Frugal weight loss

**yonksgirl** · 12-02-2007, 08:28 PM

(Not sure if this is in the right spot, sorry if it is not.)

How do you ladies lose weight or just maintain it while you are being frugal? I went shopping today and I feel like I did not get anything healthy. The "good for you" stuff is so expensive!

**Marie78** · 12-02-2007, 08:37 PM

Mostly portion control. I feel okay eating most regular foods as long as I don't over eat. I try to divide my plate with 1/4 startch, 1/4 protein, and 1/2 veggies and some kind of fruit for dessert.

I buy frozen veggies at Wegman's where I shop and they are usually under a dollar each for a bag. I buy a bag of frozen broccoli, one of cauliflower, one of carrots. I like to buy canned carrots, green beans, and beets. I know canned isn't the most healthy for you. I also make sure I buy sweet potatoes for one night a week, and we have bananas and apples for snacks. I take a multi-vitamin (when I remember) and a viatmin C tablet each day.

I would have to say other than portion control, I make sure my snacks are mostly healthy. Like store brand yogurt, fruits, and store brand fruit & grain bars. I don't buy many junk food items, the only thing that sneaks into the cart every other week is a bag of generic oreos. My little weakness!

Exercise helps too and I know I need to get back on track with 30minutes or more each day once we get past the holiday season

.

**acidcookie** · 12-02-2007, 08:53 PM

Many things you do to lose/maintain weight are naturally frugal:

-Not over-eating saves money
-Not spending money on prepared dinners and convenience foods that are often high in calories and high in fat saves money
-Not eating out (or at least not so much) saves money
-Not getting dessert saves money
-Running/walking is a free activity

As far as groceries, I do what I can, but I will not cut the produce out just to save money. I don't buy organic or anything, but make sure to always have fresh fruits and at least frozen veggies in the house or my body starts to get this "stale" feeling...if that makes any sense.

Also, sometimes it's worth the cost to spend a little more for whole wheat/whole grain breads and similar products rather than getting the cheaper white stuff. It's more filling (thus you eat less!) and fiber is very important in your digestion and can help in keeping a steady, healthy weight. I try to look for the denser, higher fiber versions of foods and find that I don't go through them as quickly.

**Marie78** · 12-02-2007, 09:06 PM

I wanted to add too that eating at home more this year and watching my portion control helped me lose 12 pounds in 2007 and keep it off. In my quest to live frugally this year I now notice foods that are money wasters like: soda, fatty snacks or sweets (all empty calories). Going out is a treat now (maybe once or twice a month). I only have 13 more pounds to lose to reach my goal weight. I know if I add exercise into my daily routine I can accomplish this goal in the new year

. I have also gotten creative with meals instead of going out to eat, when we are low on food items I look around and usually find something. We have a soup and sandwich night once a week and we have breakfast for dinner a few times a month (eggs, fruit, toast, and sometimes pancakes).

**nodmicks** · 12-03-2007, 09:34 AM

I buy when on sale and freeze produce, meat etc. I'll also go along with portion control. I have to eat a ketogenic diet and it is more expensive. Buying on sale is a big money saver!

**JENROY** · 12-03-2007, 12:26 PM

I joined Weight Watchers in March of 2007. I didn't want to spend the money, but I was having too hard a time doing it on my own. They have a lot of great recipes that are filling and delicious without breaking the bank. You can find a lot of them online.

As a bonus I set my WW goal weight higher than my personal goal and once I reached it, I now go to WW for FREE!

**shoiji** · 12-03-2007, 03:06 PM

Portion control really helps. Also eating and using less meat and more beans. Two days a week is salad night. Always eating one banana and one apple a day. Instead of eating out make what I would normally go out for. I also like to steam or poach food. Am thinking about going more organic.

And exercise, exercise, exercise. Which for me means mostly walking.

It took me awhile to get used to but I really seem to be able to have more food in the house then when I was just sitting around and eating. LOL

**Nantahala** · 12-09-2007, 12:09 PM

I use the No S Diet principles - frugal and real food!

**BetterLateThanNever** · 12-09-2007, 01:36 PM

Last year I followed sugar busters and did lose 12 pounds quite easily. The only bad thing is that I got off the plan around the holidays and never got back on. The plan is actually much easier to follow than you would think
Basically you have to avoid all the Whites white flour, white potatos, whtite rice, white pasta corn and corn products sugar. Also there are a few fruits banana, watermelon, pineapple and raisins which are off limits because they raise the blood sugar very rapidly.

You can eat any carb that is whole grain and does not contain corn or more than 2 grams of sugar.

This plan actually saves you $$$$ because most processed refined foods are out. These are usually the most exspensive part of the budget. The plan advocates eating more lean meats such as pork,chicken and turkey and fish which are usually cheaper than beef. Also protion control is essential Fill your plate once nicely and then that's it. No second helpings and at 8 p.m. kitchen is closed and no more food for you!

Also I cut down on the cost of veggies by growing my own and freezing many squashes and pumpkins which are lowfat and loaded with vitamins and minerals can be easily grown and store at regular room temperature for about 4 months or more which will take your through most of the winter until you get a spring garden planted. I usually do have to supplement some veggies but then Is usally buy frozen of fresh that's on sale.

I also grow fresh herbs indoors which is much cheaper than buying them in the store and it helps add flavor with no calories and fat I have basil and rosemary growing in a window dont even need a grow light

Another thing I do is buy bulk at the health food store. the health food store where I shop has a large section where I can buy bulk whole wheat pastry flour and pasta, dried beans and rice much cheaper and with more variety offered than at the grocery stores.

I think it is possible to lose weight, eat healthy and be frugal but it usually means changing eating habits and some pre planning so that you can grow some of your food and cook from scratch.

**LizaZ** · 12-11-2007, 07:07 AM

We eat mostly fresh fruits and veggies -- some meat, dairy, beans, rice, etc. I try to stay around the outside of the store -- that's generally where the produce, meat and dairy are-- but be careful because the deli and bakery are usually there too. The point is to avoid processed foods as much as possible. We do this for general health more than weight loss. As for cost I just bite the bullet and do it becuase we believe health is more important than anything else. If you don't have your health, you don't have anything. I do watch the sale ads. I also watch for "mark downs" on items nearing the expiration date. And believe it or not there is an occasional coupon for fresh stuff. I do sometimes supplement with frozen in the winter if availability or price gets to be too big a problem, but I try to keep that to a minimum.

**nuisance26** · 12-11-2007, 02:24 PM

~I agree with everyone else. Portion control and planning seem to be the key to frugal weight loss. I'm in the middle of losing 12lbs. I'm counting calories. A 300 calorie breakfast that includes whole grain, fruit and dairy, 300 calorie lunch which is usually a bowl of homemade clear soup with veggies in it or on the side, 2 100 calorie snacks usually fruit or a piece of chocolate, and a moderate portion at dinner. Using a food scale and measuring everything is working well for me. I almost bought some frozen diet dinners last night at 5/$10 then I remembered that a slice of my homemade veggie pizza costs just $.20. I'm also abstaining from flavored drinks. I had a cup of coffee with cream this morning as a special treat and counted that as my snack. For a frugal exercise session, blare the radio and dance around like a crazy person! Cleaning house also burns about 250 calories an hour. I've upped my cleaning from 1.5 hours a week to about 5 hours. I'm killing two birds with one stone!~

**britbunny** · 12-12-2007, 05:08 AM

Hi everyone,

A few years ago I started to lose weight with the help of this forum so I am really happy to see it back! DH and I each lost 42lbs, slow and steady, but the weight has stayed off for 18 months now.

We didn't count calories or any of that stuff just went "back to basics" and ate meals based around getting our "5 a day" adapting meals we knew we liked by squeezing more goodies into them. I do weigh out our rice or pasta but that's about it. We actually gave up eating meat in the end but that we'd lost a fair amount of weight prior to doing that. TBH a lot of what we did was the traditional frugal menu ideas - using beans and pulses, fruit and veg and plenty of water to drink. We made sure all the snacks were healthier choices too - peanut butter and wholegrain crackers, fruit (fresh and dried), falafel, houmous and things like that. just general stuff so it was easier to get the healthy option than the unhealthy.

It's like any other aspect of being frugal I think in that planning is the key. We try to have stuff in the pantry for quick meals as well as ingredients for when I want to cook or do some cooking for the freezer. That way I know if we've been busy I can just as easily reach in and make something quick and healthy as reach for the phone to order a take away. We try to have as much fresh fruit and veg as possible but it's been good for us to keep some frozen stuff too - especially spinach, peas, sweetcorn and berries. We invested some of the grocery budget in different herbs and spices to keep the variety going too.

We have weaned ourselves off other stuff, we mixed meat half and half with lentils then cut down the amount of meat, same with cereal, we mixed our favourite sweet cereals in with museli/porridge and gradually decreased the amount of the sweet stuff. I was so surprised at how quickly we got used to it.

The only things we banned were ice cream, onion rings and donuts. We made a rule that we coukd have them when we were out but not at home. It reached a stage after a couple of months where I could take or leave them - never thought that was possible! lol

We do exercise the cheap way too, DH took up walking to work, we did all the little tricks like parking as far away from the mall as possible, taking the stairs not the escalator, walking any journey of less than a mile etc. I also do a short weights routine with water bottles for weights, it has been very effective in toning my upper body. I was surprised at what a difference it made. The only thing I have spent money on is a small trampoline/rebounder a couple of months ago, but that was just because it looked like fun! lol

That's more than enough from me for one post! Good luck to everyone who want to lose some weight

**nodmicks** · 12-12-2007, 07:48 AM

Originally Posted by britbunny

Hi everyone,

A few years ago I started to lose weight with the help of this forum so I am really happy to see it back! DH and I each lost 42lbs, slow and steady, but the weight has stayed off for 18 months now.

We didn't count calories or any of that stuff just went "back to basics" and ate meals based around getting our "5 a day" adapting meals we knew we liked by squeezing more goodies into them. I do weigh out our rice or pasta but that's about it. We actually gave up eating meat in the end but that we'd lost a fair amount of weight prior to doing that. TBH a lot of what we did was the traditional frugal menu ideas - using beans and pulses, fruit and veg and plenty of water to drink. We made sure all the snacks were healthier choices too - peanut butter and wholegrain crackers, fruit (fresh and dried), falafel, houmous and things like that. just general stuff so it was easier to get the healthy option than the unhealthy.

It's like any other aspect of being frugal I think in that planning is the key. We try to have stuff in the pantry for quick meals as well as ingredients for when I want to cook or do some cooking for the freezer. That way I know if we've been busy I can just as easily reach in and make something quick and healthy as reach for the phone to order a take away. We try to have as much fresh fruit and veg as possible but it's been good for us to keep some frozen stuff too - especially spinach, peas, sweetcorn and berries. We invested some of the grocery budget in different herbs and spices to keep the variety going too.

We have weaned ourselves off other stuff, we mixed meat half and half with lentils then cut down the amount of meat, same with cereal, we mixed our favourite sweet cereals in with museli/porridge and gradually decreased the amount of the sweet stuff. I was so surprised at how quickly we got used to it.

The only things we banned were ice cream, onion rings and donuts. We made a rule that we coukd have them when we were out but not at home. It reached a stage after a couple of months where I could take or leave them - never thought that was possible! lol

We do exercise the cheap way too, DH took up walking to work, we did all the little tricks like parking as far away from the mall as possible, taking the stairs not the escalator, walking any journey of less than a mile etc. I also do a short weights routine with water bottles for weights, it has been very effective in toning my upper body. I was surprised at what a difference it made. The only thing I have spent money on is a small trampoline/rebounder a couple of months ago, but that was just because it looked like fun! lol

That's more than enough from me for one post! Good luck to everyone who want to lose some weight

Great Story Brittbunny

Congrats and thanks for sharing!!!