Why is Dieting more expensive??

[absolutuscchick]

OK, I just got back from the store where I somehow spent fourty dollars on healthy food, lots of fresh vegetables, sugar free popsicles, salad stuff, lots of sugar free gum, etc. Ok, I know this sounds stupid but it really seems like if I bought the calorie laden food it would be so much cheaper. I mean I'm willing to shell out for healthy food, but it sort of confuses me why I can get unhealthy food for cheaper? For example, I can get a can of green beans (GROSS!!) for like well under a dollar, but to buy them fresh its so much more. Same thing for bread...I could buy regular wheat bread for way cheap, but to get low-carb healthy bread, I'm shelling out the money.

--sorry if this thread is lame!!

[ThetaPrincess24]

Frozen veggies are better (USUALLY cheaper), because you can store them for long term, eat what you want and put back the rest......meaning you dont have to cook it all at once like you would with canned, and fresh because they perish quickly. Fresh is best though if you plan to eat them right away or to cook with in recipes.

How much money you spend on healthy food really depends on the store you buy it in, and what exactly you consider to be healthy. For example, while low sugar/low calorie/low fat ice cream is better than regular...........ice cream is still bad and is not healthy, therefore you save money and freezer space by not buying it at all, and when you do have a craving.......go to dairy queen or where ever and get some. Then when its' gone it's gone and you havent eaten a whole tub of ice cream and you dont feel guilty (I have done this many a times myself when depressed so I know ) Another example is chips. They make low fat, fat free, and baked ones, which granted are better than regular, but they still arent healthy, so again you save money by not buying them at all.

I dont mean to make you mad with my post, just to give you a different perspective. Good luck with eating healthy and your diet

[absolutuscchick]

No, I completely agree with you on the whole not buying chips, ice cream, etc. I know for me too, if I buy it and I end up getting depressed or have a bad day, I'll be eating the entire tub of ice cream, the entire bag of chips, or the entire box of cookies/crackers.....So I don't buy them at all.....the problem definitely is that my roommate buys it all and says I can have it...which I definitely do!!

[bsp-mich24]

I agree. Its cheaper to buy the less nutritious (sp?) stuff than fresh. So I do a combo of frozen and fresh. It's a good feeling to shop in the "healthy/whole foods sections (even thought it sounds corny).

If there is a Trader Joes "healthier" foods store nearby, I recommend folks check them out. They also have inexpensive healthy frozen entrees (college budget kind of prices) that can be prepared in 20 minutes or less. Here is a link for health food stores (even though the URL says ordering).www.fieldroast.com/Ordering_Field_Roast.htm

OK, I just got back from the store where I somehow spent fourty dollars on healthy food, lots of fresh vegetables, sugar free popsicles, salad stuff, lots of sugar free gum, etc. Ok, I know this sounds stupid but it really seems like if I bought the calorie laden food it would be so much cheaper. I mean I'm willing to shell out for healthy food, but it sort of confuses me why I can get unhealthy food for cheaper?

Edited for typos.

[absolutuscchick]

Mmmm...I love trader joes, whole foods (EXPENSIVE) and Wild Oats (also EXPENSIVE)....haven't been for a while though!

[KSigkid]

Like everyone else has said, it really depends on what you buy. In some cases, canned vegetables are better for you than the fresh ones; corn comes to mind, and even with the others, canned or frozen is a good option (as long as you boil them and don't nuke them).

As for bread, try going with whole wheat bread instead of the low-carb (unless you're on a low carb diet). It's probably a bit cheaper.

[carnation]

Many of our faculty members went on the Atkins Diet this year and boy, do we all look better! However, it's more expensive because we can't just tote in a sandwich--we have to make a chef's salad or buy lots of meat. Or for breakfast, we can't just grab a bowl of cereal-- we have to, say, cook eggs and bacon.

The low carb snacks and baking mixes are much more expensive than what we'd normally buy.

But....Atkins works!

[GPhiLlama]

I've heard that once people go off Atkins, they gain all the weight back. I'm just eating sensibly and Dance Dance Revolutioning my heart out (which works, cause I just won second place in a tourney yesterday...couldn't have done it at my previous weight!)

[mu_agd]

what is dance dance revolution?

[decadence]

Dance Dance Revolution is an arcade machine essentially; produced by Konami. You move from colored spot to spot while music plays - dancing. It's also available for the PS2 etc with pads to dance on.
This is an old article that explains it better than "you move from colored spot to spot" !! Link.

[Munchkin03]

It does seem that everything healthier costs a lot more. I never really considered myself fortunate because I can afford to shop at a Trader Joes or a Whole Foods for the fresh fruit, hormone-free milk, and free range eggs--we were brought up on the healthy foods thing, so it seems like second nature. But, going through a poor neighborhood, the convenience stores are stocked with junk food, liquor stores proliferate, and there's a McDonald's on every corner. The disparity is heartbreaking, yet totally obvious.

[carnation]

What's Trader Joe's?

[Munchkin03]

Originally posted by carnation
What's Trader Joe's?

It calls itself a low-budget gourmet grocer. It's a national chain--not sure if they've made it to the South, but it's all over the rest of the country.

[Sistermadly]

So called "healthy" prepared/processed foods (sugar-free foods, etc.) really do cost more than their sugared counterparts, but mainly that's because aspertame/splenda cost more to produce than sugar. But I find that buying vegetables/good cuts of lean meat isn't any mor expensive than the regular stuff.

Where it gets expensive is if you buy a bunch of fresh stuff and let it sit in the back of your fridge until it rots. I don't go to the supermarket and do a big weekly or bi-monthly shopping trip anymore. I pick up fresh vegetables daily or every other day at my local greengrocer. I save money that way, and I know that the food will be eaten if I only buy it in the quantities that I plan to use in the next day or so. MisterMadly and I don't eat a whole lot meat, so we buy small quantities and stretch them out. Sometimes I'll buy the cheaper cuts of meat and trim them down myself (or have the Mister do it) to save some money, but we can easily get three or four meals out of a small baked chicken, or out of a small pork tenderloin.

I also stopped buying big heads of lettuce/spinach and started buying the stuff in the bags. Again, it's a bit more expensive, but not when you figure how much waste there is when you buy lettuces/spinach whole.

And ditto on the frozen/fresh debate. Frozen vegetables are pretty good these days, and they keep very well. I usually buy frozen green beans, edamame, brussels sprouts, and corn in the winter and buy fresh in the summer months. I buy frozen cut-up vegetables for quick stir-fry meals -- I don't buy the stuff with the sauce already added, though.

-150 pounds and counting!

[preciousjeni]

Since I've been shopping exclusively at Trader Joes, my weekly food costs have been cut by 1/3. I think it's because I'm much more satiated by solid good vegetables and meats. But, also, (and this is the conspiracy theorist coming out), I'm very careful to buy organic fruits/vegetables and free-range, non-steroid, non-antibiotic beef, chicken and pork along with wild caught fish.

I don't buy corn/grain fed, farm raised meats or anything but cage free eggs. So, I'm not getting the growth - and other - hormones that are found in regular old supermarket meats. Those hormones make ya hungry!!

My appetite has been cut, I would honestly say, in half. The pounds are flying off of me but I am not concerning myself with weight loss at all anymore. It's a big relief.