How to eat better foods that you really cant afford? (here is a before during and current picture)

I think she wants to know how to buy healthier foods for less money. Do you have an Aldi nearby you? I just got home from shopping there and I was able to get 1 pound of baby carrots for $.49, eight ounces of mushrooms for $.69, A three pack of fresh huge green peppers for $1.19. I try and eat fresh produce every week that is on sale. Yesterday I bought a pint of strawberries for $.99 at another grocery store.

Can you tell us a little bit more about what you eat and purchase now?

There's nothing wrong with what you're doing. You are practicing moderation, you're logging, you're losing weight and exercising. These are all good things.

In regards to not losing weight:
How long has it been since you last lost weight?
Do you weigh your food?
When was the last time you recalculated your calorie goal?

I live in a household where everyone eats junk except me. In fact, my husband is trying to gain weight (he can totally have mine!). It's all about moderation. The only thing new I'm buying is extra lettuce and a few more veggies to snack on. Our weekly grocery bill has not changed. I'd say change up your workout a bit and make sure you are accurately logging everything. You shouldn't have to cut out carbs in order to keep losing. Some people do and it works for them, but it isn't absolutely necessary

What comes to my mind is to replace some carbs/fat with more veggies.
This helped me to keep full while using less rice/pasta/etc...
A plateau is frustrating but stick with it and keep a good calorie deficit.

Farmer's market is always a great idea, they are completely organic and pretty cheap!! You get a nice walking exercise outside too while shopping. Trader Joe's have great items for good prices and Costco's produces are better than Sam's if you're buying in bulk.

Portion control and switching to more vegetables and whole grain is key

You are doing what you should be, eating smaller portions. Are you wanting to eat more healthy over all? My suggestion on eating better foods would be to look for sales and plan meals based on the healthier foods on sale. Buy as many fruits and veggies as your budget will allow, THEN get lean meats. Include things like Fiberone snacks as a snack during your day. Some are only 90 calories and they taste really good.
As far as the plateau you've hit, try adjusting your calorie goals on MFP. Put in the weight you are now and see if the adjustment it gives you for your calorie intake makes an impact. If it doesn't, do an adjustment with a greater weight loss goal. Only 1/2 to 1 lb should do.

Good luck. Hope you are able to get healthier foods into your diet. It's really hard, I know. Especially when the rest of the household isn't on board.

Mr_Knight wrote: »

serafinelaveaux wrote: »

I sympathize with you, I really do. I hate when people say oh it costs the same to eat healthy as it does not to. What crap! I go to the store and I can get 3 boxes of generic Mac&Cheese for $1, or 1 bell pepper IF it's on sale.

What does the bell pepper have to do with anything? You can get real rice, real lentils for less than you're paying for the nutritional wasteland known as boxed mac&cheese.

Cheap, and super easy to "cook".

For real. Bag of lentils: 89 cents. Bag of rice? What? $2.00?

And how many meals is that compared to boxed mac and cheese?

And yes, while red bell peppers might be sometimes expensive, not all produce is. Look in the front of the produce department for that week's loss leaders. They will be on sale that week, sometimes with coupons. Frozen vegetables are VERY inexpensive and just as nutritious as fresh.

You are doing great! I don't think you have to change what you are doing.

Here's how you slowly build a food budget.
Pick one grocery store that consistently has the lowest price.
Watch the sales and coupon deals.
Stock up on a staple item when it is on sale. Put the savings aside for the next big deal.
Pick cheaper forms of the same food. For instance I buy dried beans and chickpeas and prepare them myself. They last just as long.
Or buy canned tomatoes and prepare your own spaghetti sauce.
Buy vegetables in season and on sale, just what you can eat that week.
Or buy frozen vegetables to have on hand in a pinch.
With your savings fund stock up at big sales.

You may also check out food coops or community kitchens in your area.

I'm baffled by everyone saying to just keep doing what she's doing when you can't see her food diary. What we eat is not simply a matter of losing weight. Can you lose weight drinking less pepsi and eating flour tortillas and cheese? Yes. Will you be healthy? Maybe. We don't know because we don't know if that's a treat or her every day. If your every day is carbs and cheese and meat with no vegetables you are missing massive amounts of important micronutrients.

OP- I would say to get some whole food cookbooks out from the library. You really can eat well for the same price. As someone else said beans and rice are cheap. Buy marked down veggies if that's all you can afford. Often ones that are just not as nice visually cost less even though they taste just as good. If you are on a tight budget I certainly would try not to waste any money on things like Pepsi or buying "junk" for other family members. I know it's a challenge to change your food habits but it is worth it not just for how you look but how you feel. Where we live there are ways to get free or cheap produce through Good Food Box programs so that's also worth looking into! Good luck!

www.budgetbytes.com

I don't understand why people always go for junk food when they don't have much money, when there are much healthier options that really don't cost more.

I have been doing this for a little over 3 years. The fact is, if you take all of this advice, it is cheaper than eating out and junk food. Trust me. I pay a lot less for groceries now than I was paying pre-MFP. We rarely eat out. I lost over 160 pounds and have been maintaining my weight loss for 17 months. My husband eats all of the same foods I do, just bigger portions, and he has lost 35 pounds not even really trying. Everyone in your family can benefit from this and at a savings for your family grocery bill. Pay attention to sales, buying in bulk, farmers markets, or whatever it takes. Portion size is key. Weigh and measure and stick to it.

Best of luck to you!

I have a blog post (the only post on my mfp blog) about this. I'm a real life poor person, so I empathize.

Okay, I understand your question. You have made good progress just controlling the portions of foods you already ate.
But now you are not progressing it seems, so you joined a gym. And you feel you should make some more changes to your diet but wonder how to "afford" healthier eating.
I think you are doing an awesome job!!!

So maybe just increase your veggie (lots of non-starchy veggies) intake with your meals every day. Like:
-- cook up some veggies in the pan with your morning eggs...a good investment for your money is ghee (it's a good fat that can sit on your counter while you are using it up, and it is good for high temp cooking).
--make a small pot of vegetable soup enough for a couple of days
--make a salad

This will add nutrition and fiber and make your meals go a long way. You'll feel more satisfied.