Well, sucks.I'm not going to say, "It's easy! No problem! Drop 30 pounds, have fun, and save money doing it!" Because that would be annoying AND a big old lie.
I've lost 25 pounds twice in my life. Once, when I was 25, single, working, and had a buttload of time and a good chunk of extra cash on my hands. Most recently (as in I just hit goal THIS MORNING), I had to pull it off with a lot less of everything (well except weight- I had PLENTY of that) and 2 little kids in tow.
When I lost weight 6 years ago, it was no biggie. Seriously. I was all, "I'm going to lose weight now." I joined Weight Watchers, bought every fresh fruit and veggie I desired, shopped at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, joined 2 gyms and went to hot yoga, bought expensive running shoes and finished a marathon. It took me like 10 minutes to lose the weight.
Um, not this time.
Weight Watchers is $13 a week. Fresh produce is EXPENSIVE. Trader Joe's and Whole Foods aren't really down with coupons. We honestly couldn't even pull off a membership to the YMCA.
It wasn't easy.
But I did it... it just took me a bit longer.
Here are a few of my tips for affording weight loss... some of them might be a little "DUH," but I guess they weren't obvious to me when I started...
1. Find a program that works- and do it.
If you want to pay Weight Watchers $13 a week, good... but follow the dang program. It works- when you actually stay on track. Cheat, and you may as well eat your thirteen dollar bills with chocolate sauce.
2. Buy fresh fruit and veggies, but buy them in season.
Cherries are like seven bucks a pound his time of year. Tasty? Sure. But dang. They'll cost you half your budget. Work on your relationship with citrus fruit, grapes, and pears. Make friends with root veggies like sweet potatoes and carrots.
3. Accept frozen vegetables. Stock up when they are on sale.
I used to be a fresh produce snob. If it came in a can or box, I wouldn't eat it... until I found out that I could get a bag of Green Giant vegetables for .50 or free. When you see coupons for ANY frozen vegetables, clip them. Remember, if the coupons are under .99, some stores will double them. When the supermarket runs a sale, bring them in and stock up like crazy.
4. Learn to love high fiber cereals like Fiber One,
and buy 8 boxes when they're cheap. This stuff is not super tasty alone, but with yogurt or mixed with another cereal, it's doable. I don't like to pay more than $1 a box though, so I stock up when I can.
5. Make your own yogurt.
Seriously. Check out this recipe on one of my favorite blogs, A Year of Crockpotting. I can make a half gallon of organic yogurt for $3.00. I haven't been able to find it in the store cheaper... yet.
6. Find a workout routine that you will actually do- and do it.
Spending $90 a month on a gym membership you don't use won't make you skinny. If you invest money into something, show up. If you can't pull it off, cancel the membership and sign up for something you will use. For me, that's a combination of walking (when there isn't 10 feet of snow on the ground) and Wii Fit (when there is). Sure, Wii Fit is $89.99- but so was one month at the YMCA. The Wii people won't come and take my balance board away at the end of the month.
Losing weight on a budget takes dedication, but is possible. Just don't bust on yourself when it's a bit more challenging.
Got any other cheap weight loss tips and tricks? Share them in the comments section! I always need new ideas.
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12 comments:
I too lost 25 pounds this year. I walked...Walking is free and great for the mind. I live in a very hilly area so it was a great workout! I also bought TONS of produce. I cut all the snacks, junk, and crap out of our budget and it frees up money for produce. Attending Farms in the Spring also was a lot cheaper and a little work out!
I have to agree with BabiesandBargains - I don't find it expensive at all to eat fresh food; I actually find it much cheaper! A lot of my friends will order takeout for meals, which is of course RIDICULOUSLY expensive, but even those who "cook" are typically buying the processed foods that are expensive. If you just stick to the produce, meat, and dairy section, with a few ducks into the middle for pasta, beans, and a few other things, you'll save so much money!
If you get a monthly pass for Weight Watchers, it's just $9.22 a week. You can sign up online before you even go to a meeting ... just be sure to cancel when you want to, so you're not charged for weeks you aren't participating.
I agree with the fresh produce gang too- I forgot to mention that by cheaping out in other areas, some of my budget gets freed up for fresh fruits and veggies- but I still buy in season. :)
Caity- The monthly pass is the bomb. I used it last time. Luckily, I became a Lifetime Member before I had kids so I had nine months to get back to my goal weight before having to pay- Dd I mention Jennie is NINE MONTHS OLD TODAY? LOL.
Thank you for writing about this. It seems like you can do one or the other, but not both. For now, I'm working on the save money part. But I will say that whenever Lean Cuisines or Smart Ones are really on sale (and when they rotate to new ones at Costco), I stock up. It's more than making a lunch, but much easier than packing and lunch and much cheaper than eating out. I can have a decent meal for less than I could reasonably eat off of Mickey-D's dollar menu when I'm lucky. Smart Ones even lists the WW points value on the box. I write it on the Lean Cuisines so it's a quick grab in the morning.
For moms with little ones, I would recommend what worked for me: Stroller Strides (strollerstrides.com). You work out WITH your baby so you don't have to leave them with a gym daycare (or pay for one). It is a challenging full body workout, a great place to meet other moms and there is often a cool playgroup activity for the kids after class. It is $55 a month (in So. Cal) but WELL worth it. Some of the instructors even have extra training in weight loss and nutrition!
Way to Go Katy!!! Woo Hoo!!! Congrats on 25!!
Today, I ran to S&S - only bought bananas, carrots, potatoes and cabbage - it was $7.75! I got a gazzillion things at CVS for $2.13!!
Also, I SparkPeople it up! I'm not good at it (logging food that is), but it's like Weight Watchers online but FREE!
Also, the SSP and Hanover Mall open at 7 am everyday but Sunday for mall walkers. Good, free exercise.
I'm totally with you with the in-season produce... especially since I'm doing organic. Grapes?... Sayonara! ... we'll see you in the summer. I stick to frozen vegetables to round us out and will get bananas & apples year round cause I've got to appease the kids.
It's weird... I've been able to score cheap grapes lately- I guess I thought they were a winter thing, LOL!
Funny you should mention organic- I'm buying a share for the first time next month- it was NOT cheap, but we have the money in the budget because I cheap out in other areas.
We splurge on milk delivery too... I like my kids to have local milk.
I just wanted to let you know that I use Fiber One as a breading on chicken. I grind it up in my food processor, add whatever seasonings I want and then bread my chicken. It's really good and adds a ton of fiber.
PS grapes at Hannaford (in ME) are 99 cents a pound...since we go through at least 2 pounds a week, I am so happy.
Have any SNAP Fitness chains around? $30 a month. No contract. Open 24-7. Clean, nice, small. I know they are in WI and MI. I do the mall walking too. We have a lame, nearly vacant mall so I grab the stroller and go. Perfect with our snowy weather too. Katy, it seems you have found a great balance on where to splurge and where to save.
as convenient as they are after a long day...beware of too many lean cuisine or ww frozen meals. anything that has an ingredient block w/ that many ingredients isn't all good for you. If you're home on a Sunday afternoon,try to get intot he habit of cooking a few things that will literally get you your base meals for the week.On Sunday, I bake chicken and a turkey loaf. and some frozen vegetables and potatoes (red bliss cut-up w/ skin.soo easy and good)5 min.prep, 1 hr done.. for both dinners.. then Sun you have one meal, Mon, the next and the rest of the week you have pasta, w/ the leftover ground turkey in your sauce, leftover vegetables go into soup one night, leftover chicken makes a nice addition to lettuce,tomatoes and mandarin oranges...or leftover chicken on a frozen or homemade pizza.(and many other ideas,too! Trust me, you never come home saying "ugh I don't want to cook" the prep is done on Sunday...well worth it!(Katy's mom)
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