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IF someone is looking to lose weight and/or get healthy, there is no way in heck they should be wasting money on fast food and junk food. Outside of my occasional jaunts to Whole Foods and for certain "luxury" items like steaks, cheese, Justin Vinyards Iscoseles wine (the best), Martell Cordon Bleu brandy, or case of Newcastle beer, I guarantee that my weekly food bill as well as health quality of my food is better than what most people spend/eat.
This is how I KNOW that if you compare both the amount of money spent and the health factor of the food, I'll come in on a per week basis much better than most people. It just takes making an effort and not being lazy.
Saying "Its too expensive to eat healthy" is flat out a poor excuse and wrong!!!
I think it depends on your finances. I remember when I was making a lot less than I do now, and for $100 I could either fill up my cart with junk/processed foods. Or I could get a half of a cart (maybe) of fresh fruits, fresh veggies, and lean meats.
In this ecomony, many people are on a budget. So, while the health factor is important, for many it is a matter of dollars and cents.
And yes, eating out is always more expensive than making a meal at home.
I just listed an example of what could be done for LUNCH instead of fast food meals. My complete diet is actually very healthy and not lacking in anything. Would you rather eat a Double Quarter Pounder meal with a coke for lunch than what I posted?
And, yep, Im okay with eating the same things over and over because I KNOW its good for me. I dont go overboard on the tuna because of mercury issues, but chicken and beef I can eat every day.
Fast Food for me is a VERY rare treat.... I admit to loving a Chick-fil-A sandwich a couple times a year.
And, NO I wouldn't enjoy your limited selection of lunch foods. I have a much wider variety of healthy food that I enjoy. But, I'm sure limiting your menu makes shopping a lot easier!
Also, I stock up on Healthy Choice entree frozen microwave meals when they're on sale for only $2.00 each. They have around 400 calories each, and are low in sodium. The pasta portion is fortified, so it has plenty of nutritional value per meal. It's not gourmet dining, but it's perfect for my 15 minute "lunch" breaks at work. I can have 1 lunch per day, 5 days per week, for only $10. Most of it is chicken in around 4 different varieties but once in awhile I'll get the shrimp just for a change of pace. A different taste every day for lunch, filled with nutrition, low calorie and sodium, for only $2.
I -could- bring a PBJ on whole wheat every day to lunch, and that'd cost less than $2. But it wouldn't have as much nutritional value as these cheapo Healthy Choice meals, not as filling, and would have way too much sugar.
I think it depends on your finances. I remember when I was making a lot less than I do now, and for $100 I could either fill up my cart with junk/processed foods. Or I could get a half of a cart (maybe) of fresh fruits, fresh veggies, and lean meats.
In this ecomony, many people are on a budget. So, while the health factor is important, for many it is a matter of dollars and cents.
And yes, eating out is always more expensive than making a meal at home.
During that phase of my loss..the high carb calorie counting days. Ha! I didnt get whole wheat pasta or any fancy stuff. For "fresh" I would get those cheapo mixed fruit bags, bananas, frozen fruit/veggie, canned fruit/veggie, frozen chicken, frozen fish, beef on sale, eggs. Fillers would be potato, dry rice, dry beans.
Still lost weight and my intake (other than having some carb heavy days) was pretty balanced.
Also, I stock up on Healthy Choice entree frozen microwave meals when they're on sale for only $2.00 each. They have around 400 calories each, and are low in sodium.
Healthy Choice dinners are my "fast food". I keep a couple in the freezer for those times when I get home late from work and dont have food ready or time to prepare.
Ive posted many times what I eat on average, but Im happy to post again for those following this thread. This is about what I eat on average per day. Of course this changes if I am either bulking (will eat more) or cutting (will eat less), but on average, its the following:
Cup of black coffee prior to heading out for my morning cardio at 5:30AM.
One banana after cardio Breakfast - "Popeye omlete" - three eggs with lots of baby spinich, cayanne pepper. Half grapefruit. OR, bowl of steel cut oats w/blueberries. Snack - half grapefruit OR cottage cheese with almond slivers and blueberries or raspberries. Lunch - 5oz can of chunk light tuna mixed with teaspoon mayo, 10 oz kidney beans, 10oz corn, tablespoon of Udos Choice oil, 2 slices of whole wheat bread. Snack - plain stove or air popped popcorn w/parmesean cheese OR Almond butter on whole wheat sammich OR raw broccoli Dinner - whole wheat pasta OR brown rice with grilled chicken breast, broccoli or spinich and one oatmeal cookie for dessert. Snack - One lemon or one orange or one plum from my backyard trees or cottage cheese w/blueberry or strawberry.
This is DEFINITELY cheaper and MOST DEFINITELY HEALTHIER than eating taco bell, Mcds, burger king for lunch and dinner and eating packet of sugary oatmeal for breakfast.
Because I workout on average of twice per day, I DO occasionally eat In N Out Burger or Chipotle. Still, very healthy, very fit, very lean, very athletic at 6' 1" and 178 pounds.
A common complaint you hear from people is that "Oh, its too expensive to eat healthy...." which is nothing but bull-oney-ish!!! People who say this are FLAT OUT LAZY A$$ES!!! Its a LOT easier for lazy folks to go through the drive through at Taco Bell and order their $5.00 meal that contains a cheesy burrito melt, a taco, a burrito supreme and a coke than to spend that same $5.00 (or in most cases LESS) on buying food from Ralphs to prepare.
A Quarter Pounder meal deal at McDonalds costs about $9.00 with tax. I know because I saw it on the menu at a local McDs. The Taco Bell deal IS $5.00 and change plus tax. If you average that out over the course of a 5 day work week, then you spend $28.00 - $45.00 for lunch. I can take $20.00 and buy lunch for an entire week easily.
Whole Wheat bread
small cans of tuna
banana bunch
small cans of kidney beans
small cans of corn
Romaine lettuce
Bag of frozen chicken breasts (could last more than two weeks)
Monday - chicken breast on whole wheat sammich w/banana
Tuesday - tuna mixed with kidney beans and corn w/2 slices whole wheat
Wed - chicken again
Thus - tuna again
Friday - chicken
That bag of chicken breasts can also be added to dinner menu.
Bottom line is that those who say its more expensive I believe are JUST LAZY. Im not saying go out to Whole Foods and get ONLY organic foods, because really unless you are a pro/semi pro athlete or one of those "Topanga Canyon, of the earth, yoga types", you can get by with non-organic vegetables and fruits.
Those of you who are thinking "Oh, I'll get bored with that real fast" need to change your thinking/mindset of eating for pleasure to eating for fuel or eating to LIVE!!
I'm not writing you are wrong but let's be a little more realistic (and maybe a little less harsh???): It's not just money it's also time. Some people, especially singles, would have to spend a lot more time per person-meal cooking for one than it would take to drive through. If, that person was cooking for four then then it is the same amount of time but it is feeding four people. A lot of people only have an hour or two of personal time and it just isn't worth their time to go shopping, buy ingredients that will be used in proportion to the amounts that are prepared, prepare a meal, wait for it to cook, and clean up.
Also, "lazy" can be looked at as a virtue. Lazy people think people who perform unnecessary work are stupid.
Personally (since I am the world's cheapest man), I make a huge salad on a Sunday and take a little to work with me each day for three or four days. I only have to make one salad this way. I usually just grab a variety of food sitting in the fridge, fruit, piece of chicken some cheese, piece of bread, left overs from the night before, a couple hard boiled eggs, just whatever is laying around. I probably spend $2 or $3 a DAY on food for me, that's it.
Saying "Its too expensive to eat healthy" is flat out a poor excuse and wrong!!!
I'd bet maybe less than 5% of people who are unhealthy blame it on lack of money. Most are honest: "I like junk, I eat junk, I don't exercise enough, I am fat". It's no mystery and most of them know it.
I was recently at my Dr. for a check up and was told that even though my overall cholesterol was 135 my LDL was high. So he said immediately go to Whole Foods if you do not want to be a vegetarian ( I don't) then buy only
grass fed beef or chicken. Get some greek yogurt, lentils and buy only organic fruits and veggies. Drink water stay away from all juices and soda, but you can can occasionally have herbal tea. Of course absolutely no processed foods or fast food. Only shop at Whole Foods or maybe Trader Joe's is what he advised.
This is what people are talking about when they say eating healthy cost more if I had followed this strict advice my grocery bill would have doubled. I am watching what I eat trying to walk more but don't think I have to go to this extreme or expense to lower my cholesterol. Have also starting taking fish oil so we'll see how it goes.
I'd bet maybe less than 5% of people who are unhealthy blame it on lack of money. Most are honest: "I like junk, I eat junk, I don't exercise enough, I am fat". It's no mystery and most of them know it.
I am not so sure about the first part. You see it here on CD time and time again where people say "I just cannot afford to eat healthy", "I need to lose weight but cant afford to eat good food', so they DO use it a LOT as an excuse.
I totally agree with you on the second part about them loving junk. Mostly, its really about them loving sugar (in all forms). Non sugary junk food plays a big part as well but I think its mostly because of their love of sweets and sugars.
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Would you rather eat a Double Quarter Pounder meal with a coke for lunch than what I posted? 
