How to Eat Healthy on a Budget

Eating Healthy on a Budget

While it seems hard enough to eat healthy these days with all we have scheduled on a day to day basis, the additional challenge that living on a budget poses can be a real hurdle for those watching both their calories and their wallets. In an age where the economy is pushing the price of food up, and nearly one-third of the U.S. population is obese, here are some tips to help you avoid becoming a statistic:
- Set aside a small portion of your day, once a week, to meal planning. While this sounds like a daunting task, it will definitely save you money while providing structure. I am by no means suggesting that once you plan to have chicken on Wednesday that it’s set in stone, but you will approach the market with a game plan, cutting out impulse buys. Fleshing out (pun intended) a meal plan for the week will allow you to plan for a night or two of leftovers which will really cut down what may have previously become a science experiment in your fridge when forgotten about.
- Never food shop on an empty stomach! You’ve heard this time and time again, yet we all do it once in a while. If you are in a pinch to pick up some necessities and didn’t have time to eat first, at least put some gum in your mouth. Chewing gum will give you some satisfaction until you have safely emerged from the store, leaving those 2-for-1 candy deals back in aisle 6.
- Use the sale circulars and in-store specials to your advantage, but don’t buy something just because it’s a ‘good deal’. Peruse the fliers in order to hone in on items you normally use, or to find a generic replacement for a common item such as peanut butter, milk, breads and cereals, and so on. Now is not the time to buy the newest frozen pizza you’ve been wanting to try; you’re on a budget! Furthermore, you don’t need the preservatives and fillers in a frozen item when you can make a healthier, lower-sodium homemade version for a mere fraction of the cost.
- Buy in bulk when you can, and steer clear of the pre-packaged convenience sizes. While having a large selection of 100 calorie snacks pre-packaged for us is convenient, you get more bang for your buck by buying that larger, full box of wheat thins, rather than getting six small pouches of them. Reach for the full size box that typically costs nearly the same, and zip lock your own 100 calorie bags. You’ll save money and still be in control of your portions.
- Know your supermarket. Stores traditionally place the sale items around the outside of the aisles with the name brand, more expensive items being on the shelves at eye level. Take a few seconds to consider a generic version which will offer the same nutritional value, putting less of a dent in your wallet.
- Eliminate (or drastically reduce) your juice and soda intake. By cutting these costly items from your grocery list, you’ll see the savings add up. Opting to drink water instead of soft drinks, sports drinks, juices and soda will make a real difference in your sugar intake and give you more energy in the long run.
- Cook enough for two meals and freeze the extra servings for a later date. The key here is to date the item you’re putting in the freezer and to not forget about it! This is where your meal plan will save you from having to remember it’s there.
- Shop the fresh fruits and veggies, but stick with the ‘traditional colors’. While buying an heirloom tomato or a yellow pepper seems attractive, don’t get caught up in it. These items are expensive and offer no additional nutrition than their traditional counterparts. Buy the green pepper; it’s just as good for you and costs significantly less.
- Don’t buy prepared/pre-cut veggies. You can buy the same head of lettuce for less than the cost of a bag of chopped lettuce, while also getting more. Standing at the counter for a few minutes chopping greens is a form of exercise too!
While it can seem overwhelming to want to lose or maintain weight while simultaneously on a budget, it doesn’t have to be. Taking just a few minutes out of your week to consider your eating habits, plan some healthy meals and compose a grocery list will be well worth it.
Stay tuned for some great healthy pizza recipes and how to watch what you eat by grilling this summer!

The Ups and Downs of Weight Loss

On your road to pursuing better health, you have undoubtedly experienced (or will experience) many twists and turns in the road; being invited to go to dinner with friends, being tempted by the undeniable smell of ballpark franks at a sporting event, feeling pressured to have some cake at a birthday party. These are all examples of the unexpected obstacles that continuously test our willpower.  As if surviving all these challenges were not enough, the road to a healthier You is also paved with plenty of hills and valleys.

 

The main variance we dieters must face is the ever-fluctuating number on the bathroom scale. Some days it’s up, some days you hit a new all-time low. We’ve all heard it’s best to weigh yourself just once a week, but we also live in reality.  When you’re working hard on a fitness goal, whether it be to drop some weight, lose some inches or improve your BMI (Body Mass Index), we want to know that our hard work is paying off. Rather than trust the regimen we’ve followed, we find ourselves weighing and measuring ourselves, on average, far more than is necessary. Being obsessive about how much you weigh yourself will not only eventually lead to frustration as you feel the need to pick apart every little action you’ve taken since your last weigh-in, but it’s mentally tolling and unhealthy. If you find yourself unable to resist stepping on the scale each and every morning, you should consider moving it to a less conspicuous area; under the bathroom sink or in a closet is a good place… out of sight, out of mind. Mark your calendar to weigh-in and check on your progress no more than once a week, preferably at the same time of day.

 

Another area you may experience a fair share of ups and downs in is that of your energy level.  For the most part, as you eat healthier and exercise, your energy levels should be ‘up’, but of course, we all have ‘those days’. Whether you temporarily fall off the wagon and eat a big bag of chips for a late night snack, or you just haven’t been drinking all your water lately, you can expect that deviations to your fitness program can and WILL affect your energy level and perhaps even your mood. While things like this are certainly nothing to beat yourself up for, you should have a plan in mind on how to deal with it when it inevitably happens and you find it a struggle to get to the gym that day. Do you have a fitness partner you can call who will help motivate you to exercise, even if only for a walk around your neighborhood?  Have you been taking a multi-vitamin each day?  While there is nothing wrong with taking a ‘day off’ (sometimes our bodies tell us this is what is best), as long as you don’t allow it bog you down emotionally. Accept it for what it is, and reaffirm your commitment to fitness the next day when you can start over with a clean slate.

 

When we are working to improve ourselves, it is always so easy to focus on the low points.. those times that you ate a Snickers bar on the way home from the grocery store, the day you meant to go to the gym but ditched exercise so you could go out to lunch with friend, or the week you gained 5 pounds from overindulging at the holidays. Instead of committing these ‘downs’ to memory, make a concerted effort to remember the ‘ups’… those high points in your journey that you should be proud of!  What about the day you went to your child’s Valentine’s Party at school and graciously declined a cupcake? What about the day you finally were able to last more than 15 minutes on the elliptical with little effort? These are days to celebrate and are immediately forgotten, nearly negated in our minds, the minute we have a weak moment.  If you find that you are repeatedly focusing on your fitness failures rather than your success, institute the use of a fitness journal. A log like this need not be fancy and can be whatever you want to make it. Whether you grab a spiral notebook and a pen, or choose to utilize one of the many fitness tracking sites available online, record the information that is pertinent and useful to YOU and on those days when you’re feeling you’ve hit a plateau and are spinning your wheels, look back at your journal and celebrate all the successes you’ve actually had!  I have found it is very helpful to record your mood along with the other information you choose to document; there may be some correlation between what you’re doing/eating and how you are feeling.

 

Remember, no matter what stage of your fitness plan you are in, we all go through these ups and downs. When you are ‘up’, embrace that feeling of success and carry it with you into your next workout. When you are ‘down’, pick yourself back up and get back on track to being the best You, you can possibly be!