with sugar. Also try to buy fruits and veggies that are in season or frozen, because they'll be cheaper. Don't worry about buying sustainably too much either, because I know how expensive farmer's markets can be, and it blows as a broke college student. Just do your best with what you have.

Just keep swimming! You can do this!

I'm kind of a follower of the primal/paleo lifestyle (aka less grain and dairy and sugar - more veggies, fruits, and healthy fats). Here's an article from one of my favorite blogs:

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/eat-healthy-food-on-a-budget/

He does recommend farmer's markets, but that's hard if you don't have one/many around. Maybe just check out what he has to say, and definitely read through comments, as often readers and followers have great suggestions as well! Hope this helps!

Extremely tight budget here....family of four...Hubby who has a bottomless pit, growing 5 almost 6yr old and a 5month old who is hungry nonstop( and has to have premade soy formula so this is where all the money goes!!) .I buy only the necessities every week....can't remember last time I spent more than $75 at the grocery store!!! Do you have an ALdi's in your town? Also I got my food scale at the Dollar Tree dollar store...works just fine. We eat a lot of eggs and ground turkey!! It can be done on a budget!! Also Kwik Trip....not sure where you are located....this is a gas station......has cheap bananas and other fruits. And yes, clippin coupons helps too!

It's not easy, no joke. I think most of us have been there.

A scale? Not really necessary. A measuring tape or even string will do it.

Here's the thing, it's not that Broke=Fat. It's Broke=Creative.

Yes, it's easier to buy Kraft Dinner and Ramen noodles. And I swore when I finished University that I would never eat it again, but there were times in my life I had to.

It's what you do with Ramen noodles that count. Nobody ever said your vegetables had to be hand picked local organic. A giant bag of frozen veggies is a steal.

You have to make better decisions with what you can afford. A pack of ramen, spice packet removed with a little bit of soy and a whole bunch of frozen veg. Those big boxes of chicken breasts. Hell, tomato soup with water. Yes, you can buy a cheap frozen pizza. Or you can buy pita bread, tomato sauce, veggies and make assembling them a family affair.

It can be done, but you have to put more of your time to make it work.

Sadly, KD is out. Seriously, how can something that good be THAT bad???

Hang in there, the lean years come and go, it's all what you learn from them.

I am on a pretty tight budget and I honestly don't spend any more money eating healthy than I did before. As soon as I stopped buying junk food or processed foods and started spending money on healthy foods I ended up spending the same amount. There are tons of affordable healthy foods. Brown Rice, canned tuna, frozen veggies are cheaper than fresh, I buy chicken when it is on sale and portion it out and freeze it, eggs and you can do lots with eggs, switching from white to wheat bread is the same price, you can even get a whole chicken for pretty cheap and that goes a long ways. I didn't have a scale for a long time I just measured and could tell I was losing by the fact that my clothes got looser. I didn't know how much I was losing, but I knew that I was. You could also look at thrift stores for a used scale I got an old analog one for $1 and used it until I had some extra money to get a digital one. You can do it, it just takes a little extra planning. Good luck on your weight loss :-)

Easy tips I do now that I am laid off.
I buy quick sale product and blanch/shock or roast whatever I cannot eat immediately.
See if there is a farmer's market in your area We have one that sell eggs 3 dozen for $4. I boil a dozen for a grab and go breakfast or if I get snacky late at night.
Try Quinoa. it's a whole grain, complete protein and dirt cheap. Use instead of rice or pasta.
Try buying frozen veg.

You can do it. I do think sometimes it is cheaper to eat junk. My grocery budget when up when I changed the way I/we eat. Some stuff, like fat free cheese is expensive, I stopped buying that!

Good luck, if I can make changes anyone can!!!!