Worried that since I was going to the store so often that this diet was braking the bank, imagine my surprise after scouring my bank statements that I'm actually SAVING MONEY. Don't eat out as often, which holy cow really adds up.
Did ya'll find the same thing??

*breaking* oh boy

I'm with you there, YeahYeah. Not eating out is a major money saver. Plus, I realized that I am spending less on grocery store runs because I'm buying way more fresh vegetables. I used to only buy frozen steams-in-the-bag stuff since its fast and easy, but I've been getting actual raw veggies for some of these amazing Phase 1 recipes I've been making. Turns out we really do pay a premium for someone else to wash and cut and bag and freeze the vegetables.

You are so right about a bag of stems! That kills me!

I work in a hospital on the evening shift and find that it is so expensive to buy my dinners there. Even when I try to stick to the salad bar it gets to be $5 sometimes for one salad. That's $20 a week alone on salads! Not to mention the cookies and cakes and pies and deep fried mozzarella sticks and bags of cheetos that I have to walk past... Making my own food means not only saving money, but also not even taking that trip through temptation lane!

I also find that this time of year the farmers markets help on saving even more money and introduce me to produce i would have never even heard of. And the people at the farm stands are really good at telling you what something is and advice on how to eat/cook it.

I haven't figured the cost yet but do know that I will enjoy money saved by eliminating my prescription drugs when I get this weight off.....now that's a money saver.

Nothing tastes better than fresh veggies. I am beginning to adjust to the extra time spent in the kitchen. I am worth it...so are you

We have been literally shopping the perimeter of the store when we shop and have found our final total reasonable. But we have three, very skinny, teens and young adults at home and they complained bitterly on the lack of "snacks", and cottage cheese definitely did not count So did a snack shop with DD and wow the cost was something else, almost as much as the healthy shop! Definitely won't be doing that again soon.

My kids will say "There's no food in the house" when there's plenty of fresh veggies, etc. They can't find crackers, chips and junk food, so they think there's nothing to eat.

Yes and no - I am buying so much more fresh veg, tons of dairy and lean meat in addition to new ingredients for recipes that it is really adding to my grocery bill. I'm spending less on take out but I do spend more on groceries. It costs more to make a giant spaghetti squash deep dish pie than a frozen pizza. And I don't regret the choices one bit. We eat well. Healthy and delicious is a priority to me. I have noticed the cost of food in general has gone up A LOT over the past year though!

Husband and I are in our 50's with no chronic illness, rare doctor visits and no prescription meds. Eating well and living healthfully may cost a little more, but the long term benefits are invaluable. Oh, and we eat a lot of beans and they are cheap!