Over 200 Club Back to School (open group)

Anyone got any student budget eating tips?

I was a student not too long ago but I know I had to have more money then than I do now. :laugh: My BF is in school and I plan to go back for my Master's next year so we're on a super tight budget now. I'm working 3 jobs right now (1 full time, 2 part time).

The way we get by eating healthy is with the way I cook. I've become a pretty decent cook over the last few years and I make most things from scratch. For instance, I just made a stew/soup that we'll get at least 10-12 servings out of. It's absolutely delicious and I paid about $8 for the ingredients. So, if we get 10 servings out of it, that's 80 cents/serving and it's super healthy!
If you get tired of meal leftovers quickly, you can freeze most of the recipe (we portion it in individual containers so we can just grab one & heat it up later). I eat leftovers for lunch a lot. Once you start freezing your servings, you can build up quite a selection so you don't have to eat the same thing several days in a row.

Soups, stews, and chilis are a great way to fill your tummy with healthy food on a budget. They freeze well, too.

Also, FROZEN VEGETABLES. I rarely buy fresh veggies because it seems like they spoil before I have time to use them all. I hit the sales on frozen veggies at the grocery store and just stock up like crazy. I also look at the sales papers for 3 grocery stores that are on my way home from work and I'll shop at all 3 in one week if the sales are worth it. You can really save a lot of money that way. I'm up to my eyeballs in frozen veggies, potatoes, and apples right now because of all the buy one get one free sales recently at a couple of stores. :laugh:

thx everyone for the tips very helpful menu and soups mmm..also was reading about you ladies n your high school weights. This brought up some old feelings for me. I am 5'7 pretty tall, n they say my healthy weight is 150....however, lol, the only thing is I don't remember ever being 150.

I was over 200 my sophomore year and have always been considered a "chubby" girl, my height helped me a little but not much. Proms, boyfriends, popularity was almost non existent. I am trying to get to be thinner then what I was in high school, because I have never experience "normality" I guess. It is sad that I am young still, and overweight...and that size 18 are my skinny jeans..when 18 is still considered fat (my family/friends can be critical sometimes).

My boyfriend, however, is the only one that is not critical (he is a big guy himself). I feel lucky to have him, he has changed my life and how I view myself. Because of him it no longer matters what some of my old friends say, what my sisters say sometimes. We have made new more positive friends, and I feel that my life is changing for the better! We have both lost weight and for once I actually feel like I don't need to get to 150 to feel good about myself, I can get to 200 and be happy, although I am going to still go after my goal.

Sorry for venting, just brought up old feelings..who knows maybe I will be hot for my high school reunion....that would be cool.

Andrea

I had a realization of a mini-success today. My bra was driving me crazy. :blushing: Then I realized it's because I needed to adjust where I clasp it to make the band smaller so it would stop moving around so much! So I adjusted it to the tightest setting and it fit so much better! Yay! Last time I lost weight (the wrong way) I went down a band size and up a cup size. Then when I gained the weight back (and then some), I lost a cup size and gained a band size & had to buy a few new bras (in one of those sizes the pretty bras aren't available in...). :noway: Looks like I'll be back in my pretty bras again soon. :bigsmile:

GOOD MORNING ALL!

I stepped on the scale and it went down two pounds:happy: My scale is analog so until I get a digital scale my weight is in full pounds. But it is okay with me.

EWW LA LA love a new bra:laugh: One of lifes great treasures. lol

Just like you Momma2four - I knew the scale wasn't going to be good after this week ... I gained 2.6 pounds. I did post it so my ticker is back to only 17 pounds lost ... which discouraged me at first ... I was so excited when I hit 20 pounds.:sad:
BUT ... I am going to focus on the fact that I have lost 17 pounds ... which I have NEVER been able to do before, and I will get back to that 20 pounds lost quickly. I'm going to give myself a break, this has been a tough time lately ... but I will get there, slowly but surely ... never giving up this time!
Have a great weekend everyone!:drinker:

I don't know how much a I lost this week since I haven't been weighing myself, but I did lose a pound since Wed. Officially down 60 pounds!!!

Hey girls, I am so glad to hear from you all....

lstpaul, I am sure that 20 pounds lost will be back in no time. You can do it. I know I am cheating not putting my gain down. I just want to wait until next week and see where it goes.


snowflakes, I love kung fu panda, I forgot that they said that until you reminded me. I actually like that saying.

jenn, as usual you are awsome. 60 pounds down you should be so proud of yourself....

Hello all I just found this site today as I was looking for a calorie counter. I decided that after becoming heavier than ever before it is time to lose weight and begin to get my old Army body back

I was always a big guy ever since school, but when I had decided to join the Army I put all that behind me and began to work out daily if not three times daily to get to the weight I needed to be at to get in. Well I did it and lost about 62 pounds in 2 months (Not exactly Healthy). I went in and all throughout my four years I had problems keeping my weight down and so got into a lot of trouble with my command and it also halted my career progress too. Well needless to say I ended up finally getting out and well gained it all back and then some. I was doing ok for a while but it just slipped as I was tired from all the working out and not being able to really enjoy myself. Well today I guess is finally the last straw as I have all of you to help support me in my goal attainment and this nifty site to track it all. Well wish me luck guys oh and my current weight is 316 but was up to a wopping 340 about a month ago and well I have been terribly sick lately and that made me less hungry and so ate less but we shall see how it all goes

Hello all I just found this site today as I was looking for a calorie counter. I decided that after becoming heavier than ever before it is time to lose weight and begin to get my old Army body back

I was always a big guy ever since school, but when I had decided to join the Army I put all that behind me and began to work out daily if not three times daily to get to the weight I needed to be at to get in. Well I did it and lost about 62 pounds in 2 months (Not exactly Healthy). I went in and all throughout my four years I had problems keeping my weight down and so got into a lot of trouble with my command and it also halted my career progress too. Well needless to say I ended up finally getting out and well gained it all back and then some. I was doing ok for a while but it just slipped as I was tired from all the working out and not being able to really enjoy myself. Well today I guess is finally the last straw as I have all of you to help support me in my goal attainment and this nifty site to track it all. Well wish me luck guys oh and my current weight is 316 but was up to a wopping 340 about a month ago and well I have been terribly sick lately and that made me less hungry and so ate less but we shall see how it all goes

Hi GIJoey, You can do this!! This site is so great. You will find the tools so helpful. This particular group is very supportive. I have been going slow with my weight loss, it tends to stick. My husband always tells me you did not gain this weight in 6 months so it is not going to come off in 6. I know that doing this healthy and the right way is going to be so much more rewarding. I have also found that having a supportive group that can understand and relate to your particular struggles is so helpful. Anyways, I am glad you are here and welcome. We can do this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


By the way, weigh in is on Friday we post our loss and the percentage of weight loss. Who ever has the highest percentage chooses our physical challenge for the week.

Momma, since I don't know what I weighed last week, I will sit out the percentages this week.

Hey dolls. I have to head out to work so I wanted to do a quick check in. I hope everyone is well. I am down 1.5 lbs from last week. Was 231.9 now 230.4. Hope to see the 220's sometime this week. I'm pushing. Will check in with more details later.

no weight loss AGAIN!!!! i feel like i will stay at 238 for the rest of my life..it;s been a month now. I am going to go to the gym tonight...get through my TOM..and hope for the best.

0 percent

p.s sorry didn't post, was at S.F. all day yesterday

Hi all! Oh I have the munchies today:grumble: I am 43 clories over today. So close, yet I think why? have some disipline girl! Again talking to myself :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: I messed myself up by not measuring the amount nuts before I consumed them. Calories count, clories matter, calories add up.

For next weeks challege let's each account carfully for each calorie and stay every single day for the week within our calories. Also everybody try something with whole grain this week and then share if you would have it again or not a chance. Some whole grain is really good and for me some is really bad:sick: It is an important part of a healthy diet.

Will be traveling out of state next week so I will check in if and when I have access to a computer. We can do this. Slow and steady...

lildebbie welcome. This is such a great forum for getting support and staying focused and positive.
Set realistic weekly and monthly goals, and it will happen for you, for all of us.
:flowerforyou:

Welcome lildebbie! This group has been really great for me. I joined MFP September 8th this year and as of this morning I have lost over 20 pounds since then. The great thing about this group is that we all have a lot (or had a lot) of weight to lose so we truly understand how overwhelming the process can seem.

---

Against most people's advice, it really motivates me personally to weigh myself almost every day. If I weigh less than the day before, it motivates me to keep it up. If i weigh more than the day before, it motivates me to work harder that day. I don't feel it's really a problem for me because I'm not obsessive about the number going down every day. That being said, when I weighed today, I had met my Halloween goal!!! 249.4! It's been a couple of years now since I was under 250. Yesterday I wore jeans I couldn't even get all the way up my legs 6 weeks ago and they were quite literally falling off of me. I tried on some jeans in my closet I've not been able to wear for over 2 years and I got them buttoned easily (still need to lose about 10 pounds for them to fit loose enough on my thighs). I tried on a button-up shirt I haven't been able to wear for a couple years and it fit perfectly.:happy: I have some absolutely gorgeous skirts that are size 14 I got from a charity thrift store several years ago. I have *never* been able to wear them. I can hardly wait until I can wear them.

Edit: I also just realized that being under 250 means I am actually *less than 100 pounds away* from my goal weight of 150!

Give me your secret, what have you been doing? I have been falling on and off the wagon since March and at most have lost 20 pounds...now I am back tracking again

I guess my secret is just how much I really want to be healthy. My #1 goal isn't weight loss, it's my health. I'm probably still in the honeymoon phase of all this so I'm sorry if my enthusiasm is annoying. :embarassed: Every day is a new day to me & I do the best I can that day. I've focused on learning how to cook healthy meals that are still super flavorful and tasty because I LOVE to cook. If I break down & stop for a cheeseburger one day, the whole day isn't a wash, it just means I'm going to have to be careful so I can be sure that cheeseburger doesn't kill my calorie count for the day. And instead of ordering a cheeseburger, fries, and a milkshake, I just order a cheeseburger.

I've really never had similar success so easily in my previous attempts. But my previous attempts were to lose weight, not to be healthy. I feel like I was focusing on the wrong things then and I had no idea what I was doing. This time, I'm researching and learning. I'm spending a *lot* of time on learning what works for me, what is healthy, what tastes good, what exercise I enjoy, etc. I'm an odd kind of person in that when I really want to know something, I put *all* my effort into that one thing. I want to research and learn all I can about being healthy in a way I can live with my entire life. It's hard in that respect, with all the effort I'm putting into learning. But actually eating well and exercising is pretty simple for me now. It really all boils down to being honest with myself, tracking my calories, and exercising. And realizing that gobs of junk food is in no way worth my health. I mean, that's kind of ridiculous when you think about it, right? Choosing junk food and being sedentary over being healthy? Don't get me wrong, I have budgeted a slice of pumpkin cheesecake into my calories for today -- I still enjoy cheesecake, afterall. The difference between then and now is that I made that pumpkin cheesecake with my health in mind. I cut calories where I could without sacrificing taste. And I eat a slice that is 1/12th the whole cheesecake instead of eating one twice that size like I would've before. Little adjustments really add up.
Seeing the weight and inches come off is really encouraging, and knowing to expect plateaus and reading about how to break through them is preparing me for when/if a plateau happens. Reading the "success stories" here helps keep me motivated when I get down.

I have completely changed my lifestyle. I have completely changed my outlook. I'm sorry I don't know what else to say. It honestly happened that one day I woke up and everything made sense. I know that sounds kooky, but it's true. :huh:

It's kind of like when I quit smoking 2 years ago. Of course I had wanted to quit for years before that. But one day I woke up and thought "What am I doing?! I'm crazy!" and I just stopped cold-turkey. Yes, it was hard. Yes, it took a lot of willpower. And yes, to this day I may cave and have one cigarette every few months in a social situation. But I'm not a smoker anymore. I can breathe so much easier. I haven't had bronchitis or a major asthma attack since I quit. If I can do that, I know I can do this. So can you.