I am kinda responding to a comment in the weigh in and kinda giving you guys a kick in the pants (mainly ’cause I need one right now!) LOL
Can’t lose weight ’cause your on a budget? Oh, yes you can!!! Eating healthy meat IS expensive when you are used to buying the cheaper cuts. I have had to suck it up and spend a bit more to eat more fish - which is the MOST expensive of all and suppose to be what we are eating more of for health reasons. I have also adjusted my portions and the portions of my family to eat less, too. It stretches things better when you exercise portion control. I fill the plates in the kitchen and then serve it restaurant style and don’t allow for seconds in most cases.
My husband is a school teacher and I am a SAHM. That is about as on a budget as you could get without being unemployed or on minimum wage. I understand the budget thing and all veggies are NOT cheap. Potatoes are cheap but asparagus is not. Carrots are cheap but bell peppers (colored varieties) are not. South Beach, Sonoma and most of those other diets are quite expensive. I have put pen to paper and for our budget I really could not do one of those either. When you are on a tight budget to begin with it can be hard but where there is a will there is certainly a way.
I have basically cut out sugar, white flour or other enriched products, hydrogenated transfats, and anything with corn syrup and preservatives or highly saturated fatty foods - I NEVER fry anything anymore either. All it takes is a bit of reading labels. The bad stuff is basically more expensive anyway. We are paying too much for convenience foods when we could cook more of ourselves. Eating out is gonna kill us! Who knows what they are putting in your food they are not telling you…
Ah, but you say “I don’t cook”. Well then you should start. 
Cooking meats is not hard and neither is blanching, steaming or roasting veggies. Oh, now I hear you saying, “But Leann, you are in culinary school”. Yes, but I was just like you one time long ago when I first got married and maybe WORSE. I burned SPAM girls!!! LOL I could not cook my way out of a paper bag to save my life!!!!! My poor husband ate it and smiled and loved me through it all but I knew the truth. I SUCKED AT COOKING!!! So, I got a few basic cookbooks and learned that steaming, baking and broiling were much healthier than frying and boiling and I started to learn. It has been a long slow process over the past 18 years but now my hubby is thinner and I am thinner and our children are healthy and they ALL brag on my cooking now. Oh, by the way, Julia Child did not start cooking until she was 40… and she sucked, too… just sayin’… 
Back to the budgeting thing… I buy things that are good for you when they are on sale and plan my menus around those things. When we are at the end of the month I eat more dried goods like beans and brown rice, barley or oats. The whole grains are better for you anyway and are not that expensive when you buy them in their basic forms (not the premixed flavored oats and such which contain lots of junk anyway). Eating vegetarian a few meals a week has saved us quite a bit of money and certainly boosted our fiber and vitamin and mineral intake. Meats tend to be the most expensive things on the fancy diets.
Dr. Mehmet Oz recommends the list of foods to cut out of your diet that I listed above. He also recommends 30 minutes of walking a day, 30 minutes of strength training a week and 60 minutes of really-make-you-sweat exercise each week (can be spread over several exercise sessions or one long one a week). He also says we should be walking 10,000 steps or more a day. I got a pedometer and am going to be working on that goal to up my calorie burning.
To exercise all you need is a good pair of shoes, some grubbies to work out in (ok, so some of you need to be cute when you exercise… buy a cheap cute outfit at a place like Walmart) and then find a place to walk. I would also add that pedometer I mentioned and you can pick one up at a local Walmart or other store for just a few bucks. For weights you can use canned goods or your own body weight. You don’t need fancy equipment to work out. Skip the exercise bands, balls, bikes, treadmills, or other items if you don’t already own them and just walk. Walking is quite underrated and is the most natural exercise a body can get. It gets your heart pumping and builds muscle all at the same time. It is also a weight bearing exercise (which swimming and biking are not) and builds your bones against things like osteoperosis. When I have bad weather, which we have had the past few days, I just get on the dancepad with the kids or pull out a video tape of a routine I enjoy and move to that. If all else fails just put your favorite CD on and move to that for half an hour. My kids love when we just dance in the kitchen together! LOL
I must admit that I do not struggle like some with lots of weight issues but I assure you it is only because I have learned gradually over the years to make better decisions. Small gradual changes have made ALL the difference for me. Genetically I should be much heavier because my mom and grandmother are and were not small people. I have been 20 pounds heavier than I am now but started making small changes some years ago and it has gradually gone down. I sought help with the eating issues, I have kept food journals, I have added small bits of moving more each day and it has come down. I am still about 8 pounds from a healthy weight that my doctor would be proud of but it will come.
Losing too fast is not good either. Studies show that weight lost slowly and over a longer period of time stays off longterm more than weight lost quickly and drastically. You should not be losing more than 2 pounds a week. Any more than that and you are losing muscle. You want muscle - you NEED muscle! That is what burns the calories. More muscle equals more burn. Starting a diet is maybe the only exception to the 2 pound rule. Sometimes you will lose a lot of water weight right up front but when you get past the first two weeks or so you should slow down. I know 2 pounds does not seem like much but if you do that for a month you have lost 8 pounds and in 2 months 16 pounds and by 6 months you have lost a whopping 48 pounds!!! Just start making small changes and you will feel great and it WILL show…
*sigh*
All I meant is that we spent less on food now than we used to when you compare to what we spent before on garbage and eating out. I do think that many people - not you of course- are not factoring what they spend on “bad” food when they are looking at the cost of “good” food. After all, even a good cut of beef or some salmon with a side of asparagus is way cheaper at home than the same meal at the Outback. Know what I mean?
Comment by blestwithsons — January 22, 2007 @ 2:53 pm
Methinks you did not read the whole post my dearie… I was not slamming you but merely adding a perspective from someone who is on a pretty tight budget along with a bit of my own story and some tough love to boot.
You know I luvs ya!!!
(where is that heart emoticon when you need it?) LOL
Comment by Leann — January 22, 2007 @ 3:00 pm
Well, I was thinking I was going to be unable to really start dieting well until Feb. (schoolteacher’s usually have a tough January because of the way they get paid over Christmas holidays) but I was surprised at the healthy foods I could get our family on a tight budget this month. It wasn’t bad at all!
Granted we aren’t eating steak this month, but cutting out picking up fast food once or twice a week really helps. And things like Jello and pudding are cheaper than Blue Bell ice cream or oreos!! Canned veggies are quite cheap too!!
Comment by Bethany — January 22, 2007 @ 3:42 pm
Great post, Leann.
I now spend more on fresh produce than I ever used to, but since we very rarely ever have things like snack crackers, chips, or fancy ice creams (I’m a snob) in the house now, the big budgetary picture is no different.
Comment by lady laura — January 22, 2007 @ 4:04 pm
Very informative post, Leann. I’d like to read more posts about approaching a healthier diet but from the budget side.
Comment by Jamie — January 22, 2007 @ 4:40 pm
Thanks for the encouraging kick in the backside. I did go to the grocery store and focus on the healthier choices last night. I’m used to cooking a lot of casseroles because you can strech the meat out much further and because it’s what I grew up on. I think we will actually be fuller eating portions of quality meat with veggies. Oh, and I only spent about $15 dollars more than I normally budget (now to figure out where to take that out of the budget!). We rarely eat out so I know we won’t be cutting back in that area.
Part of my concern is that my husband will be unhappy with the changes I am making. He has lots of food issues that he is not ready to deal with right now. I have to have bread, peanut butter and milk in the house at all times otherwise he gets very anxious - really! I’ll update you next week on how the family deals with the changes.
Thanks again for the support.
Comment by D'Aun — January 23, 2007 @ 9:26 am
Thanks ladies!
Hi Jamie… *waves to my beautiful girlfriend in FL*
I’ll post some more on my blog about this at some point for ya…
D’Aun, we were a casserole family and still do some things in casserole style. I have had to alter the recipes for my hubby ’cause he cannot have the salt in canned foods anymore so creamed soups are out but casseroles are cheaper, that is for sure. I am the peanut butter hound in my house… LOL that is funny about your hubby! I am looking forward to your update on all the changes. I will be praying all are willing to make the necessary changes to support you and to improve the health of the family as well. (((HUG))) Remember to look for things on sale in the local circulars that come in the mail and buy at a discount whenever you can.
Comment by Leann — January 24, 2007 @ 10:46 am