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Old 03-05-2009, 10:14 AM   #1  
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Default I always complain to my dad about this ..

about how it is cheaper as far as money goes to be overweight then it is to try and eat healthy and be skinny .. We're always hearing on the news about how a good majority of Americans are obese and something needs to be done about it if that's the case don't you think they would try and lower the cost of the foods that are good for you and up the cost of the foods that are bad for you.. this is a great article from sparks people today!! http://www.dailyspark.com/blog.asp?p...e_of_junk_food


this is a good one too if you have time to read it ..
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/ma...2&ref=magazine
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Old 03-05-2009, 10:18 AM   #2  
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Michael Pollan is the author of the Omnivore's Dilemma which is a good book.

Junk food is cheap but it does come at a high price.
1) Health - health costs are increased due to poor health
2) Medications - related to health but I know I used to spend a decent amount of money on OTC medications (pepto and motrin mostly) because of what I was eating. I never linked my 'sensitive stomach' to the food I was eating until I realized that my sensitive stomach wasn't so sensitive if I was eating foods that were good for it.
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Old 03-05-2009, 10:18 AM   #3  
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I just read that article. I spend $85-$100+ a week on food. Although my one friend says she spends $50 a week for three people since her healthy/organic change.
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Old 03-05-2009, 10:31 AM   #4  
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on the one hand, I sometimes feel this is a cop out, I certainly save money when I stop buying crp to eat, especially when I go veggie.

on the other hand, I am frequently convinced there's a government conspiracy to keep the poor in their place. after all, not only does poor food affect health, it also affects people's mental capacities. long before the current credit crunch, our local supermarkets frequently offered buy one get one free, or 3 for 2 but it was always on fatty meat pies, sugary fruit pies and cakes, cheap cheap burgers and almost anything fried in bread crumbs.
Cheap, unhealthy food - the opiate of the people.
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Old 03-05-2009, 10:32 AM   #5  
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I keep hearing this, that it is more expensive to eat healthy, but it has not been true for me. I spent so much on junk and fast food that I have saved money eating healthy.

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Old 03-05-2009, 10:47 AM   #6  
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I spend about the same amount on food now as I did before I started eating healthier. There are tons of coupons out there for yogurt, eggs, kashi bars/cereal/crackers, string cheese, canned fruits/veggies and soups and granola bars. I always make sure to buy the fruits and veggies that are on sale in the produce dept. I also stock up on good for you cereal when it's on sale. Last week I got ten boxes of cheerios for $1.10 each. You had to buy 10 to get the deal, but I love cheerios, so it was worth it to me. You might have to work a little harder to get your healthy food for a better price, but if you clip coupons and stock up on stuff when it's on sale, it's not hard to do!
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Old 03-05-2009, 10:54 AM   #7  
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I'm sorry but I respectfully disagree that it is cheaper to eat bad foods. If money is tight--whole grain rice, beans, tunafish, and whatever produce is in season and cheap is your best choice and you absolutely cannot beat the price. Who can eat just those things you ask? Considering the endless ways you can prepare these items, anyone could.

Bad foods usually are filled with fillers. That is one of the reasons so many people eat way too many of them. The food in them sends you searching shelves for more to eat--it never really satiates the appetite.

For the record, my grocery bill has gone down for certain. Plus, we rarely eat out and never go through a drive-thru. If I do happen to see something I really want that is higher, I don't feel guilty for getting it. I have saved enough in other places to justify.

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Old 03-05-2009, 10:54 AM   #8  
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Since I stopped visiting drive throughs, I am definitely saving money eating better!
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Old 03-05-2009, 10:55 AM   #9  
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Quote:
on the other hand, I am frequently convinced there's a government conspiracy to keep the poor in their place. after all, not only does poor food affect health, it also affects people's mental capacities. long before the current credit crunch, our local supermarkets frequently offered buy one get one free, or 3 for 2 but it was always on fatty meat pies, sugary fruit pies and cakes, cheap cheap burgers and almost anything fried in bread crumbs.
Cheap, unhealthy food - the opiate of the people.
Not government, corporate. It's a corporate conspiracy. Anyone who spends anytime in poverty-related policy analysis will confirm this to you. (Not conspiracy in the tin-foil-helmet sense, conspiracy in the "this-is-best-for-our-bottom-line" since.
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Old 03-05-2009, 11:00 AM   #10  
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Since we started eating less meat and stopped buying processed/packaged foods, our grocery bill has gone down significantly. Beans and lentils are cheap. We've also saved by eating out less and stopping the fast food drive thru visits. I would prefer to eat more fresh produce, but the price can get high in my area because of shipping. Therefore, we eat more frozen veggies.
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Old 03-05-2009, 11:08 AM   #11  
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If you shop carefully you do not need to spend more money to eat healthy foods. I watch the sales, use coupons and buy fruits and vegies in season.
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Old 03-05-2009, 11:23 AM   #12  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by time2lose View Post
I keep hearing this, that it is more expensive to eat healthy, but it has not been true for me. I spent so much on junk and fast food that I have saved money eating healthy.
I agree. I think when you make the initial decision to stop buying junk, it can be more expensive. I always buy too much produce then have to throw it out. I just started the Flat Belly Diet and it cost a lot to buy the oils, nuts, seeds, etc. But now that I've been on it for about a month, my grocery bill has gone back down to normal. I don't buy too much produce now, because I know how much I'll actually use. And all those seeds and oils I bought a month ago are still around...they last a long time when you eat them in the proper portions!

And fast food...don't even get me started. A year ago we would go out as a family and eat at McDonald's occasionally thinking it was a pretty cheap alternative to eating at a sit-down restaurant, and easier than cooking at home. But now, I can't believe the price of even fast food! When I forget and go there, I'm always reminded when they ring up my total that I would have been better off at a nicer place after all. Or just eating at home, which is certainly what we do a lot more of now.

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Old 03-05-2009, 11:34 AM   #13  
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Yes, eating healthy is costing me more ... in terms of my time.

I go grocery shopping far more often. I have to, because produce is perishable. Also, it takes up more room in my fridge, compared with processed foods, which are treated to last forever & can sit up in my cupboards for a year or two.

I also spend much, much more time in food preparation (washing, chopping, cooking, but also looking up recipes) than I've ever done. I mean, hours & hours more. I had some cooking skills before this project of mine began, but over the past two years, while losing the weight, I have really become a much better cook & I know how to cook many things than I did before.

If time is money, it's definitely been more expensive for me.
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Old 03-05-2009, 12:30 PM   #14  
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Bad food is cheaper BUT if you count the cost of fast food and add that in on the unhealthy diet, it IS cheaper to eat healthy.

I think the problem is less about cost and more about time, knowledge and willingness to do the work. It takes more time to cut up fresh veggies than to pop a meal in the microwave. It takes more effort and follow through to plan and cook. I often fall down because I don't want to take the TIME to do what is best- I want what is quick and easy and tastes rich.

So really I think that the correlation to MANY (not all) of the poor is more about doing what is easy rather than what is wise- which applies to more areas in life than just food. I grew up 'poor'. We ate A LOT of fattening casseroles but weren't really overweight because we never ate fast food and Mom always made sure to have frozen veggies even if we couldn't afford fresh.

I am no longer poor because I chose to do the hard things (put myself through school) rather just playing around and doing what I wanted rather than what would benefit me long term. I am fat for the opposite reason. I chose to do what was easy rather than doing the hard work of exercising and taking time to prepare healthy food. You can't avoid the hard road in any area of life if you want to succeed. Success is never found along the path of least resistance.

It is true that it is cheap and easy to buy bad for you foods but with a little work and planning, you can still eat healthy and inexpensively. It's not the governments responsiblity to save people from themselves. Coddling the unwilling isn't the solution. The information is out there and accessible for free for anyone willing to burn the calories required to find it.
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Old 03-05-2009, 12:45 PM   #15  
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It really depends on how much money you actually have for food and how many people you have to feed. Most people that are really watching every penny and have to stretch it cannot buy the 10 boxes of Cheerios it takes to get the deal, as they don't have $10 to spend on just cereal.

I have been extremely poor (single mom w/2 kids,no child support, low paying job) and now I am not, and the difference in the two lifestyles is definitely apparent in the way I eat. When you go to the store and you have $50 for food, and you have to feed a couple growing kids nutritionally for a week, it can be hard. It is very different that just feeding yourself or another adult. Have you seen the price of decent vitamins? And what if your child has any food allergies?

So you do the best you can, and you tend to lean towards casseroles and breads to fill up, as you don't want your kids to go to bed hungry every night.

All that said, this is indeed a mixed subject. I don't think I spend a lot on food anymore, and I eat really well, but part of that is that I am mostly buying for myself. The food I buy for my granddaughter isn't always cheap as I want her to eat healthy, but I don't buy all her meals so I don't mind the expense.

All of this also depends on the part of the country you live in too...I guess the best thing to do is watch for sales, stock up if you have the extra cash, and try to make the best choices you can....
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