I am a relatively new member here, I posted once or twice in the south beach area, problem is that my hubby has lost his job and brought my world to a screeching halt. I need to be realistic, I cannot continue to follow a seperate eating plan from my family, even before the job loss the money I was spending at the store doubled. It's totally insane....the cost of protein based foods has skyrocketed taking full advantage of those of us who jump on every diet bandwagon going.

My situation is this:

I am so sick of trying to follow this or that fad diet, I just want to be trim and healthy, now that there is a huge crisis I am finding myself trying to turn to food, can't do that!

I need to feed my family of 5 frugally and lose weight in the process.

Is it possible to lose weight eating what one's family eats? Obviously I can't succeed while eating the same as my teen ager, but has anyone out there thrown away the fads and just got serious with what they had to work with?

I have tried all the diets, the exchange plans, the ones that tell you to eat this for breakfast and that for lunch, I do good for awhile, but as soon as I don't eat what is prescribed for lunch I feel like I have blown it and I stop trying.

I have about 75 pounds to lose and I am so scared that this situation is going to make me gain weight while I so desparetly wanted to make my focus this summer weight loss and increased health.

Kacie! Wow! I'm sorry for your tough situation. DH and I were married 4 months ago and are doing the typical struggle through the start thing most newly married couples face. I'm on a tight budget too.

I started back using the WW points and going to free meetings at my church about 6 weeks ago. I have lost 15#, so I would say that its working. I like WW points system because it is flexible and allows me variety. If I want to have pizza, I can. But it may mean a salad for lunch. It is just the amount of structure I need.

I search the internet looking for interesting meals for me and DH that will fit in our budget. The grocery bill is usually around $60 - $75 per week for the two of us. I think that is pretty reasonable considering we only eat out two meals per week. I cook different Mexican and Chinese dishes, hot wings, potato salad, chicken strips, fries, burgers, all kinds of stuff that just taste a little different than the fattier counterparts. Last night I made cornbread, but used applesauce instead of shortening. That is still scaring my little southern heart.

Hope this info helps. Good luck to your family.

Melanie
230.5/215.1/150ish

Kacie,

My Mum, too, had it tough raising me and my brother as a single mum ... she had an EXTREMELY limited budget and yet managed to feed us, and herself, a very healthy diet!

Firstly, you need to take control of your entire family's eating habits, maybe under the guise of "budgeting." With five people to feed, you can now buy in bulk which will make things cheaper for you. For example, visit a fruit n veg market direct to the public to avoid supermarket markups. Buy meat in bulk. Shop around for prices!

Now is also the time to chuck away the fad diets. I don't want to start a debate about low-carb diets, but they are not necessarily beneficial for long time weight loss. What you need is a healthy plan, that you (and your family) can stick to for LIFE. A diet isn't just 'til you lose weight, it is Forever, and is not just a diet but a lifestyle change. If you are still wary of carbs, just eat those with a low G.I.

Remember, you CAN do this!

I agree 100% with Apple. You do the shopping, you prep the meals, so you control what your family eats. I do my produce shopping at a local fruit and veggie market every Sunday. I am able to get an entire cart full of fruit and veg for around $30. Here's my typical Sunday haul....

Apples
Bananas
Peaches
Blueberries
Strawberries
Romaine lettuce
Green leaf lettuce
Red leaf lettuce
Spinach
Swiss chard
Beets
Green beans
English peas
Summer squash
Carrots
Corn
Radishes
Cucumber
Cilantro

All of that for around $30!!!! If possible, avoid grocery stores. Buy your meat at a local butcher for higher quality & less costly meats. Go to Costco or Sams club for dry and canned goods.

Use dried beans in dishes....very tasty, very healthy, and very cheap!

I think the KEY to long-term weight loss and healthy living is NOT to follow a diet. Eat healthy and in moderation! Eat what your family eats, just eat less. A lot of women I know feel like they can eat as much as their husbands eat, which is false thinking. Drink lots of water (which is FREE!!!), load up on the fruits and veg, avoid white breads and pastas, eat lean protein and watch your portion sizes. If you throw a little exercise on top of that you'll be just fine!!!! Good luck!

Kacie - I am following Dr. Phil's plan in his Ultimate Weight Loss Solution Food Guide. I do not consider it to be a fad diet but something that is quite moderate and easy to follow. I can't see that it would be a strain on your budget. You eat a protein serving with every meal, whatever everyone else is having. Then you have 2 fruit servings a day, as many veggies as you want, 2 low fat dairy servings a day, and 1 serving of what he calls a starchy carbohydrate, could be a high fiber cereal or bagel or could be a plain baked potato. This is the rapid start plan which is to be followed for 2 weeks. After that there are more food choices. I won't go into more detail but I think you can see that you wouldn't be spending more money just so you can eat different food for a fad diet. If you want more info you can look at his web site www.drphil.com and look under the weight loss section. I'm sure you buy fruits and veggies already and also beef, chicken etc. There is no reason why you can't prepare them all the same way. Your family no doubt would benefit from healthy ways of cooking. All you might have to buy is low fat dairy products ie skim or low fat milk or yogurt and then a box of high fiber cereal but that is something that is going to last you for several days.

We are also going through joblessness at my house too. Both my husband and I are looking for work so I know what you are going through. I only have 1 child though, he is almost 3 and somedays lives off chocolate milk and melon so I don't have increased food bills because of him! Anyway feel free to PM me if you want to chat more. Take care and best wishes.

Yeah, from what I've seen, Dr Phil's ideas seem to be very sensible!

Hi, I don't follow anyone's plan, just created my own. My husband was hurt on the job and has been out of work for a year. I have 3 children from a previous marriage and their father does not pay child support. Additionally, my mother lives with us now. My father passed away very suddenly last August and she has been with us ever since. We have to take care of her. There are days that she forgets to eat.

Anyway, we are on a very strict budget, but I have managed, over the past year, to completely reconstruct my eating lifestyle, lose more than 80 pounds and reverse my high blood pressure and early stage diabetes.

It is possible, you just have to be a little creative.

Eat 3 meals and 2-3 snacks per day
Don't try to lose more than 2-3 pounds per week
Caloric intake - there is an equation to determine it or there are several sites to do it for you.
Protein requirement (there is an equation) or 30% - 45% of total caloric intake
Fat 20% - 30% (I take in about 10 g per meal)
Carbohydrate 45% or so, but not to drop below 50 g per day
Sugar approximately 12 g per meal
LOTS OF WATER!!!!

The only way to truly burn the fat is cardio. Get that heartrate up!

Shop the horseshoe - produce, meat and dairy. The only reason you really need to go down the aisles is to get whole wheat pasta, brown rice, whole wheat bread and bagels, spices and the occasional can of low sodium tomatoes.

Plan your meals, make menus for a week or so ahead of time and buy for that.

WalMart will honor other stores' advertised specials. Research! I pour over the sales papers every week, take the ads to WalMart and get good quality stuff for the bargain prices. Last cool deal: ground turkey for $1.28 a pound, I got it for $.89 a pound!

I feed my whole family like this and it is less expensive once you get in the groove. I find that I am buying less because it really takes less of the good stuff to fill you up. The processed foods are designed to keep you hungry. There are tons of delicious recipes - I have quite a few! that are low fat and low calorie. My kids love my cooking, they are 10-boy, 12-girl (very finicky) and 14-boy.

It takes some planning, but it is possible. I feed myself, my husband, my mother and my 3 children (the 14 year old is 6'2" and about 215 lbs) on a monthly budget of about $400-$450 a month.