Why Healthy Eating is Cheaper

There’s a common misconception that going on a diet means spending more money on food.  While I’ll agree that a bag of apples costs more than a bag of potato chips or a .99 hamburger at McDonald’s, if you’re a smart eater AND a smart shopper, eating healthy will save you money in the end.

In just a few weeks of dieting, I’m learning that as I grow thinner, my wallet is growing fatter.   Before starting to diet and focusing on getting healthy, going out to eat meant spending at least $7 unless I was cheating and bought the crap they put on the dollar menu at a fast food chain.  Now, the average meal out to eat costs me less than $5.

Before I was paying attention to what I was eating, I placed convenience above almost anything else when choosing foods.  So, of course, that meant that I ate fast food more often than I’d like to admit.  Pre-diet I would usually order a value meal at a place like Taco Bell or Wendy’s (usually meaning I was consuming almost 1,000 calories in one sitting).  Now, going to Wendy’s means ordering a small chili for under $2, and at Taco Bell, dinner means 3 fresco soft tacos for less than $3.  At my favorite local restaurant, El Campesino’s, I used to order a variety of items off the menu: a quesadilla and rice, a grilled chicken taco salad, etc, each totally about $6-$10 for the meal.  Now, I almost always order two soft chicken tacos, totalling just over $3.  And, of course, don’t forget the trick to saving on every single meal out: drink water…it’s free!  Ask for a lemon slice (also free) to add a little flavor.

Eating cheaper doesn’t end with eating out.  Eating at home is also cheaper if you’re a smart shopper.  The key to saving money when shopping for anything is to shop around for a bit until you get an idea of which stores has the cheapest prices overall.  Of course, when it comes to healthier foods like produce, high quality is very important.  After all, buying produce that is barely ripe or has gone bad will do nothing for your efforts to incorporate them into your daily routine and diet.

So, my tips for eating cheaper at home are:

1. During the summer, find a local farmer’s market and go as often as possible.  You can get amazing deals at a farmer’s market (like a flat of strawberries for $7.  That’s NINE cases of strawberries for $7, compared to 1.69 a piece on sale at Giant Eagle.  That’s a savings of $8.21, and that’s only comparing to Giant Eagle when the strawberries are on sale!). And as an added bonus, you’re helping local farmers! 
2. Plan ahead for meals, make a list, and stick to that list at the store.  Dieting or not, this is a trick that will always save you money.  It’s one thing to add to your list because you realize you forgot an item from a recipe, but don’t let yourself by this snack or that.  In the long run, the savings from cutting sugary and fatty snacks like potato chips from your grocery list will save you money and not having them in the house will make it easier to avoid them.
3. Pre-portion as much as possible.  I come home from the store and the first chance I get, I’m cleaning, cutting and portioning my fruits and vegetables.  I use my food scale to note how many calories are in each pre-portioned pack to make it easier to plan, and for the rest of the week I have convenient, highly accessible, healthy snacks.  My diet includes counting calories, so having portions with exact calorie counts makes my life a lot easier.  Plus, since I’m more likely to eat all of the fruits and vegetables I buy when they’re easy to grab, I’m wasting less food and once again saving money.

So there you have it.  Eating healthier is cheaper when you do it right.  And I’m sure that I’ve only touched on a couple of the ways that that is true.  Try incorporating just one of these tips into your routine and I’m sure you’ll find that you’re saving some money and saving on calories too. 

How do you save money while staying eating healthier?  Do you have any tips to add?

Starting a new….life

So as you all know, I started a new job a few months back.  Since then, life has been pretty hectic, sometimes I have to force myself to stop and take it all in. Monday was a big day for me; one of those days that made me stop and look around.  It was my first official day at my company (before I was a contractor/temp) and it was also the one year anniversary of my graduation from college.  When I left college, frustrated with the job I had at the time and even more frustrated with the job market, I told my boyfriend that I needed to have a job come May 14 of this year or else I’d want to go back to school sooner rather than later.  Thankfully, I waded through the torture known as job hunting and dealing with HR and landed a job that, with a few tweeks as I build seniority, I’ll really love.  I am happy to say that I love my job.

Monday made me really think about college and I realized how little my life now resembles my life in college.  My last year of college was rough.  I was horribly burnt out on material I was no longer interested in, making senioritis even worse.  Beyond that, I was dealing with the first big on-set of the PCOS symptoms I’d endured since I was eleven, resulting in almost uncontrollable weight gain.  These details are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what was different in my life just a year ago.  Looking back, I’m realizing I’m starting to live that life that I worked so hard to reach.

A year ago, I wouldn’t have hired a personal trainer, and I couldn’t have afforded one.  As part of this new life I’m living, I’m very proud to say that I’ve taken a big step towards fighting PCOS and I joined a gym where I workout with a personal trainer twice a week.  I love it and I’ve never felt better!  I have hope that I will one day reach my goal weight, and even more hope that the symptoms of PCOS will slowly melt away along with the pounds.  (Just with the loss of about 10 pounds I already see differences!)  Thanks to My Personal Trainer, I’m going to wear a bikini on vacation this year…comfortably!

I have a fresh outlook on life and I’m looking towards the future.  Growing up, I focused on what I wanted to do “one day”.   Now, instead of studying and worrying about grades, I’m looking for a house and planning trips to Vegas, Alaska, and Ireland.  I’m finally checking things off of my “one day” list.  Isn’t that what all the hard work in school and work is truly for? 

After all these years, I can finally say, I’m truly happy.  I’m so optimistic about the future that I find it hard to stress about it anymore.  And THAT is the life I’ve always dreamed of.