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I work out regularly. I own a small set of cast iron weights.
No reason to eat anything different than usual. Exercise actually tends to improve energy level. If you are doing lots of serious endurance stuff (I used to ride 250 miles a week, back in my 20s) you will want and need more carbohydrates, which your body will tell you.
No matter your level of exercise intensity, you should not try to save money by eating crummy food. The last place to cut back is on the quality of your food. I don't mean expensive prepared stuff or restaurant meals, I mean high quality fresh fruits and vegetables, a small amount of high quality meat (if you're not vegetarian), and high quality breads, pastas, etc.
If people are the sort to work out, they are going to work out whether or not they are frugal. They might find a way to get identical workout without paying thousands to belong to the local country club.
Many frugal people are pinching pennies so that they can buy the best quality food for their family, and often get it for a lower price than the non-frugal pay.
Eating cheap crappy food is not frugal. That can lead to very expensive doctor's visits.
Don't need to pay a gym fee to work out. Just need some weights, something for aerobic exercise when the weather is bad (I use my bike on a stand), and a bench you can put together yourself from 1 x 8s and brackets. If you added some rubber surgical tubing you could probably do all the rest of the exercises.
Or, alternately, you could build actual useful muscles as opposed to the pretty but nonfunctional ones, by doing actual work (splitting logs, tilling the garden by hand, using a push mower, etc.
I have seen plenty of gym rats, lookin' great, be outworked easily once they get out in the hot sun next to a middle aged guy with a bit of a gut.
You don't need special food or supplements to be in good shape and work out. It's just marketing aimed at making your wallet lighter. I don't need a gym either. Outside is free and I do own a rowing machine I can use in the house as well.
My workout for today will be bathing 3 big dogs and moving a couple tons of small rocks in the yard. And that's plenty!
Yea I workout and I pay extra money for "healthier food" even thought I am naturally frugal but at this stage in life my health and weight loss journey is more important.
It is a conscious effort. Joining gym was not an easy choice and time and gain I quit gym because I feel guilty for wasting time paying membership when I could/should be able running, working out off of YouTube and other avenues that are open to us for free. But for now, it is more important for me to lose weight than save money. I told myself I will keep my membership one more year & hoping to lose 10 lbs by end of year. At that point I will think about dropping my gym membership & doing alternative workout that cost less. But now is not the time to find alternative route
I was also very proud of myself when I started paying extra for brown rice in Thai restaurant instead of eating white rice that comes standard. Yes it cost more but if I am eating it needs to be healthy. I changed my grocery & I don't do organic but I force myself to spend more for real food instead of junk food. As I learned from this forum, being frugal doesn't mean giving up everything in life. We all have few priorities where we spent money but save in other areas
Don't need to pay a gym fee to work out. Just need some weights, something for aerobic exercise when the weather is bad (I use my bike on a stand), and a bench you can put together yourself from 1 x 8s and brackets. If you added some rubber surgical tubing you could probably do all the rest of the exercises.
Or, alternately, you could build actual useful muscles as opposed to the pretty but nonfunctional ones, by doing actual work (splitting logs, tilling the garden by hand, using a push mower, etc.
I have seen plenty of gym rats, lookin' great, be outworked easily once they get out in the hot sun next to a middle aged guy with a bit of a gut.
Because sitting on a bench or standing up doing bicep curls and bench presses, is no use for cardio or functional strength. I bet Arnold Scherneger couldn't run 150 yards without being drop dead tired in his prim
I refuse to pay for a gym membership. But I try to eat decent quality food, and I ride the exercise bike at home, walk most days over my lunch, and am a member of some hiking clubs.
At $20 per month saved, for more than 20 years -- it starts to add up after a while.
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