I was doing good. I lost 8 lbs and was happy as a lark losing weight. Then it happened. I ran out of money and had no food in the house. I didn't have eggs, I didn't have lettuce, **** i pretty much only had cat food for my kitty, and i wasn't about to eat that. So I managed to get $10 off a friend and had to stock up on Mr. Noodles and KD. A week and a half later and I'm back on the diet but back up 8 lbs.
I'm getting so frustrated. My will power is not the problem here, it's my complete lack of money. It is making things so difficult. I don't know what else I can do to stay on the diet. I have dried beans all over the house but i can only eat those so many times a day.
I'm ready to go on a rampage and hunt down all the rich bast$*@s in the world and scream at them for not letting society be equal.
Maybe on the "poor" days-that's what my dh and I used to call it, when the week outlasted the paycheck-you can do some basic calorie counting using the foods you do have on hand. Even if it's not OP.
Yup, 'oodles of noodles' are cheap and filling, but they have so much sodium. Could some of the weight you put back on be water weight?
We have days like Sarah talks about. You just have to make do with what you've got. My calorie counts are not that good. My nutrition is certainly not good. But I don't starve. I get tired of oatmeal!
Next time ... a couple of days in advance ... tell us what you do have and we'll help you sort it out.
I'm feeling ya... at times it's pay check to pay check for us and our food budget often doesn't stretch as I would really like. Even as it is the kids still eat a lot of pasta, cereal, sandwiches, and chicken nuggets. I am thankful for the help we do get in getting baby foods and milk for the kids. every bit counts.
The one thing that helps us a bit is to buy our meat at Sams Club and our veggies there too. It saves us a bunch over buying at walmart or the Pig. Often my best friend and I will split the Sams stuff up to save us both time and Money.
If I think of anything that may help I'll let ya know.
Oh, Mac and cheese? yep, even more sodium. Drink lots of water.
My favorite was to mix a can of tuna with my mac and cheese. I have problems with portion control-they are crazy if they think 1 box is 4 servings. It's more like 1.5 servings.
Can you watch the sales in your area and stock up on things when they are a great price? Just so that you aren't totally foodless. I'm not worrying about OP foods, just basics that will get you through the tough times. Sometimes mac and cheese is 4/1.00, tuna 3/1.00, pasta 3/1.00. When we were going through the tough times I would stock up when we had the money so that when money got tight I still had something in the cabinets. It wasn't pretty but it kept us going until payday. Somedays it was a can of corn and some pasta with a small can of tomato sauce or ramen noodles. Oh and how about mooching of friends and relatives, show up at their house right about meal time just to say hi
Honestly, maybe counting calories may be the best way for you to go when money is so tight. Stay as close to plan as possible but hey you got to do what you got to do. Right?
Is there a Share N Care in your area? It's kinda like a food bank but open to everyone and they sell a set bunch of groceries each month for an incredibly low price. It's a great way to stock up on basics, and they always have at least a couple meals worth of meat. In my area it's $20 for a great big box of stuff. No checking your paycheck, none of that. They make a minimal profit that is used to pay for the truly destitute's food.
How about tuna on sale and stocking up on stuff like that? I know it must be so hard.
I agree with above posters, drink lots of water cause if it's noodles it will be water retention.
Kim
I honestly feel for you, we are like that alot here, I am the one who posted about living paycheck to paycheck and can't get financial aid for school.
I am absolutely getting upset over all of this, it is cheaper to buy pasta and cookies than it is to buy a bag of apples and oranges, it is so sad. One time before my husband got hired for the state (you would think you would make good money being a corrections officer, but you don't ) he had a factory job, he got laid off so I applied for food stamps (we had 2 kids at the time), he was having tax's taken out of his unemployment checks going into the welfare, but we were turned down for help.. we couldn't even get a penny in foodstamps. I am just like you, I start doing really well on weightloss, then we have a rough time and it is hard to buy the healthy foods we need, so you do the best you can, like tuna/noodle casserole, I also don't lack the willpower, it is the price of everything that will make me overweight forever.
Well I wish you luck in your journey and keep your chin up, things can only get better.
God Bless,
Am
When we have lean days, especially back when we were first married, we'd buy a big sack of rice (now we only eat brown or basmati), some cheap vegs like onions and cabbage and carrots, and some cheap protein - like eggs or beans. And that is what we'd live on until payday. We'd make a lot of veggie stir-fries and a lot of bean soups (sometimes you can get beef soup bones for next to nothing). Not very thrilling, but much healthier than cup ramen or box mac & cheese!
Hey, just wanted to say I do understand what you mean. I used to face the same as a student. Man, I got sick of pasta with tomatoes and onions. And it does make you wonder why all these carb-rich, nutritionless foods like wheat pasta, polished rice, white bread and the like are so much cheaper than healthy food!
My only recommendation is as someone mentioned earlier. Ditch the noodles and KD, it will not only make you put on weight, but it is completely devout of nutrition and should not be considered food for your body!
I instead recommend rice, the cheapest vegetables you can get (onion, tomatoes) and pulses. In India this is what most people suffice on and they say that the combination of rice and pulses provide you the amino acids (proteins) you need. Try to get unpolished rice though, and a good variation of lentils and beans. Otherwise you might as well eat noodles :O) You can also stock up on a good variety of spices when you have some money. So one day could be rice/lentils/beans with curry the next could be with italian seasoning. At least it will taste different )
With regards to the inequality of the world. Well, coming from one of the richest countries in the world (Denmark) to one of the poorest (India) has really opened my eyes on that point! Words do not describe the conditions many people live in here. I am sure they would not understand how it is possible for someone in the US not to be able to afford food. For them US is the land of manna and honey. I now more than ever appreciate what we have in the west and how we are so fortuneate not to have to work 12 hours a day hard physical labour sustaining on a cup of rice and water. I dont want to preach to you at all. Just a thought.
Another thing you can try...something we do...is shop your local ethnic market. Here it's called the Gwinnett International Farmers Market. I'm getting fruit and veggies for 20 to 50 cents a pound less than the grocery stores and the quality is much better.
They also have meats cheaper and better quality.
When dh and I were first married, (granted it WAS 27 years ago) we had $15 and sometimes as much as $20 a week to spend on groceries.
I bought a pound of hamburger, a whole chicken, dried beans in bulk, rice, potatoes, a pound of cheddar cheese, a dozen eggs and as many veggies as I could. The chicken would get cut up and the back would get boiled for soup along with some of the veggies. The breasts/wings and leg/thighs would get baked for 2 meals.
With the hamburger I would make hamburger "steaks" with half and the other half I'd use to make a sort of hamburger soup with more of the veggies.
Supplement that with the eggs, potatoes, beans and rice and we ate well, were healthy and a whole lot more slender than either of us are now.
Something else to look at is your discretionary spending. Little things add up. Are you buying a cup of coffee or a soda during the day? How about things like books or movie rentals? Sit down with a pen and paper and go over your budget and see where you can trim. You'd be surprised at where all those little bits of money disappear to.
Big batches of soups could be cheap to make and can be frozen for days when you need to make your dollars stretch. I have been there many times and I feel for you. I remember having 30 dollars to spend on food for my family when my husband got hurt at work and we had to wait for his compensation to kick in. Do what you have to do and I have bought KD and added tuna and canned veggies to them to stretch them .
I'm not sure about where you live but here a pound of black beans or lentils is about 70 cents. And a pound of rice is about $1.50. I'd stock up on those during your lean days rather than packaged processed food. I just make sure to keep my kitchen well stocked so when the lean times come I just go to the store for veggies and that's it. All the ladies had some great ideas for meals so I won't repeat them.
There's always a way to eat healthy. I think our culture and the food industry just has us so set on the notion that eating cheap means eating pre-packaged processed when it really doesn't. People in the third world eat healthy on what we spend for a cheap cup of coffee. I realize the economics are different but it still holds true here that grains, legumes, and some vegetables can be eaten for just as cheap as ramen or mac-n-cheese. Good luck, I know these times can be trying but with a little planning you can still eat pretty healthy and not add unhealthy food to everything else you have to stress about. Hang in there, girl.
It happened to me again
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