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Financial Journey Attain a Lean Body While Maintaining a Lean Budget
Have you ever
noticed that when winter turns to spring and spring to summer, you no longer can
hide behind the bulky sweatshirts and sweaters you enjoyed wearing in the cooler
weather? All of a sudden when the light weight summer blouse isn’t
buttoning easily, and the shorts aren’t zipping, you realize you’ve packed
on some pounds during the winter months. I can empathize with anyone in
this situation because I have experienced it. More...
I used to feel like I needed to buy a lot of
special diet snacks and meals to help me lose weight. This started to
wreak havoc on our grocery budget. Keep in mind, our grocery budget is
pretty low at $125 a month. But we are able to eat well, and eat healthy
and still stay within our spending plan. Let me share a few tips that I have
learned: • Check grocery flyers each week for the fruits and veggies on sale. Take full advantage of the sales. If you have a store, such as a super Wal-mart that will price match, do your shopping in one stop. Eating more fruits and veggies is a key to losing weight and staying healthy. • During the summer, I tend to lose my appetite when it’s hot. If you find this is true with you, then it presents a great opportunity to eat light meals that are low fat. Combine this with getting outdoors more, and the pounds will start falling off! • Buy lean meats when they are on sale. I stock our freezer with boneless chicken breasts when they drop to $1.77 - $1.88 per pound. I do the same with extra lean ground beef and very lean pork loin. These all can be fixed on the grill without heating up the house. • Studies have shown that calcium aids in losing weight. Stock up on skim milk, low fat cheeses, yogurts, and other calcium rich foods when they are on sale. I make my own yogurt – this is cost effective, non-fat, and healthy without any preservatives. • Think quality, not quantity. Prepare meals with special seasonings and consider the presentation of the meal. Using your special dinnerware for entrees and crystal for ice water will make the meal a more pleasant experience. Use candles, even if it is still light outside. The idea is to create an atmosphere where mealtime is special and visually pleasing. • Plan your menus (use our printable meal planners) ahead of time so you know exactly what you will eat for the day. Again, this doesn’t add anything to the cost of groceries. Once you have served your portions, put any extra food in the refrigerator so you aren’t tempted to return for a second helping. Eat slowly, putting your fork down between bites. Don’t take another bite until you have completely swallowed your food. If you are eating a sandwich, set it down between bites. We often tend to gobble our food. This is a self-defeating behavior for a couple of reasons. It takes about 20 minutes to feel full after you’ve eaten a meal and if you are rushing through the meal, you aren’t taking the time to really enjoy the food or the experience of eating. • Stop night time snacking. This will help you lose weight faster while saving money. If you need to snack, eat with a plan in mind. Use your snacks to get the fruits, veggies, or calcium you need. I have found it very difficult to go to sleep hungry because it is really disruptive to my sleep. I will eat a Balance bar which is high in protein and other nutrients. It satisfies my hunger and I can look forward to that as a snack rather than munching mindlessly all evening. • Take advantage of farmers markets during the summer months. You can often find great deals on produce. If you have the room to grow a garden, this will save a lot of money and the food will be organic and fresh. I don’t have a place for a garden because the deer and other wild life would enjoy it before I could harvest the crop! But I used to find real enjoyment in growing my own fruits and veggies. I decided the benefits of living in the forest are wonderful, so I compensate by finding other ways to save on produce. • If you live in an area where Freecycle.org is available, then you may have lots of opportunities to find free produce. I have noticed many people offering surplus apples, tomatoes, etc. The neat thing about Freecycle is that people are generally environmentally conscious and do not want to waste or throw away anything. You can also post a “wanted” note for the items you are interested in finding. This site is great for lots of things besides food. • If it is too warm to exercise outdoors, check out videos or DVD’s from the library. Yoga and Pilates are also excellent exercise routines and might be easier to do on days that are especially warm. Mix up your exercise routine, alternating days of aerobic exercise with days of flexibility and stretching activities. Try to exercise as early in the day as possible so you won’t find yourself making excuses as the thermometer rises. • If you just aren’t fitting into any of your clothes, you might want to check a local thrift shop to buy a few things. I prefer not to spend a lot of money on clothes when my weight has gone up, since I will just have to get rid of them once I’ve shed the pounds. • I have found that it helps to enlist the
support of a friend. We call each other every night to report how our day
went. Did we get our exercise accomplished? Did we make healthy
choices? We don’t judge each other, but the support has been invaluable,
and it doesn’t cost a cent. Now – adopt Nike’s®
motto, and “Just Do It!” * * *
Copyright © 2005 by Karen Kuebler. All rights reserved. Want more money-saving tips? Get a FREE Subscription to our monthly newsletter!
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