Broke = Fat

also, you can grow many things from seed in containers ... doesn't get cheaper than that! if you know any gardeners, i'm sure they'd even give you some seed to get you started!

Don't give up!

I have a VERY tight food budget for 4 people and I manage to make it work. First thing, sit down with the sale ads for the week and figure out what is on sale. You can often find chicken or pork buy one, get one free. After you've gone through the ads, then take what is on sale and make a menu with it. Your family would benefit from eating better. This is the chance to change ALL of your eating habits - not just yours. You can find healthier, cheaper meals. You just have to be creative.

A few things we do that are inexpensive and easy:

Turkey tacos - made just like regular tacos, but with turkey. If you look you can find ground turkey on sale OR buy the stuff close to the sell by date and put it in the freezer when you get home.

Turkey sloppy joes with wheat buns.

We sometimes make egg whites (we buy regular eggs because they're cheaper and separate them) and add cheese, sausage or ham to it. Like an omelet, but better for you. Have some whole wheat toast with it.

Making sure you get enough protein and eat less processed stuff will make weight loss easier AND you'll feel better.

If you need anymore ideas - feel free to message me.

(As for the scale -- don't worry about it. I wish I didn't have one most of the time! Take pics or buy a cheap measuring tape at Wal Mart).

I know what it's like to be broke. If you message me your address, I'll send you a scale, if you'd like.

There is a huge correlation between poverty and obesity.

Having said that, I've made the shift and figured out how to feed the whole family on a small fixed income. I am disabled and my only source of income is an insufficient amount of SSI. We have networked with churches, gleaning organizations, friends who grow more veggies than they can eat. I've requested that people not buy 'things' for my daughter or I for birthdays but food such as an organic farm/ranch share. I have shared my story with the farmers at local farmers markets and had them donate food.

Volunteering in urban non-profits to end hunger has also helped.

It all comes down to what you value. If you want to win, you'll find a way. If you need more specifics, friend me.

You're completely right with the obesity and poverty thing. Foods that fatten you up with low nutrition like Top Ramen and Rice a Roni are always super cheap. I knew some crafty old Russian women who moved from poverty to the US, and they literally grew everything in their front yard because that was the only way you could buy vegetables without breaking bank. It's only going to get worse I'm afraid. I'm getting grow lights for my apartment, and it's not for weed. Hahaha!

I don't think you should give up!!!

I just started this whole weight loss thing (well... at least this way) myself and have been a little struck by the expensiveness of it all. But there are certainly ways to make things work; coupons being your best friend. Take advantage of coupon sites and maybe look online for a local coupon blog. Sometimes there are great little savers in your area blogging their every saving-move that you can cheat off!

Also consider and be open to other supermarkets/groceries then the regular. I prefer to shop at Kroger because of its close proximity and reliability, but compared to Walmart they are very expensive without coupons. So, sometimes when I am in a pinch I drive a bit farther (or take the bus) to Walmart instead. And I save. If you have an Aldi's in your area, then look into shopping there and purchasing the Fit and Active brand instead of Weight Watchers. It is just as good. You can save up to 50% regularly doing that. And although you can't price-match much else at Walmart from Aldis you can price match their produce. In a local add they had cucumbers this week for 25 cents and 8 oz of mushrooms for 69 cents. That was lower then Walmart.

And go to the Farmers Market!!! There can be great deals there sometimes!

Being without a scale/measuring utensil is an obstacle, but not one you can't overcome for a short time creatively.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/healthy-eating/10-ways-to-measure-perfect-portion-sizes/pictures/index.html

Although you don't have a scale, you can take regular things from around your house that are proven to be the same size/right portion of a certain type of food. Such as one cup of pasta or rice will be the size of a tennis ball. 3 oz of fish will roughly be the size of a check book. 3 oz of meat is roughly the size of a deck of cards.

As far as work-out videos and tapes go, you can also search for used that are like brand new because the person selling them most likely never even used them!! And sometimes you might even find weights and possibly kitchen aid stuff on places like craigslist for much lower then store prices.

And gym memberships are not necessities. You can run and have fun outside. There are free zumba classes everywhere! There are five in a 10 miles radius from me! http://www.zumba.com/ ... And some of the best strength training it just basic situps and pushups. You can use bottled waters, soda liters, milk gallons as weights.

And, like someone else said, make your family fit right along with yourself!

I can sympathize with you so much... it is difficult to do basic grocery shopping... especially in this economy with increased fuel prices = increased food prices and I am not a student right now. You are! But don't feel like you have to sacrifice yourself and your health for your education. With a little creativity & research you won't have too! Hang in there!

EDIT: Also, I was just thinking too about the Amish Markets. I don't know where you are at, but we have an amish store around me and I know in the North there are more little markets where they show up and their produce and meat can be really inexpensive and all of their things are natural.

DONT Give Give Up!! I Have Found If You Live In A City With A 99 Cent Store Or Dollar Gen They Have A Fruit And Veggie Section I Get A lot Of Things There Plus Its Fresher Since In MY area its from the local growers. Also i freqent my local farmers/flea markets they are also good for your fruits and veggies . For my meats i live on the West coast(Cali) we have like grocery outlets here and i get my ground turkey it only $2 also i urge everyone with families to try your butcher for MEAT Packages. you can get 65 pounds of meat for 30 bucks you also pick the types of packages and what it contains. like chicken and pork and lean beef it really helps and i just section it and freeze it and pull out what i need wen i need it. Oh and like a lot of others said Wal-mart is the best for chicken breast. once you start looking around for you deals and find a good menu for you and your family you will see the healthy cooking isn't as bad as its made to seem.

and for the scale...its really not needed as long as your seeing progress you should be fine. i wouldn't be discouraged since your choosing to change your life at such a crucial time in life let that motivate you to keep going.

good luck

Ok don't hate on me ... but your health should be a priority. Graduate school is great and all ... but If you think you're going to have a lot of money right away after forget it. I'm assuming you'll have some debt to pay off. Maybe you should lessen your course load and find another part time job so you can spend more time and money taking care of yourself ... and not just your brain.

Also ... I have a really hard time with food. I'm traveling a lot now for work so I can choose for myself a bit more and expense it so it has gotten a whole lot easier. But that is very recent. My husband does all the cooking and makes my plate. Since he seems to like me chubby it was a battle. My mom never let me get up from the table unless I cleaned my plate so I am a bit compulsive about eating what is there. On the weekends it's still hard. Luckily it is a lot of lentils and veggies that he makes (he's Indian) ... but the paratha and rice kill me. I realized it is my choice to eat it or not and he finally is making my portions smaller.

A bunch of years back I lost 60 lbs just fitness walking, taking the stairs and working out to cheap exercise tapes on clearance. And now there are a ton of exercise videos on youtube or elsewhere on the net. I really had not changed my diet that significantly at that time. Unfortunately I gained it all back because I got lazy and stopped all the good things I had been doing.

You can do it ... try indian. Lentil dishes go a long long way and are very filling. You have to take it easy on the rice ... not paratha, but roti is a pretty good choice.

I thought food that was good for you wasn't affordable, until I tried it. At first it is tough just because you don't know what to make or how much to make and what not, but it does get easier. Not sure where you are but here we have the usual grocery chain stores but we also have cheaper ones as well. Produce might not be as high of a quality but it's not poision either, or sometimes we can find deals on food that will expire in a few days. If you cook it up right away it will last longer which helps, definitely not easy but it's a start.

Like I said before I don't know where you are and i don't know how your medical offices work. I work as a medical receptionist part time and we have a couple patients that will come up and ask if they can use the scale to check how much they weigh, our scale is in a public hallway by the public washroom. Perhaps you can ask your Dr's office if you could do the same?

Another option (this is what I did until I could afford to buy my own scale) I went into a London Drugs, Wal Mart picked a scale and I would try the scale out. I usually go to Wal Mart once or twice a month so that's when I checked my weight, i just picked the same type of scale. Yes it might be off by a little but it still gave me a reference point.

I do hate the fact that the junk food is/seems cheaper than healthier stuff. I mean you can get a mcCrap burger for a 1.39.
Just keep at it, after all you asked for suggestions and some help, hopefully this helps.

I do hate the fact that the junk food is/seems cheaper than healthier stuff. I mean you can get a mcCrap burger for a 1.39.

all the same, you can get twice the burger's weight in seasonal produce or at least equal it out of season.