Losing Weight on a Budget

[rhyeck]

I work out using $13.77 exercise bands from Walmart, a $20.00 beginners yoga video and wear a pedometer (10,000 steps a day). I also use the website sparkpeople.com (keeps track of calories, great exercise videos, etc.). I attended a nutrition class to learn how my body uses food as energy. Never ever eat LESS than 1,200 calories a day (your body will think it is starving and retain the fat on your body). Eat lots of fruits, high fiber foods, no oils/butter and tons of fresh vegies. I lost 22 lbs in 4 months on a VERY tight budget. So far I've been able to keep the weight off for 4 months (even after 2 weeks at Disney World)!!

 

[ougrad86]

I've lost 55 lbs on Weight Watchers Online (size 22 to size 12!). My motivation was to keep up with DS on our trip, and my willpwer went throught the roof. Became an inspiration for some people in the office, which really made me feel good. I went off of WW for our trip to Disney, and have not restarted, but have not gone off the deep end. I plan to start again after the holidays, have about 10 more pounds to go.
Due to knee problems, I did not exercise. Got my knees taken care of in the weeks before our trip, so do not have problems walking (it worked great for our week in WDW). Have Wii Fit, so am going to pull that out and try it. Will have to skip any hi-impact, not sure if it will give me grief for that, but still need to take it easy on the joints.
I have determined that I will keep it off this time, for my health if nothing else. But I feel so much better and healthier that I think I can keep myself in line.

 

[crazelion]

Cheap and free walk. That is what doing.

WII Fit and Just Dance. Man Just Dance give workout.

 

[StephMK]

I'm working on that too. I did WW through work last winter & lost 15 but I want to lose some more before summer. You can look at the ww forums w/o paying if you want to read about others & get recipe ideas. Hungry-girl.com is another good site.

I got 2 recommendations for Jillian's 30 Day Shred DVD & used it the other day. There are 3 levels & circuits so the exercises change frequently. It was $10 at Target & they are on sale this week. The wii fit is fun & we are trying Jillian's 2009 wii workout too. DD & I are making a pact to exercise & do them together.

 

[luv2nascar]

I don't eat prepackaged food so that saves me. I homecook mostly everything. Since we are eating less I can afford better cuts of meat.
Farmer's market (local produce) is so much cheaper. I cut coupons for health and beauty and cleaning supplies. Another big thing I do is make what is on sale. Weekly menu is based around sales alot of the time.

 

[dakcp2001]

Try the library for workout dvds and videos, try before you buy! I highly recommend the Firm videos, they are hard but do the trick!

There are a lot of great websites for WW friendly websites, some of my fav recipes are Deep Dish Pizza Casserole, cola chicken, & stove top meatloaf made in muffin pans. They make a large amount so you have leftovers for lunches all week.

Cola Chicken is easy
1 can diet coke - must be diet
1 jar salsa (i use medium)
3 or 4 chicken breasts (I use boneless)

in a saucepan dump in chicken, salsa & diet coke, simmer on medium until chicken is cooked through then turn up the heat so the liquid cooks down into a thicker sauce. Serve over whole wheat spagetti, egg noodles, or brown rice. It makes like a BBQ type sauce. Salsa = no points, diet coke= no points, just count poinst per ounce of chicken and then waht you servie it over.


Deep Dish Pizza Casserole

1 pound ground round ( i use 93 or 95% lean)
1 15 ounce can chunky Italian-style tomato sauce
cooking spray
1 10 ounce can refrigerated pizza crust dough
6 1 ounce slices part-skim mozzarelly cheese -- divided
veggies to top pizza if desired

Cook meat in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until
browned, stirring until it crumbles. Drain, if necessary and return to
skillet. Add tomato sauce, and cook until heated. While meat cooks,
coat a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish. Unroll pizza crust dough, and
press into bottom and halfway up sides of baking dish. Line bottom
of pizza crust with 3 slices mozzarella cheese. Top with meat
mixture. Bake, uncovered at 425 for 12 minutes. Top with remaining
3 cheese slices, and bake 5 additional minutes or until crust is
browned and cheese melts.
Cool 5 minutes before serving.
--------------------------------------
Stove Top Meatloaf

2 pounds of 96% lean ground beef (24 points)

1 package Stove Top Stuffing - I use the Low Sodium Chicken flavor (12 points)

1/2 cup eggbeaters (2 points)

1 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together and add a bit of ketchup and dijon mustard (optional). Divide into 2 loaves, coat with a thin layer of ketchup or barbeque sauce and bake for 45 minutes or more until meat is no longer pink.
I top mine with brown gravy instead of ketchup, and I make mine in muffin tins, cooks quicker and I can freeze individuals for easy point counting lunches

 

[KKB]

Fruits & veggies (fresh, frozen or canned), lean meats, low fat dairy, fiber-rich grains. Watch your sales; not many coupons for these items, but use them when you can.
I watch for sales on chicken (whole or breasts), lean burger, talapia. There have been alot of deals on dairy products lately--I stock up as much as I can w/ regards to expiration dates. I buy my produce based on the sales. Target has whole wheat pasta for $1/box. Personally I don't eat many carbs. And eggs are one of the most economical foods around.
Not buying junk, convenience foods & eating out...you could spend quite a bit less!

Breakfast: eggs & cottage cheese
Lunch: carrots/celery, fruit, yogurt, leftover protein
Dinner: i.e. chicken breast or talapia, salad, veggies, small serving of pasta or potato, veggies

Cheapest workouts--walking and an inexpensive set of hand weights (tho I love the tip that you can use just your own body weight--tho push ups are often difficult initially for women). Fit TV is free; check thrift stores for exercise videos; buy Shape or Fitness magazines for excellent exercise routines--or hit your library for same magazines plus books

I start Farrell's extreme body shaping in 2 wks...NOT cheap...but I am already getting my mindset. I know WHAT to do & HOW to do it...decided an investment in me for accountability was necessary (DH might get A BIT pissy if I blow off these classes!) It follows Body for Life somewhat...cardio 3x/wk (kickboxing here), weights 3x/wk.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

I make a homemade apple brown sugar oatmeal for breakfast. It is 6 points total and it makes quite a bit. You could easily split it into two breakfasts and add another component to your breakfast that you enjoy. It takes a little bit longer than the packages, but it is wonderful!

In a small saucepan add one teaspoon of lemon juice, one small/medium apple cored, peeled, and cubed, 2 tsp's cinnamon. Put on low heat and let sit while you start the oats..

In a medium sauce pan add 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup 1%milk and a shake of salt. Put on medium high heat and bring to a low boil. Once boil begins, add oats and change to a medium heat. Stir often.

Go back to the apple and mash with a potato masher til chunky. Turn off heat and put 2 tsps brown sugar on top. Let it melt by itself.

Finish up oatmeal til the consistancy that you prefer. (Mine takes about 7 minutes). Turn off heat, stir in apples.

Enjoy.

This is a great breakfast on a cold morning with a cup of coffee. It sustains me all the way til lunch. I don't feel a sugar spike with it at all. You could skip the milk and add all water or take the brown sugar out if you don't like your oatmeal sweet.


As for exercise, I walk and when possible use the pool at the Y. Water aerobics work well for me and they have free classes provided throughout the year.

If you want more recipes, just let me know.

 

[chrismiss56]

Try the library for workout dvds and videos, try before you buy! I highly recommend the Firm videos, they are hard but do the trick!

There are a lot of great websites for WW friendly websites, some of my fav recipes are Deep Dish Pizza Casserole, cola chicken, & stove top meatloaf made in muffin pans. They make a large amount so you have leftovers for lunches all week.

Cola Chicken is easy
1 can diet coke - must be diet
1 jar salsa (i use medium)
3 or 4 chicken breasts (I use boneless)

in a saucepan dump in chicken, salsa & diet coke, simmer on medium until chicken is cooked through then turn up the heat so the liquid cooks down into a thicker sauce. Serve over whole wheat spagetti, egg noodles, or brown rice. It makes like a BBQ type sauce. Salsa = no points, diet coke= no points, just count poinst per ounce of chicken and then waht you servie it over.


Deep Dish Pizza Casserole

1 pound ground round ( i use 93 or 95% lean)
1 15 ounce can chunky Italian-style tomato sauce
cooking spray
1 10 ounce can refrigerated pizza crust dough
6 1 ounce slices part-skim mozzarelly cheese -- divided
veggies to top pizza if desired

Cook meat in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until
browned, stirring until it crumbles. Drain, if necessary and return to
skillet. Add tomato sauce, and cook until heated. While meat cooks,
coat a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish. Unroll pizza crust dough, and
press into bottom and halfway up sides of baking dish. Line bottom
of pizza crust with 3 slices mozzarella cheese. Top with meat
mixture. Bake, uncovered at 425 for 12 minutes. Top with remaining
3 cheese slices, and bake 5 additional minutes or until crust is
browned and cheese melts.
Cool 5 minutes before serving.
--------------------------------------
Stove Top Meatloaf

2 pounds of 96% lean ground beef (24 points)

1 package Stove Top Stuffing - I use the Low Sodium Chicken flavor (12 points)

1/2 cup eggbeaters (2 points)

1 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together and add a bit of ketchup and dijon mustard (optional). Divide into 2 loaves, coat with a thin layer of ketchup or barbeque sauce and bake for 45 minutes or more until meat is no longer pink.
I top mine with brown gravy instead of ketchup, and I make mine in muffin tins, cooks quicker and I can freeze individuals for easy point counting lunches

What WW Friendly websites do you use?

Thanks!!

Have a Magical Disney Day!!

 

[palavra]

Another vote for Sparkpeople. They have a great place where you can input all your day's food and it will calculate your calorie intake. It was really motivating to see just how many calories I was eating in a day. They also have very easy and tasty eating plans to get you started. Yes, the food is more expensive, but the health benefits are worth it. Oh, and if you have a co-op in your area, fruits and vegetable prices are very reasonable.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Actually, healthy eating can be less expensive if you avoid processed foods. When my cholesterol was high, my doctor recommended the Mediterrerean Diet. There are several websites that explain it. Basically, you eat lean meats, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts and low-fat dairy products. Avoid all "white" foods - no white pasta, white rice, white flour, white potatoes, etc. You can have whole grain pasta, brown rice and most anything made with 100% whole wheat flour (no whole wheat blends). I added a few things like light salad dressings, Splenda and light mayo to make it more palatable. I stuck to it very carefully and lost 25 pounds in about 3 months.

 

[dakcp2001]

What WW Friendly websites do you use?

Thanks!!

Have a Magical Disney Day!!

www.heathdiscoverydotnet
click on message boards


and the BEST website is www.dwlzdotcom, I use the resteraunt info often

I typed out the dotcom because I think it will block it on my post if I type .com?

 

[DisneyFan620]

we cut out all meat products, and stick to beans, lentils, tempeh, eggs, yogurt, skim milk, and protein powder for our protein.

we buy TONS of fresh or frozen veggies (depending on what is in season) and eat a plant based diet.

Our grocery bill is under $100 a week, for the two of us. Most of the time it's around $60 a week.

We exercise at least 30 min a day, most days of the week. Running=skinny (thank you jillian michaels!).

Losing weight, now that I'm on the other side of it, is a journey, but not that difficult to do. Drink tons of water (that's almost free!), and cut out the poison (aka the boxed 'diet' crackers, fat free chips, sugar free pudding death cups, you know the drill). Eat WHOLE, fresh foods and it's really not that expensive, and your metabolism will thank you. So will your scale!!!

 

[Our 2 Princesses]

we cut out all meat products, and stick to beans, lentils, tempeh, eggs, yogurt, skim milk, and protein powder for our protein.

we buy TONS of fresh or frozen veggies (depending on what is in season) and eat a plant based diet.

Our grocery bill is under $100 a week, for the two of us. Most of the time it's around $60 a week.

We exercise at least 30 min a day, most days of the week. Running=skinny (thank you jillian michaels!).

Losing weight, now that I'm on the other side of it, is a journey, but not that difficult to do. Drink tons of water (that's almost free!), and cut out the poison (aka the boxed 'diet' crackers, fat free chips, sugar free pudding death cups, you know the drill). Eat WHOLE, fresh foods and it's really not that expensive, and your metabolism will thank you. So will your scale!!!

I am ready to start WW again to lose the rest of this weight that I yet to lose. Thanks for the great tips!

 

[Our 2 Princesses]

www.heathdiscoverydotnet
click on message boards


and the BEST website is www.dwlzdotcom, I use the resteraunt info often

I typed out the dotcom because I think it will block it on my post if I type .com?

That is my favorite website. I love the 3 points and under ideas for WW!

 

[Pembo]

For all those who said walking is the cheapest...I agree but when you live in a Snow area, walking is not fun in the cold, ice and snow or rain....

I have Wii fit, wii active and got Jillian 2010 for wii for Xmas. I have gotten many dvd's from the library as well.

Thanks for the link to Sparkpeople...I'm liking this site...

 

[dthogue]

Thanks everyone for the great tips - keep them coming. I re-joined WW tonight for about the 100th time - I need all the motivation that I can get.

I am a big Leslie Sansone and Walk Away the Pounds fan - I have alot of her DVD's. I lost over 75 pounds several years ago doing WW and using her DVDs for exercise. I was looking for something new. I absolutely can not stand walking outside or on the treadmill for exercise - although I would love to start running - maybe once I lose some weight.

I just started Jillian Michaels' 30-day shred - I did Level 1 yesterday and today - it was hard, but I got through it.

Here's to a helathy new year and one with less of me in it!!

tammy

 

[Ericandus]

I have TONS of WW recipes on my food website...
freewebs.com/ericandus
I basically just used it as a place to cut and paste recipes I found on the WW forums. That is a wonderful place to find new ideas too! Everyone is usually so friendly and helpful! Good luck!!

 

[solfan68]

If you have an ipod touch or iphone, head to the app store and download Lose It. The app is free and easily let you track calories consumed and activity which burns them all. Will show you a weekly and daily bar graph of how you're doing.

 

[fakereadhed]

If you have an ipod touch or iphone, head to the app store and download Lose It. The app is free and easily let you track calories consumed and activity which burns them all. Will show you a weekly and daily bar graph of how you're doing.

That's what I'm using and I love it!