I didn't get to start the Dr. Phil program today as planned. Steven told me we'd go to the store when he got home from work this morning, but I slept in and he went to bed before I got up so that has to be put off another day or so.
However, I am still doing good. I met my caloric goals today no problem and I walked to the park, around the park and back (3 miles) in one hour. It was hot but I did it anyway. I basically shut that chatterbox down before it could talk me out of it.
I am being bad in that I'm preparing one of those dessert mixes, but I figure get rid of the temptation now, before I start this new program.
As for the argument that healthy food isn't as expensive as the non healthy stuff, I really have to disagree. I've been buying food for a family of at least three or four since the early 90s and I can tell you - there were times when we had to resort to mac and cheese, pinto beans, the high fat hamburger meats, etc. Fresh fruit and vegetables cost more than canned stuff that comes with processed sugar and sodium. It's a matter of feeding my family on $75-100 every week, and that leaves me little wiggle room. Nothing can go to waste, everything has to count. I've gotten to the point I do spend a little bit more for things like specific cereals, low fat hamburger meat, etc. I do rely on the convenience and the cost efficency of boxed dinners, that will have to change as we embark on this new program, just because I can't afford for me to eat one thing and them another. We tried that with the Lean Cuisines back when they were cost effective (read: on sale).
So I will be doing my level best to find every good deal I can find when I get to the store tomorrow. I just want to dispell the myth that I use the excuses of not having the money to eat right - unfortunately that is a sad reality. There's a new study on the connection between childhood obesity and poverty, and I've said for years that I was too poor to be thin. Healthy foods have always been the luxury. I truly wish it were an excuse, then it would be easier to change.
However Steven is looking into another job, one with daytime hours, so hopefully that will help the finances a bit. That and finally paying off this stoooopid electricity bill.
In the meantime everyone can use my efforts to these changes on a shoestring budget as an economic experiment.
DAILY AFFIRMATION: Nothing will stand in my way to get to my goal.
Calories: 1838 / 27% fat
Water: 100oz
Exercise: walked 3 miles
3 comments:
I agree with you...it does cost more to buy fresh fruits and veggies...and you run out of them during the week and only have to go out to buy more of them...the food prices here in Las Vegas are terrible, at the Smiths I shop at anyway...I don't even want to tell you how much i'm spending becuase you would go into shock...I have to start seriously start cutting down on my food bill its riduclas..my whole paycheck goes dierctly to our weekly food bill it's awful...
This year we started our own veggie garden so hopfully that will help out with our fresh veggies...if you have the land maybe you can do the same thing...and it's exciting to watch the garden grow...we're also growing herbs too....my favorites in the garden right now are my spinach and lettuce!
I agree with derasta, a garden! It would certainly be a terrific thing to invest in for your health and I know a woman here in Maryland who gardens strictly for mental health. Yum yum! Just think of the fresh squash, zuchini, strawberries!!! Very little space is needed but sunlight is a must.
For cost cutting: do not rule out shopping at farmers' markets, road stands, and investigate pick it yourself placaes in your community, and...maybe keeping a little deep freeze (the washing machine size if space is a consideration)--e.g., for bulk purchases of meats; consider owning a vacuum food saver--everytime you cook whip up an extra batch and freeze for an instant dinner on days when time is not available or you are just plain "burnt." The bags with these things are recyclable. There are entire on-line support groups for people freezing things!!! Just like in anything repetition makes the process more "instant"; it becomes second nature and not a big deal to do.
Ginger, you say--and I believe you--that basically "every dollar has to count" in your food budget. I have looked at your Fitday menus for the past week, and here's how you can do it. Don't buy "Pilsbury Ultimate Chocolate Caramel Dessert," "Krusteaz Lemon Bars," "Walmart everything bagel," "Wheat thins" (reduced fat or not, they are still non-food), or "Baked Lays BBQ." All of these are foods you have reported eating in the last week. Take the money saved from not buying those life-destroying "pretend" foods, and buy fresh vegetables and chicken breasts with it instead. Also, commercial cereals are often 3 or 4 dollars a box. Buy bulk oatmeal or loaves of 100% whole wheat bread and eggs for breakfast instead. One Taco Bell run could buy you fresh fruit for the week. Or a nice piece of fish to broil.
Your total reliance on high-sodium, low-nutrient, pseudo-food is keeping you tired, undernourished, and is bombarding your body with harmful chemicals. One is supposed to get five servings of vegetables a day. You get maybe five a week. The quality of your life will improve 500% if you get off the stuff from a box. During weeks when money is tight, don't buy macaroni and cheese: buy bulk rice and cans of beans (and rinse the beans to get rid of the sodium). Millions of poverty-stricken Hispanics live on that, along with vegetables, eggs, and meat once or twice a week as a treat. THIS will change your life and free you from food addiction. (There is a lot of evidence that the chemicals in box food mixes are addictive in the human body; that's how the companies keep you hooked and buying more.) We all want to see you healthy!
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