[Aneles]

Well I have been on WW for almost 6 weeks now and my husband is doing it with me which makes it easier... but the cost of "healthy" food is way too high.

In the 6 week period we have spent $375... thats CRAZY!! I mean before we used to only eat pizza and take out, but it was way cheaper than this. Husband works at Papa Johns so we pretty much had free pizza and he had connections at Dominos so we got major discounts there too. Then when we bought stuff we got crust mix and pizza sauce for like 2 bucks and then cheese and toppings.. very cheap and good tasting, pretty fatty though, but good!

I am so disgusted by this. Okay enough of the rant. I guess i have to suck it up and move on. It would be easier to see paying that much if I actually had a job. Poor hubby has been picking up the slcak for two months now and he is about tapped out.

I mean I am happy I have lost 16.4 lbs so far, but at what cost???

Okay I am really done now. Sorry to vent and sorry it is so long.

[MistySeptember]

Selena I hear ya!!!!!

When I am on plan we can spend as much as $150 a week in the winter b/c fresh veggies cost so much. And frozen though a MUCH better deal are only available in limited items around here. Your choice if often broccoli, broccoli or cauliflower LOL.

Often the great sales are on canned ravioli not whole wheat pasta. The cost of good bread can be almost double if the white bread is on sale. When I buy what's on sale and eat the more processed stuff that same $150 can last 3-4 weeks!

We live on a dairy farm beef is free. I can get hambuger helper on sale for $1, that feeds my family of 4 once added to my free hamburger. Which BTW way is super lean b/c it's form dairy cows, way leaner than the leanest I have found in the store.

B/c of this often I jsut suck it up and eat less of the higher points stuff. If I get pizza I opt for no meat toppings to lower the points.

[Kelly_S]

Actually my food bill went down when I started W/W. Eating healthy need not be expensive it really is cheaper than the processed junk, unhealthy foods adn dining out. While you got a good deal with the pizza you can still do that just not eat so much of it.

I find that I buy sales and stock up. For example they had buy 1 get 1 free on 96% lean burger so I stocked up on that, or they have a buy 1 get one free on something else.

The only things that are expensive are the so called 'diet' foods and 'processed junk."

Fresh fruits and veggies only buy in season otherwise do the frozen or canned....just as good.

[buffalosister1]

Oh my gosh. I know what you mean. My first grocery store trip put me into shock. It was so spendy that I did not even want to eat the food. The hot dogs. I think the Hebrew 97% fat free are like $4.50 (and you get half as many)!! How about the fat free Pringles? Pringles go on sale all of the time. Not the fat free though. So I get it for sure.

Now for the positive.........we are worth it!!! Our health is way worth the price. Can you imagine if you AND hubby could not work due to heart problems? Or.........my mom who is on high blood pressure meds. They won't be cheap for the rest of her life. Her knee replacement wasn't cheap either. True, she may have had to have that even if she weren't so over weight, but maybe not so soon. Maybe she would not have been off work for 4 months due to not healing quickly.

So, it is so worth it. Keep on going!!!! Look how great you have done so far!!!!!! Congratulations!!! Keep it up.

[andreaphilip3]

i agree.... our bills are typically 130-200 a week!

[40poundsago]

My grocery bills are way higher too, I think last week was 222. and the week before that 245. and honeslty we would do that once a month before and then just go for milk or bread in between. but now I buy fresh fruit and meat from the meat counter and not the prepackaged stuff. I think part of the reason I have to buy so much is because my kids have found that apples are just as good if not better than fruit snacks. my 2 year old loves strawberries. last week we went through a big pack of strawberried 2 big bunches of bannanas pry over a dozen apples and oranges. We still eat some pasta's at night for dinner but we always have meat and fruit with it. our meals are more balanced and the kids eat everything. on their plates

It is so worth it to me to spend it. sometimes the register shock hits when they give us the total, but it is getting eaten and not wasted.

[joyofsix]

First time posting so hi! Do you have an Aldi's or SuperWalmart near you? I use Walmart's store brand ww pasta and brown rice, I gave up diet pop for water or crystal light. I stay away from "diet" frozen meals because of cost. I make hummus and other stuff from scratch. You can find recipes all over the web. Oh, and I make pizza with veggies and little to no cheese. Try to remember it's either pay the grocer of pay the doctor.

[ckatgo]

OMG...I know what you mean! My hubby and I pay 120 (avg.) a week for the both of us! No kids! here in Oklahoma it is more expensive to buy fresh and not eat processed stuff. Its crazy!

[Alethea]

My friend's son was playing hockey up there in Fairbanks and feeding him was completely astronomical. Have you ever considered how much WW would cost in Alaska? Everything, including the frozen veggies was 3-4 times higher than what we were paying here in Michigan. Super processed foods were much cheaper, because of the market for them.

Eating healthy is rarely cheaper, I congratulate anyone who can do it cheaper. My grocery bill doubled when I started WW. Is it worth it, for certain. I can afford it. However, when it comes to having a place to live, and heat, and feeding a family what can you choose? 10 apples or $10 worth of Ramen Noodles? The noodles go a heck of a lot further. . .

[Kelly_S]

Maybe because I never at that processed junk in the first place is why I don't think it is more expensive but even when I buy stuff it goes farther because we don't eat a whole bag of chips or 100 calorie packs at one time.

It is DH, I, 3 cats and a dog and my food bill every 2 weeks including cleaning supplies, bathroom stuff such as toothpaste, hairspray, shampoo, etc and pet supplies (Food and treats and litter) is $150 and that includes an additional trip for more fresh veggies and dairy.

Have you thought about how much you aren't spending on eating out in your calculations? Before W/W my grocery was almost $200 plus about another $80 for dining out at lunch time.

[srmb60]

I'm fond of saying that you have to do what you have to do. Because of our economic strata we eat frozen veggies and yes, canned too. Same with fruit. Tuna steaks are insanely priced! I eat canned.
In your case Selena, it is hard to beat free food!
The big difference at our house has been the between trips to the corner store for something snacky or quick. I really can (now) run to the grocer and just buy salad stuff.
I rely alot on sales. It's not unusual for me to buy 20 lbs of chicken breast when it's cheap (well cheaper). If we are thinking well, we buy organic beef from a neighbour with our income tax return.
Another biggie is portion control. The piece of turkey I had last night is probably 1/3 the size I used to think I needed.

[ckatgo]

Originally Posted by Kelly_S

Have you thought about how much you aren't spending on eating out in your calculations? Before W/W my grocery was almost $200 plus about another $80 for dining out at lunch time.

yes...alot of discussion has been going on around my house recently on food and the cost of the food bill...which is why this thread is so interesting. The 120 estimate is not including eating out! Birthdays at the office, times you don't wanna cook (and now that summer is here...its worse..cooking is night mare in the oklahoma heat!!) Anything I can do to get the food bill down..Sometimes I feel like we are working just to keep eating! LOL...

I am hoping that by being on WW I can learn portion control..(I am just starting..) and that the food bill will drop...We do throw alot of food away...

[Kelly_S]

Originally Posted by ckatgo

...(and now that summer is here...its worse..cooking is night mare in the oklahoma heat!!)...

GRILL outdoors! I live in Arizona so you can't tell me anything about heat. Yesterday the high at my house was 102.

...We do throw alot of food away...

Why do you do that? Is it rotting before you eat it or do you not do leftovers? Use leftovers to make your own frozen meals for lunches.

[morrigan]

I think you can do a lot to keep your food prices down by shopping sales. I will often go into a store and only buy what is on sale. Be it fruit, meat, or veggies.

Diet Food: I must say that I rarely ever buy "diet" food. All the stuff marketed as diet food is really expensive. Just consider if you bought a big bag of pretzels, you could probably make 20 "100 cal" packs - as opposed to getting 6 packs for more than the cost of one bag.

Stretch your food: I will buy chicken (whole) for .59-.79 cent per lb. There is always at least one store that has it on sale in a given week. 2 chickens run less than $7 that way. I cook the chickens on Sunday. I bone them after dinner and boil the bones. On Monday we eat the leftover meat in fajitas or sandwiches or some nice pasta dish. On Tuesday I take the broth and make soup - if you soak beans the night before, you pretty much have stretched 2 chickens into meals for 3 days.

Utilize Leftovers: When I cover my leftovers in plastic wrap in the back of the fridge, they get scary. If I put them in ziplocks or small tupperwares in the door of the fridge, they get grabbed for lunches and snacks.

Processed?: I think processed food costs way more than buying food and cooking. When I look at the roasted chicken in the deli or the nice frozen pizza's in the freezer aisle, I can't imagine spending that kind of $. I always just make stuff like that. 4 hours at 250 degrees makes chicken fall off the bone. As for pizza - we rarely ever have it, not on program. But take all other things. A can of beans is about 80 cents. A bag of beans that would make about 6 cans is $1. A box of ricearoni is much more per serving than a bulk bag of rice. And what about the other costs? Yes, it is cheaper to eat cup-o-noodles, but have you ever looked at the sodium content? YIKES!

Beef? - I just don't buy it. The sticker shock at the price of beef is completely prohibative for me. We do occasionally get 1/2 or 1/4 beef (of the whole cow) from someone who raises them. If you buy a dairy steer, let it eat grass all summer, and butcher it in the fall, you end up at about $1-$2 a lb, depending on if you butcher it yourself or have someone else do it. We used to butcher them ourselves, but it really is a lot less mess to have it done.
I found with chickens, it actually costs quite a bit more to raise them, but they taste better. Check out a 4-H program in any rural area. After the kids have their fall sale, there is alway a glut on the market for a few weeks at whatever local place does their butchering. Ask around at the county fair in the fall. I realize this paragraph is probably completely useless for city people with no room to store that much meat, or time make trips to fairs, but it does help.

This all being said, my grocery budget is $650 per month for 4 of us. We usually come pretty close to under that number. This includes all other household items (paper towels, soap, shampoo, etc), and does not include eating out. I still have room in their to spend $ on nice cheese, wine, and to satisfy my addiction to frozen blueberries (at $3 a bag, 3 - 5 bags a week).

[Alethea]

You're right, it does just taste better. I grew up in rural Michigan, we grew and raised everything. So, I really am feeling you there. Wish I could do that now. Metro doesn't allow chickens in the city limits. That thought really did make me smile. . . Got a ticket telling us to mow our lawn or they'd do it for $75. The grass was 7 in high because of the rain we've been having. I remember places of the farm that never got mowed. I wonder what the fine for chickens would be. . . I reckon we could call them "exotic pets".