I've been doing a Biggest Loser type program at my gym. It includes team training (with a personal trainer) twice a week and also a nutritional plan and counseling. I paid $549 for a 10-week program. I really enjoyed it and lost 20lbs. But it's winding down next week.

$549/20lbs = $27.45/lb (LOL!)

My trainer and my team want me to "re-up" for the next program, which will be $400 for repeat participants, since we basically alread purchased the nutritional "program" (i.e. a book with a prescribed eating plan). So, for another 10 weeks, it would be $40/week. If I lose 15 additional pounds, that would be

$400/15lbs = $26.66/lb

Can you really quantify the cost/benefit of weight loss, though? I mean, I really *want* to do it again, but my husband is really hounding me about spending money and wants to put together a budget. It seems awfully indulgent to spend the money on myself, especially with the economy the way it is and some major expenses we have coming up.

I think *maybe* I can lose another 15lbs on my own if I stick with the eating plan and work out alone, but part of what I like is the accountability and comraderie of being on a team. My ultimate goal is to drop to 141lbs, which is the high end of the healthy weight range for my height.

Any thoughts? What would *you* do?

Honestly, if it's working for you, I'd say go for it. Losing down to your goal weight will undoubtedly remove any guilt from you!

Look at it this way...you may very well be saving yourself some money in the future on weight related health problems. Tell your husband you are spending $ now to save him $ later!

Spend the money.

I totally understand the need for budgeting and watching where the money goes... but having a "guaranteed" method of getting you on the right path to your weight loss journey would be at the top of my priority list. Especially since you're enjoying it so much!

Your post reminds me of a Mastercard commercial - because I can honestly tell you that being at goal weight and having a closet full of wonderful clothes, and being fit and enjoying the quality of my life is
PRICELESS!

I have a budget. I have had to cut back, but I will tell you that anything that supports fitness and health is HIGH on the priority list. Very high. I started clipping coupons recently - something I swore I would never do. It isnt a lot because the stuff I buy doesnt get many coupons, but many of our stores have the $5 off a $50 purchase coupon - I make a game in the more expensive store of getting as close to $50 as possible without going under. I've started shopping multiple grocery stores to cherry pick the better deals - another thing I swore I would never do.

I am buying 6 or 9 more personal training sessions tomorrow (they are running a one day special!).

Budgeting is great, but what is possibly more important than your health. Health is not a LUXURY, it is an investment.

It really depends on your entire financial situation. I think a budget is a good idea, regardless of whether you choose to spend money on this program or not, because you can see what you're spending your money on.

While you may not be able to put a price tag on health, sometimes you have to. If you're spending money you don't have, then no amount of "value" erases the fact that you're going into debt. How much debt you're willing to go into, or if not debt, how much you're otherwise willing to sacrifice - those all have to be factored in. Which is why a budget would be a great idea - just so you can see if and how to fit it into the budget.

Weight loss programs sometimes use very hard sell tactics. I once had a consultation with a food program (Seattle Sutton's, which I had used in a different city, and had been happy with). In sitting down with the representative, the cost of the program, just wasn't doable. The saleswoman really laid it on thick about how I couldn't put a pricetag on health, and I "owed" myself the expense.... All true, perhaps but I was already going to school full time AND working full time (with mandatory overtime) and there just wasn't money in the budget. She tried to tell me that the program was cheaper than what I was spending on groceries (it SO was not), and in doing my budget I saw there was absolutely nowhere for the budget to give. There was nothing I could give up (my car? my car insurance? Either would prevent me from continuing my education (which I suppose would have freed up some money for the program). It wasn't a matter of having a choice, as there already were no luxuries in my budget, at least not enough to cover the food program. You can't get blood from a turnip, as they say. Even getting a second job (I guess with school, it would be like a third full-time job) wasn't really an option, because I did have to sleep sometime.

Without knowing your financial situation, it's impossible to give you good advice, especially in this economy. Are you or your husband in danger of losing your job (even if you think no, is it at all a possibility - many folks who thought their job was stable found out otherwise, the day they were let go)? How much savings do you have? Do you have children?.....

I'm not needing to know any of this, but you do. If you've got the discretionary income, it's completely your choice, but if you're choice affects the lifestyle and choices of the rest of your family, the situation isn't that simple.

You weigh in the 150s now and you want to be in the 140s? I don't see a valid "your health is the most important thing ever" argument here. It's cosmetic weight.

It all does depend on your situation. For me that would be too much money. My family membership for 4 to the Y costs about $550. I could never justify spending almost $1000 on 20 weeks(5 months.)

It is way more than I would spend, and I can't see it being *that* important this close to goal. It might take you slightly longer to lose the weight if you aren't as accountable to yourself as you would be to a team - but maybe THAT is what you ought to be working on!

That said, if you have the disposable income, & it's something that you enjoy & find value in, hey, more power to you.

In fact, I probably already spend more than that on my personal trainer. But it is worth every penny. If I had to budget or cut back, I would do it in other areas. When I look at all the I spend money on, the gym membership and personal training has been easy to justify. The money I spend on personal training literally prolongs my life (assuming I don't get hit by a bus or something).

It's not just about losing weight. Three of my uncles on my father's side have died of heart disease and both my father and remaining uncle suffer from it. My father has high cholesterol and a heart arrhythmia and had a five-way bypass several years ago. He can't walk up the seven steps from the living room to his bedroom without getting winded. My mother, a non-smoker, died of lung cancer at age 52. An Aunt died of breast cancer at 62. Three of four grandparents died before the age of 70 of heart disease or cancer. An uncle now has breast cancer. My grandmother is stooped over from osteoporosis. Other family members have had strokes. We suspect some family members had undiagnosed diabetes. My sister has problems with her blood sugar levels and I share some of her symptoms.

So the odds are stacked against me. Every day that I go to the gym, every weight that my trainer has me lift, every sprint I do on the treadmill, every day that I eat on plan--I am doing everything I can to be as healthy as I can.

But, as kaplods says, it also depends on your financial situation. I could achieve many of the same basic health benefits without the personal training. If it came down to paying my mortgage or personal training, I'd pay the mortgage. But if I had to choose between a yearly vacation and personal training, I'd choose personal training, no question.

Figuring out a budget would help you determine how much disposable income you have. Then you could figure out whether or not you want to allocate it to the weight loss program and what you have to sacrifice to do that.

Like others have already said: check your budget and see if it's financially reasonable to continue.

Honestly, I'm of the personal opinion that if going to the gym and working with a trainer is what works for you, then go for it!

You can't really put a price tag on your health

~ tea

You are relating the cost per pound. How about your pleasure in the program? Can this be part of your "entertainment" budget? ($40 per week for time out isn't too bad.)

As many have said, the real issue is your own finances. It isn't just the 10-15 pounds to lose, it is also the fitness habits you are developing.

Yes, it's cosmetic to a certain extent. I do want to be in the healthy weight range for my height. And, at 157#, I'm still about 16lbs off.

But, the question really was more about whether health and weight loss are even quantifiable. I used cost/lb as the only way I could think of to quantify the weight loss.

I'm working out a budget now and hope to be able to do the program again. I like it. And I spend a lot less on shopping, hair, make-up, clothes, etc., when I'm at the gym every night and weekend...

Each month I write a check to my trainer. It's a chunk of change. But I justify it a few ways. First, I do earn that money and I do have it to spare. Should I stash it in savings? Probably, that would be the smart thing to do.

But I suspect that one of the problems with the economy is folks stashing all their discretionary money in savings. Lots of people are tightening their belts (and that might be the smart thing to do---perhaps I am being foolish right now), but if I stop going to my trainer, and lots of other people stop going, then she can't earn a living and that won't help the economy either. So I write my check (and pray) and consider that I am injecting money into my local economy and supporting a small business.

But if it came down to my mortgage or my trainer, yeah, that's a no-brainer. I could use a new car, and could do that in lieu of my training, but I'd rather do the training.

I support what others have said about budget and benefit being equal.
Having been in The Worst financial situation possible a few years ago, believe me there is nothing worse than putting things on the plastic for some vague time in the future; and being in a sudden financial crisis does NOT help one's ability to stick to a fitness regime!
I'd suggest working out the budget but being clear with your husband that your health priorities ARE priority, and seeing what else you can economize on.