Losing weight advice on budget
 

First off, I've been an athlete my entire life. Been a serious tennis player since I was about 8. Went to college on a full ride tennis scholarship, also ran cross country all through high school. So I know how to excersise both in and out of the gym properly. The problem is I have allways been in outstanding shape and never had to worry about weight loss, so I am learning here. I quit tennis out of a first rate case of burnt out, a term wich any of you hardcore competitive long term athletes know.

That was 4 years ago and I havent done a damn thing since. Now I'm not to overweight but far more than I would like to be; maybe 35lbs. Running daily isn't a problem now that my legs are back into the swing of things. Problem is I cannot get any weight to come off. The reason is my diet.

My question is this. How can a poor college student, who shoppes for a months worth of food at a time with his roomate eat healthy. With not enough money to eat fresh, and buying all frozen crap, and a roomate that prefers the least healthy food items possible, how can I afford to change my diet back to an incling of something that is respectable and effecient in my weight loss endeavors?

thx in advance

Rice, rice, gravy. OK the Weird Al lyric aside, when I made rice a staple of my diet I found myself getting full quicker and without a whole buncha shit in it. Granted, rice isn't very nutritious. Buying all frozen crap as you put it ain't necessarily a bad thing, just buy the right frozen crap. No, I'm not talking about Lean Cuisine, I'm talking about frozen vegetables and maybe some chicken. A Costco/Sam's Club member sounds like it would be beneficial to you.

I've lost over 40 lbs and I did it by eating low/no carbs, high proteins, no diet pop. Eating every couple of hours..small meals helps also. You don't need to spend alot of money just watch what you eat. I cut sugar almost completely out of my diet. I for medical reasons can't have it. And if you can walk 30 mins/day or even every other day...that will work.

get a new roommate!!!!

seriously, just make sure you're creating a caloric deficit. even if you're not eating super healthy foods, just make sure you're body is using up more calories than your eating up. If you're the average 2,000 calories a day, try going to to 1,500 or even 1,000.

It's imperative that you combine your diet with exercise though, otherwise your body will start digesting your muscle mass for energy instead of your fat.

That works for just losing weight but low/no carbs is horrible for your body if you are excersize intensive, which at the moment I am so not cutting good carbs, just fat and sugar.

How do you know exactly how many calories your taking in and putting out. Do I need to get that technical with it, like a calorie burn watch or something so I know how effective my work outs are?

Also, my friend at work is all over my case about using these fat burning shakes and what not before I work out. Ive never used em before..allways just ran my ass off and trained 5/6 days a week, but now im in a different place are they worth the money?

thx for the advice so far everyone =)

i found tracking what I eat worked for me. There's software that you can use to enter the amount and type of food you eat for each meal to let you know when you've eaten too much. The one I use is balance log, which came on my clie and isn't made anymore. It lets me put in my weight, weight goals, exercise amount, etc. and it tells me what my target intake is. I track my intake and exercise and it is reasonably accurate. it works well long term as I have a better idea of the nutrients in food and the amount I should eat. It lets you track things like protein, carbs, vitamins, etc. so you can adjust what you're eating to get the nutrients you need each day. Going on a crash diet or taking supplements is foolish because you will go back to your original eating patterns. You need a diet that will work for the rest of your life, not something that will make your weight yo-yo.

Live in a place for room and board. If you add the other living costs, they are usually as cheap as living in a normal aparment. Room and board contains a family who cook dinner for you every day (or depends what the signing contract agrees). So at minimum you will have one decent meal and then you just need to worry about breakfast and lunch to eat healthy.

Single people foods:

PBJ

Breakfast cereal

Frozen vegetables

Deli meat

you dont really need to count all your calories, just get a general idea of how much you take in throughout the day.

What works for me is if I'm really dying to cheat and having something sweet like chocolate cake, I cut out what I'd normally eat, and then I cut the serving in half.

fat loss shakes and stuff- i've no real experience with them, let me know how it works for you. I have read that they are basically stimulants which suppress your appetite, therefore you feel less hungry to eat, and thats how they make you lose weight.

You can train yourself not to like junk food.

I did.

I eat lima beans out of the can now.

Fast food nearly causes vomit-fits.

Invest in high-fiber foods. They are more filling than others. When I buy bread, I buy the high-fiber Kroger-brand bread. 100 Calories and 4g Fiber per slice combined with Natural Peanut butter, and you can make a very healthy PB&J.
Crompsin mentioned some good ideas. Deli sandwiches are another great choice as you can get lean fat-free meat for really cheap. just use mustard instead of mayonaisse.


I also hear crack cocaine is pretty cheap and will help eliminate food cravings. Food for thought.

Eat 1 tin of tuna and 1 apple a day, thats what Christian Bale did :

http://www.moviecitynews.com/reviews...can_psycho.jpg

to this :

http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/i...achinist_l.jpg

But yeah a terrible idea, I'm a student and I mainly eat, rice, tuna, chicken breast 3 times a week, milk every morning, 5 veg/fruit a day thing and drink plenty of water. Though I never seem to put on a lot of weight no matter what I eat. However when I came to China, I lost about 2-3 cm on my waist in a month or so, just from the rice diet and well not eating much generally since the food was weird at first. I think snacking is the biggest weight gain, just cut any snacking out, the only time I ever gained a lot was my first year of uni, didn't have much to do, so snacked a lot.

I hate the whole counting calories thing, who wants to spend their life monitoring every thing. Just be sensible, don't snack, eat the right selection of basic good food and keep up with routine exercise.

It really depends on what you snack. If you snack healthy foods and do this consistently, it is supposed to make your metabolism always better. It is better than having a few large meals one day because your metabolism goes up down up down.

Yeah I should of re-phrased it to unhealthy snacking. It is a good idea to snack healthily so that when you get to your main meal you don't overeat aswell. If I feel hungry between meals, I usually eat fruit.

rice and beans are cheap and together make a complete protien. if you go vegetarian, which i know can be difficult, you will lose weight guaranteed. no matter what, eat less red meat, less fried foods, don't drink soda and cut down on juice, which is full of sugar. drink only water, tea or black coffee with no sugar. if plain water is not enough, water with a small splash of cranberry juice in it, adds sweetness and helps the urinary tract. or water with a small splash of pomegranite juice. this also makes the bottle of juice last a month, saving cash. hard boiled eggs, not fried. a few almonds ever few hours, throughout the day. when you run, run in the morning, before breakfast, and mix in sprints with long runs to jack up the metabolism. do weight training, or at least push ups. muscle helps burn fat.

Stop sharing food with your roomate, if they don't have the same concerns and interests, you will not lose weight.

Make certain you eat breakfast too. It's imperative. Buy a quart of yogurt (low fat) and something crunchy like granola or cereal, it's great.

Make gigantic batches of home-made veggie soup from scratch. Fresh veggies are cheap. Add pasta to make it more filling. Chicken meat is even better. pm me if you need a recipie, I use Weight Watchers (you can probably google it easily, as well as others).

I exercize a lot, and try to incorporate a lot of low-fat protein. Low-fat refried beans and low fat cheese burritos, with a handful of chicken, salad from a bag, cheap salsa = good cheap eats.

I've lost 40 pounds by cutting sugar from my diet, as well as most fats (except for healthy fats). I cut out the sugar progressively--eliminating high fructose corn syrup first, then moving on to sources of white sugar. Generally, the only source of sugar in my diet is from fruit. Look for hidden sources of sugar in your diet. They sneak it in EVERYWHERE these days. I still eat what people would think of as traditionally sugary things--but I just eat the no-sugar-added or sugar-free version, so I can still have jam and ice cream and other treats.

Whole grains, whole grains, whole grains! Milton's Bread is the best. It's healthy and packed with flax seeds and fiber. Yummy! If you buy all your groceries once a month, buy two loaves--one for the cupboard, one for the freezer. We also like Nature's Path Optimum Slim cereal--it's loaded with fiber--half of your daily requirement in one serving, and it doesn't taste like cardboard. We also really like Nature's Path oatmeal.

Just replacing all of the white flour/white grain you eat with whole grains like whole wheat or brown rice or whole wheat pasta will help you lose weight. My SO has only focused on increasing his fiber intake and has lost about 20 lbs.

And you can't lose weight without eating fresh fruits and vegetables--sorry. You can substitute frozen veggies where you can, but it still isn't going to have as much of a nutritional punch as fresh. You can get a whole week's worth of fresh veggies and fruits for cheap if you're willing to look. I spent $5 yesterday on a ginormous carton of blueberries. They make a great healthful snack--I combine them with Dannon Light'n'Fit blueberry yogurt or with the Optimum Slim cereal. Sneak fruits and veggies in wherever you can, and eat a salad (really recommend those Salad Spritzers for dressing) or veggie soup for snacks or before meals to fill you up on something healthful.

And Clif Bars are your friend, as are other meal replacements. In fact, Women's Health magazine this month had a great article on meal replacements. I carry Clif Bars with me wherever I go, so that when I need a snack, or I feel my blood sugar getting a little low, I have something on hand that's good for me to eat. Plus, the Clif Bars are a little sweet (one of my few exceptions to no sugar), so they're like a treat. If you buy them by the box, Clif Bars are not that expensive.

Some cheap, healthy meals:

Pasta Primavera (use a frozen spring veggie mix, canned spaghetti sauce with low sugar, and whole-wheat pasta)
Healthy Peanut Butter and Jelly (Milton's Bread, natural PB, sugar-free jam or simply fruit jam).
Stir-Fry (frozen veggies, chicken, brown rice, soy sauce)
Any veggie soup recipe (fresh veggies are cheap)
Oatmeal (choose a low-sugar kind)
Loaded Veggie Pitas (whole-wheat pitas, fresh veggies/bagged salad, spritz of dressing or mustard)

Get plenty of fruits, veggies, and exercise. All of those things are cheap.

Actually, frozen vegetables/fruit are just as good if not better than fresh (they are frozen fresh and keep that way).

Diet is not enough. Regular exercise is an essential component for weight loss.

There aren't words to describe how proud I am!! Well done. Truly, well done.

Things like brown rice and dried beans and lentils are dirt cheap when you buy the huge 10lb bags. Canned beans are okay, but are much higher in sodium than the dried ones, and are much more expensive pound for pound. It takes a little planning to soak beans overnight so that you can use them the next day, but it's worth it if you're serious about controlling what you're eating. Oh yeah, and you don't have to soak lentils, since they're so tiny.
If you have the space, you might want to try starting a little herb garden as well. A few leaves of freshly-picked basil add so much to a tomato sauce, and if you buy it from the grocery store, not only are you paying too much, but chances are you're not going to use the whole bunch before it goes bad.
You don't have to go completely vegetarian, but keep in mind that meat is expensive as hell and there are other ways to get your protein.

Frozen edamame makes an excellent snack.
Organic whole-grain cereals (generic is cheaper).
I grab Kashi bars (two for a dollar) at SuperTarget and they make me feel full.
Frozen Kashi meals are really, really filling.
Beans, frozen fruit, whole-grain bulk rice, actually any whole-grain in bulk is relatively cheap and frequently easy to prepare. Quinoa, lentils, beans, amaranth flour, etc. Throw in a few canned, organic tomatoes or whatnot. Also, soup rocks. I can eat a container of the Healthy Choice soups for around 200 calories. THey're not the best, but there's no MSG, low sodium, etc. It's really hard. I lost 95 lbs on soup, Lean Cuisines, and cutting out bread and pasta. I added it back in after I was at my target weight and continued with the gym. Good luck.

Yes, but fresh fruits and vegetables make easy and filling snacks. The trick is to just prepare them how you want them once you get them home from the store. I buy broccoli crowns, carrots, and cucumbers and cut them up and put them in small containers in my fridge to snack on when I feel the need. Plus, I usually keep sliced mushrooms on hand and fresh tomatoes so I can make a really awesome salad really quickly, or stuff a pita with veggies and lean turkey breast to make a quick healthy sandwich (mm hummus).

We usually go to the farmer's market--I can spend about $20 there and get all of the fresh vegetables we need for the week, plus it's all organic and locally grown. Then, when I get home, I spend about half an hour washing and cutting vegetables/fruit. Buying what's in season means cheaper/fresher vegetables/fruit. Also, we buy some of our fruits and vegetables at Costco (some salad mixes, avocados, potatoes, and onions) so that we always have some things on hand, especially those we use larger quantities of.

The key to eating healthier is to only buy healthy foods--if you don't buy junk food, you don't eat it.

Frozen foods are great for convenience, and yes, they are healthy if you shop wisely. We always keep some Lean Cuisines, veggie burgers, and veggie sausage patties in our freezer, as well as frozen vegetable mix for curries and stir-fry. But there are a lot of unhealthy frozen options out there--it's best to stick to basics, and beware of anything with a creamy sauce or added sodium.

And jorgelito, you are also right that exercise is essential. It doesn't have to be any particular kind, or any kind of plan at first--just GET MOVING. That's it. Walk. Bike. Park farther away than you normally would. Take the stairs. Whatever--just MOVE. Then, once you figure out some of the things you like to do, like bike, or do yoga, or exercise in a gym--you can figure out a plan to get you in the habit of doing those things in your life. But I think the most important habit to establish first is simply one of more movement--walking more often, especially.

Yeah, what onesnowyowl said is good.

Generally speaking, try to pick food that is closest to its most natural form (i.e. foods as grown). In this form, it tends to be healthier and less expensive. If what you're buying is in a box and would require a recipe to make, you're likely paying way more than it would cost if you did it yourself.

I think what is at issue is that we tend to look at food and its preparation as a chore. It shouldn't be this way. Food should be a way of life, something we look forward to engaging with.

One thing some people don't realize is the other health benefit of food: Preparing and cooking food burns anywhere from 150 to 200 calories an hour. That is equivalent to a light 20-minute jog.

People who spend the time to prepare food tend to be the better for it, especially if it's kept simple. I know people are busy and perhaps tired, but if approached the right way, food preparation can be stress-relieving and rewarding. It also allows us to know what we're putting into our bodies and gives us control over quality and content. As an example, I just whipped up an awesome (and fully loaded!) spinach salad today:

• Spinach (plate load)
• Onion (1 slice)
• Tomato (1, wedged)
• Carrots (2, sliced)
• Tofu slices (approx 8 oz.)
• Feta cheese (approx 2 oz.)
• Balsamic vinegar (drizzled)
• Olive oil (drizzled)

Delicious. I would guess the same thing would have cost $7-9 dollars at a restaurant or $4-6 as a prepared item at a grocery store deli. What took me all of 5 minutes to prepare cost me a fraction of that. It's almost ridiculous.

When I was a student - I was a vegie. And... I ate a lot of lentils.

Mind you also I ate chocolate, ice-creams and pretty much anything I could get my hands on.

Don't overlook lentils though.... You can boil them until they soft (but still have a bit of 'chew' left). Then... you can eat them cold, or hot, with just a touch of salad dressing. You can cook a 3day supply and simply pull them out to snack on while studying.

I'm suggesting these as an alternative to rice. Obviously you still need to get some vegies and probably some extra protein. Anyways... lentils are filling and give the mouth something to do. I'm talking the green/grey variety.

Oh yeah... There tends to be one or two small tiny stones in each bag. Watch out... they're cleverly concealed and almost break your teeth when you find them. : (

the main thing with a diet is to wrap your mind around the fact that you're gonna spend some time hungry. it's a pain in the ass and it sucks, but when you come out the other side, you'll look and feel better.

everybody has to find their own way to get through this. i'm sure overall some diets are better than others, but if you personally can't handle it psychologically, then you won't stick to it.

i figured out my diet...

a protein bar for breakfast

a big smoothie for lunch (all fruit, no yogurt)

and anything i goddamn want for dinner. i try to stay reasonable but some days are just taco bell days. but it doesn't matter because im basically eating a third of what my daily intake used to be :D

i'm 2 weeks in now and already can tell my clothes are fitting better.

you'll be fine once you flick the switch in your head.

It's interesting that you should recommend your heaviest meal at the end of the day; you are being a contrarian here.

Please tell me you used to eat at least 3000 calories a day then.

If you are eating any fewer than 1200 calories a day, I hope you aren't planning on going on like this for much longer. (This applies to just about any adult.)

i know dieting isn't as effective when dinner is the heaviest meal... but i also stay up late, so i don't go to bed on a full stomach. at the same time, i don't have a hard time falling asleep because of a grumbling gut when i do go to bed like i did when i tried it the "right" way chronologically. my point remains that i'm still on a diet and i'm still losing weight and waist, and i'm doing something thats working for me w/out harming my health.

next up, i have no idea how many calories i used to eat a day, but i'm pretty sure the smoothie i have for lunch or protein bar for dinner is a LOT less... even going as far as a third, considering lunch used to be chicken tenders and potato salad.

as for daily calorie intake, again i'm not a nutritionist, but is a big smoothie, a protein bar, and a real dinner really that bad a diet? i'm already feeling a lot better and have more energy than i did a week ago.

high_jinx, there are a variety of programs out there to find out your caloric intake, but even if you are consuming 1000 calories via eating Taco Bell, you're only consuming about 1600 calories a day, meaning the majority of your calorie intake for the day is coming from calorie-dense, high fat food, and that isn't good for you.

When I first started changing my ways nutritionally, I gave myself Saturdays off, and sometimes still do.

Ideally, only one of your meals should be a meal replacement like a smoothie or protein bar.

Breakfast:
whole grain
fruit
dairy
(or meal replacement)

Lunch:
whole grain
vegetable (2 or more servings)
protein
(or meal replacement)

Snack:
Whole grain
and/or
fruit/vegetable

Dinner:
Protein
Vegetables (2x)

My "ideal" day--something I still struggle to hit, though usually these days it's because I'm too busy to eat:

Breakfast:
3/4 cup Optimum Slim cereal OR English muffin with peanut butter OR whole wheat toast OR 1 serving Nature's Path Optimum Power oatmeal
1/2 cup milk
orange juice or 1 piece of fruit
coffee

Lunch:
Loaded with veggies turkey sandwich on whole wheat with mustard AND/OR vegetable soup AND/OR salad loaded with extra veggies AND/OR a slice of pizza (wheat with veggies). These options are all available from local eateries, as well.

Snack:
either a Clif Bar or a Jamba Juice Protein Workout smoothie if I'm on the run, otherwise whole-wheat crackers and a banana or berries, sometimes a yogurt

Dinner:
Anything from the lunch list OR a Lean Cuisine OR whatever vegetarian dish my SO has come up with (usually whole-grains-vegetable oriented)

Another point: By only eating protein in the morning you're not doing your system any good. Your blood sugar is low in the morning, which means that there is no glucose for your cells to use to fuel themselves, and they have to start using their reserve: glycogen from the liver. You do need to eat some kind of carbohydrate.

I should write a diet book...the title would be "Eat More Fiber and Move Your Ass"...really, that's all it takes.

onesnowyowl, by the look of it, what you have here is a good long-term menu plan.

high_jinx, what you listed I would only consider a short-term plan--as in two or three weeks tops to drop a few pounds. It might be a good launch point for a new diet program, but if you want sustained results and health, you should seriously consider onesnowyowl's plan or something similar. Your "breakfast" and "lunch" aren't actually meals. It's because there's no balance. Eating only one complete meal a day isn't a long-term healthful practice.

ok... since you put coffee in there i can maybe deal with something like that XD

jk... but seriously thx for an outline, i don't pretend to know a ton about this stuff and maybe can make adjustments now that i got the ball rolling (starting's the hard part for me.)

one problem i have is that i truly dislike a lot of veggies... there's only 4 or 6 or so that i can actually enjoy when i eat them, and that's cooked so they end up being less nutritious anyway. i'll have to replace some of the veggie options with rice and fish and just keep eating my veggies every other way i can.

edit: sorry to jack the thread. my point remains though about wrapping your mind around it when you start and finding something that works for you and is still an improvement.

Well, I'm not saying you can't eat Taco Bell--I still run for the Border occasionally, but I usually choose to eat just a bean burrito, which is 350 calories and 9 grams of fat, with 8g of fiber and plenty of other nutrients. Also, a lot of items at Taco Bell can be ordered "fresco-style" with fiesta salsa instead of cheese or sour cream, which cuts fat. Plus, I don't drink regular soda when I do eat out. I drink diet. That eliminates a lot of empty calories.

You can eat out, you just have to make smart choices when you do.