WHY IS EATING HEALTHY SO EXPENSIVE?!?!?!111
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One can eat better nutritionally, but eating alone isn't the only factor to improve health. One can have the best diet in the world, but if stress, lack of sleep, inadequate physical activity, unbalanced life in general isn't also addressed, then eating "unhealthy" isn't that much of an improvement. CICO still is what matter for weight loss more than WHAT you're eating.
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Misleading title for sure. But I get it.
Our grocery store bill is more, we spend a lot of money on healthier foods. So its cheaper to not eat out yes,, but its not cheaper to buy better options at the grocery store, as in the extra lean meats and fish, fresh produce, spices to cook with etc.. it is def cheaper to buy boxed meals, already made jar sauces, big boxes/bags of sugary cereals, canned soups and noodles, etc.
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One can eat better nutritionally, but eating alone isn't the only factor to improve health. One can have the best diet in the world, but if stress, lack of sleep, inadequate physical activity, unbalanced life in general isn't also addressed, then eating "unhealthy" isn't that much of an improvement. CICO still is what matter for weight loss more than WHAT you're eating.
Some of us are interested in weight loss along with optimal health and wellness.
And for such people, what you eat matters greatly!
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Agreed, OP. It's especially true if you don't think you need to buy organic produce from WholeFoods and other such places. Chicken breasts, lean pork, ground turkey, eggs, milk, frozen and fresh veggies, salad greens, and some fruit can be picked up inexpensively if you're careful where you shop.4
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Ready2Rock206 wrote: »Those people who claim they can't eat healthy because it is too expensive are usually just looking for an excuse to not lose weight. Stop eating out and be a little creative and it's really not bad at all. Of course I am a terrible shopper and I like to eat out so I always spend too much money but that's a whole other issue...
Try living on an island where the food in your stores is shipped in via boat and airplane. If you can find a fishing community, you might get a decent deal provided the fish caught don't break the moratorium.0 -
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It is cheap if you cook seasonal foods from scratch and avoid hype, trends n overpackaging. Lots of budget cooking healthy blogs exist to help us.2
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Ready2Rock206 wrote: »Those people who claim they can't eat healthy because it is too expensive are usually just looking for an excuse to not lose weight. Stop eating out and be a little creative and it's really not bad at all. Of course I am a terrible shopper and I like to eat out so I always spend too much money but that's a whole other issue...
It depends on where you start. If your "before" diet consists of off name boxed and canned food, generic white bread and the like, you are going to have a really hard time getting an equivalent amount of healthy foods including produce and fresh meats.
Back when my kids were very small and we were totally broke most weeks, a typical dinner for four would would consist of;
Stuffing, made from a box mix $.99 at the time from Save a Lot
A can of chicken mixed in $1.49 at the dollar store
A can of cream of something soup poured over the top $.59 at Save a Lot
A can of vegetables of some sort. $.39 at Save a Lot
Less than $3.50 fed us. Not well, but we weren't hungry. If I knew then what I know now, dried beans would have been a headliner but, I didn't know. I did the best I could at the time. There was no money for fresh vegetables, fruit or fresh meat unless it was on sale for a very good price.
I still shop at Save a Lot, but now I can shop the perimeter and I don't have to keep a running total and watch my pennies.
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Different people have different ideas about what is healthy. "Healthy food" can be very expensive and narrowly defined by some people. It may be that they won't buy anything but organic free range or they may have a medical condition that requires them to eat a very specific way. My understanding of healthy food is broader. To me it means food that has nutrients and is not spoiled or contaminated.
It is cheaper to buy ingredients and prepare food at home versus eating out or eating premade frozen meals if you are choosing budget friendly ingredients, planning meals, using what you buy, and have easy access to food. Reducing portion sizes can save money too.
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It takes work to find the cheaper options. I can eat an unhealthy fast food meal for $5-$7 a day and stay full longer. If I just go to the store and load up on only healthy foods I can spend nearly $70 but I feel hungry more often. When I take the time to look online for sales and to plan out meals for the week then it can be cheaper to eat at home but like most people I don't do this. Just set a daily budget for food and drinks and stick to that. Take a bagged lunch 3 times a week and eat out twice a week. Doing this saves me time and money.0
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Ready2Rock206 wrote: »Those people who claim they can't eat healthy because it is too expensive are usually just looking for an excuse to not lose weight. Stop eating out and be a little creative and it's really not bad at all. Of course I am a terrible shopper and I like to eat out so I always spend too much money but that's a whole other issue...
Unless, of course, they live in a place where it is difficult to access those types of foods. Not everyone has a car to go shopping in another neighborhood if there is no good grocery store near where they live. If you have no car, and inexpensive forms of better quality, nutritious foods take hours of public transportation to get to, and you are already exhausted from work plus caring for your family, you are going to take what you can get at the corner store or fast food dollar menus. The segment of the population most likely to have physically active jobs is also the segment of the population most likely suffer from obesity. Laziness and making excuses - are they really doing that, or are others simply making assumptions? Being able to look down on others without having a clue what their lives are like is a precious, precious privilege. Guard it carefully.6 -
It's not expensive. It's a lot cheaper if you don't eat out and bring your own lunch or eat at home. I get staples at the dollar store even to save money. It's doable.0
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WindSparrow wrote: »Ready2Rock206 wrote: »Those people who claim they can't eat healthy because it is too expensive are usually just looking for an excuse to not lose weight. Stop eating out and be a little creative and it's really not bad at all. Of course I am a terrible shopper and I like to eat out so I always spend too much money but that's a whole other issue...
Unless, of course, they live in a place where it is difficult to access those types of foods. Not everyone has a car to go shopping in another neighborhood if there is no good grocery store near where they live. If you have no car, and inexpensive forms of better quality, nutritious foods take hours of public transportation to get to, and you are already exhausted from work plus caring for your family, you are going to take what you can get at the corner store or fast food dollar menus. The segment of the population most likely to have physically active jobs is also the segment of the population most likely suffer from obesity. Laziness and making excuses - are they really doing that, or are others simply making assumptions? Being able to look down on others without having a clue what their lives are like is a precious, precious privilege. Guard it carefully.
Food is more expensive at the corner stores, and not much fresh food available. So it is not an option if you are trying to eat better, less expensively. Plan your shopping expeditions for days you don't have to work, and prep and prepare for the coming week Feeding a family of 4 even off the dollar menu, adds up very quickly, and I am pretty sure that if you really wanted to, you could come up with a much better option, for less than it takes to eat fast food off the dollar menu. It is an excuse. If you want it bad enough, you will find a way, not make excuses for why you can not do it. What is best for your family? One thing we have to remember is portion sizes as well. Shopping sales and buying bulk items really works.
I work very long hours (11-12 hour days M-F), and a 45 minute commute one way to work. I manage to do it, plus get up very early and go to the gym before work. It is a very long day for me. I will give you it is more difficult with a young family, but what you make a priority will benefit all of the family, and aren't you and your family worth the effort?
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I'm kind of torn on whether healthy eating is cheaper or more expensive.....but I do agree on avoiding eating out in restaurants. My husband and I rarely do, unless it's to friends' homes or potluck.
I used to love to eat out when I ate to live. The choice! The portion size! I grew up in an era of 'clean your plate' mentality. Now I realize that was part of my fat problem. I won't eat something now just to eat....I have to like and want it. (Drives my husband crazy because he has to finish all the leftovers and cringes at the thought of wasting anything. Me? Now, my reaction is: not savouring this? Not eating eating it!)
I needed to take control of my appetite. Luckily my husband has never liked eating out. He prefers my cooking. Sometimes it's simple and cheaply made, sometimes a splurge that turns out as expensive as a restaurant meal.
I made a commitment to myself that I wouldn't allow food to monopolize my life and social interaction, although this is difficult since culture is tied so closely to eating IMO.
P.S. So sorry to hijack this thread and ramble, but you all really made me think!
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It's not just healthy eating out that's expensive. Healthy eating in is as well. It's like being rewarded for eating crap. Should be the other way round!!0
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It's not just healthy eating out that's expensive. Healthy eating in is as well. It's like being rewarded for eating crap. Should be the other way round!!
In those areas where fresh vegetables and fruit is more expensive it's generally due to higher shipping costs (refrigerated containers aren't cheap to purchase or lease and operate) and the higher cost of farmland. Tariffs also play a role. Some countries have incredibly high protective tariffs on food imports.
Fresh food is pretty inexpensive throughout the U.S. I know it's not in some other countries.0 -
Fruit and veggie prices tend to fluctuate around which items are in season at the time. Like right now. watermelon is fairly cheap as the growing season for it is ending and there's a rush to get rid of the surplus before it goes bad.
It's not really expensive to eat healthy, as long as you look for deals and base your meals around them. One meal I like to make is chicken fried rice, which ends up being $5 altogether for one batch [one batch makes 4 servings, so $1.25/serving]. I know "fried" doesn't sound healthy, but I use a wok, which reduces the amount of oil required substantially.0 -
Why is your caption "eating healthy Is so damn expensive" yet your actual thread is about how inexpensive it truly is?1
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I live a block from Whole Foods one way and a half mile from Safeway the other. We also have a Bargain Market about a ten minute drive from home, and Trader Joe's when I go home from the gym.
I figure out where the specials are and go there-usually Safeway for some items and Trader Joe's for other. Whole Foods is for specialty items only (example, my pint container of Green Valley lactose free yogurt). However, I hav recently started shopping at the Bargain Market where, yesterday, I got some great deals on frozen veggies and fresh veggies, and chicken. Veggies and fruit at the Farmer's Markets are big deals for me.
I spend too much on food because I love fresh fruits and veggies, but I am discovering that frozen taste just as fresh and are cheaper. We can eat the foods we love within our own perception of healthy at a reasonable price. I love @JoshD8705's demonstration of that. Even with beverages added on to that food list, it seems pretty reasonably priced to me.0 -
It can be as cheap or as expensive as you make it, to be honest. Fresh veggies out of season vs frozen... Regular chicken on sale vs organic chicken...
As I said, I typically spend $150 a week for 4 of us, but I shop around for sales, don't buy expensive protein, and we eat frozen veggies (on sale) more often than fresh (we have a garden in the Summer but it performed badly this year). I make my own bread also. The only semi expensive stuff I splurge on are Greek yogurts (the $1 a cup kind) and pink lady apples.0
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