Losing Weight on a Budget

[rubato]

A half hour walk should consume a lot of calories that might otherwise turn into fat. I think it takes a half mile of walking to use up one jellybean or gumdrop.

Actually, 1 mile of walking or running is about 100 calories burned(dependant on your weight and how fast you are going).

And, don't forget. 3500 calories equals 1 pound of fat. So, to lose weight, have a calorie deficit at the end of the day!

 

[redlight]

I don't always follow the Budget Board, but the thread caught my eye. I lost some weight this summer, and am struggling to keep it off and lose the rest. I actually like fruits and vegetables, but it is hard to find that for the cheap.

 

[redlight]

Actually, 1 mile of walking or running is about 100 calories burned(dependant on your weight and how fast you are going).

And, don't forget. 3500 calories equals 1 pound of fat. So, to lose weight, have a calorie deficit at the end of the day!

Your weight matters, but the speed isn't very important. One mile running or one mile walking burns roughly the same number of calories.

 

[dthogue]

I'm a lifetime WW member. Got that status in July 2008. !

Congratulations on making lifetime - that's quite an accomplishment. Any tips you care to share on your journey?

Tammy

 

[dthogue]

Does anyone have any tips on keeping their produce fresh? I buy a head of lettuce and I seem to throw most of it away - need some storage tips?

My other quest is to find some good recipes for stir fry with shrimp and chicken - any tips?

Tammy

 

[rubato]

Your weight matters, but the speed isn't very important. One mile running or one mile walking burns roughly the same number of calories.

I'm sorry, but I stand by my statement.

A 160 lb person walking 4 miles an hour (15 min mile) burns 91 calories.
This same person running 8 miles an hour burns 123 calories. It does make a difference. And, most beginning walkers don't walk 4 miles an hour.

Just my 2 cents from my personal trainer background.

 

[smkiya]

Congratulations on making lifetime - that's quite an accomplishment. Any tips you care to share on your journey?

Tammy

1. I signed up for WW etools and tracked my food that way. So much easier and more efficient than the paper trackers they give you at the meetings.
2. GO to the meetings! It makes a real difference in motivation every week. You know you're not the only one struggling, and I learned some new tricks, new stores to find fresh fruit and meats on a budget, new recipes from other members. It's even a great place to network with other people, meet walking buddies, or just people you can talk to who have the same goal... weight loss. I can't stress this enough. Plus, when you have a bad week it's a great place to vent... or if you gain a few pounds, you have people who will motivate you to get back on track... When you lose, people cheer you on. It's great! So don't just go for the weigh in, STAY for the meeting!
3. Don't deprive yourself! I refused to give up the things I loved. My morning coffee, must taste like the ice cream (if you get my hint ), and I prefer real butter to the diet margarine. If I want a donut, I have it (only 5-6 points), I just don't have 2 or maybe I'll only have half. Instead of a large corner piece of cake at a party, I have a piece without as much icing and that isn't 4 inches thick . If I go overboard I make up for it that day or early the next day. One day I went to a dinner party and everything was soooo yummy. I ate everything I wanted! When I got home, I plugged in the treadmill and went to work. The next day, I got on the treadmill again. When I went for my weigh in, I lost 0.4 lbs. If I had gained, I would just make sure I did what I needed to do the following week. Don't despair, one really bad day or week won't break you!
4. Drink water! Why waste calories on drinks, when water is so much better for you anyway?
5. WW promotes moving more. I totally agree. I started running and love it. I don't have time for a gym, but I have a treadmill at home. On Demand has a ton of different exercise, yoga, and Pilates videos for free. You can also find free videos that are online! If you don't like to exercise turn chores into a workout. Instead of lugging 1 load of laundry up the stairs in one trip, make it in 5 trips. Park farther from the entrance when you go to the store. Take a walk through the mall. If you don't want to walk outside, go to the mall. Most open earlier than stores, and there are people that go there then just to walk around for exercise. Meet a buddy at a meeting, or its a great place to wheel around a stroller, especially in winter.
6. Make your own meals and pack your lunch. It was hard to find the time at first, but after you do it for a few weeks, you won't go back. Its so much cheaper to do this, and you prepare healthy meals. I don't buy a lot of prepackaged foods. I count my chips and put them in a baggy (cheaper), I weigh my cheese and meats (so I buy less). After a couple months, you'll be able to eveball these things. I don't buy low fat products because they don't taste good, they're expensive and I wind up throwing them out before finishing them. Store brand Light hot dog and hamburger rolls are only one point each and they have a lot of fiber. I used to also buy light bread, now I buy 100% whole wheat. Just go easy on the regular stuff and count your points! You'll get to the point where that burger just isn't worth the points.
7. Try new things. Ground turkey is cheaper and healthier than ground beef! Its great as a burger, meatloaf, meatballs. If you keep it a secret, your family won't know the difference. Baby spinach taste just like lettuce, but it is soooo much better for you. I would never even think of putting spinach in my mouth, but a friend had me try it as a salad, and I really couldn't tell the difference. I only eat it in salad, and still hate it cooked...
8. Count your points, count your points, count your points! Be honest about what you eat. Remember, its ok to splurge. WW is a lifestyle change, not a diet fad! It works!!!!

HTH! Good luck!

 

[rie'smom]

We're going to use chia seeds. I read an article on this method of losing weight. You soak 2 tsp. in water for 12 hours which forms a gel. Then you take 1/2 cup to 1 cup/day. It cuts your caloric intake by 50%. The seeds are coming in today, so I can let you know how we progress. I want to lose 10 lbs. My husband wants to lose 30 #. Hopefully, this will work. It sems pretty painless.
For exercise, I do flex breathing- it's like yoga. It's a great way to tone. I have bulging discs, so I cannot run and my doctor has said not to even walk except on an even surface because if I fall, the disc could dislodge.
Good luck to everyone reaching their goals!!!

 

[KKB]

smkiya...I find turkey burgers to taste NOTHING like a real burger...we even tried meatloaf half burger/half turkey--YUK! But in chili or spaghetti, no one can tell the difference.
Regarding the lettuce head...do not wash it before you put it in the fridge; wash as you need it; additionally cutting lettuce makes it spoil faster. Peel off the leaves you need for one salad. There are bags out now by Ziploc or Glad that are supposed to make produce last longer...worked for pears. I buy the precut bags of lettuce--they are on sale for $1.50-2 almost weekly (this is not iceberg--go for ANY other lettuce for far more nutrition)
Fresh fruit--I use the sales to guide my buying. I try for less than $1/lb, which bananas always are, and seasonal produce usually is also--pears, oranges, apples, kiwis right now; plums, peaches, nectarines, melons & berries in summer.

 

[minnie1928]

smkiya...I find turkey burgers to taste NOTHING like a real burger...we even tried meatloaf half burger/half turkey--YUK! But in chili or spaghetti, no one can tell the difference.

I've found that if you let the recipe sit, for example make chili on Monday and serve it on Tuesday kinda thing, that it's better and the chance of anyone noticing that it's turkey is slim. I've also made lasagna using turkey sausage with only a small amount of beef and no one noticed the difference.

 

[OceanAnnie]

We're going to use chia seeds. I read an article on this method of losing weight. You soak 2 tsp. in water for 12 hours which forms a gel. Then you take 1/2 cup to 1 cup/day. It cuts your caloric intake by 50%. The seeds are coming in today, so I can let you know how we progress. I want to lose 10 lbs. My husband wants to lose 30 #. Hopefully, this will work. It sems pretty painless.
For exercise, I do flex breathing- it's like yoga. It's a great way to tone. I have bulging discs, so I cannot run and my doctor has said not to even walk except on an even surface because if I fall, the disc could dislodge.
Good luck to everyone reaching their goals!!!

I've never heard of chia seeds. All I can think of is the chia pets, but surely that isn't the same stuff.

 

[crisi]

We're going to use chia seeds. I read an article on this method of losing weight. You soak 2 tsp. in water for 12 hours which forms a gel. Then you take 1/2 cup to 1 cup/day. It cuts your caloric intake by 50%. The seeds are coming in today, so I can let you know how we progress. I want to lose 10 lbs. My husband wants to lose 30 #. Hopefully, this will work. It sems pretty painless.
For exercise, I do flex breathing- it's like yoga. It's a great way to tone. I have bulging discs, so I cannot run and my doctor has said not to even walk except on an even surface because if I fall, the disc could dislodge.
Good luck to everyone reaching their goals!!!

You can do the same thing with Metamucil, you are basically filling your stomach with low calorie fiber to make it feel "full." It isn't a good long term solution.

(It is, however, a proven way to maintain an eating disorder - very popular among the anorexic set).

 

[left210]

Popcorn is a really cheap, low calorie snack. We have an airpopper that gets used several times a week and buy our popcorn bulk at Costco.

We just got an air popper because my son is allergic to dairy and we wanted to make our own popcorn. We made our first batch this weekend and it didnt have good flavor. Any suggestions? I could taste the canola oil too much and we used what it called for. Do you use anything to flavor yours?

 

[left210]

Whole grains only
1% or non fat milk only
vegetables and fruit (1 fruit to every 3 vegetables. Cut the dumb things up as soon as you get home from the store. Make them EASY to eat)
beans, beans, the magical food. Fiber AND protein. Who knew?

What kinds of things do you eat with the beans?

 

[sylvenmaid]

I drink 3 big mugs of green tea daily. It is soooo good for you and it's a great weight loss aide. It has curbed my appetite and I don't crave food like I did. I only eat one small afternoon snack. I have the Walk away the pounds DVD set with the ab belt. I started doing them again and it's already helping. The green tea isn't very expensive either. It's cheaper than buying a case of soft drinks per week. Now that adds up even on sale.

I dropped 6 lbs by quitting ALL sodas. I read that diet are actually worse b/c of the artificial sweeteners. It will make you crave more sweets during the day. I also grow several fruit trees/bushes in my backyard. Nothing like freshly picked fruit/veggies. Yummy! I also eat one square of 75% dark Belgium chocolate when I get a sweet craving. That's not every day. I like like 2 a week. I also eat a handful of nuts daily. Almonds are very heart healthy. It's all about small changes. I spend less on food than when I was eating lots of junk food and soft drinks. I also buy chix breasts on sale and lean ground meat (85% or higher). We don't eat lots of red meat. We do make beans at least once a week plus we eat eggs for dinner once a week. I also have included more fish and seafood in our diet. That's easy since I live in South Louisiana. I agree don't drink your calories. I eat fresh fruit instead. I only drink water, skim milk, and green tea. I still do a small amount of processed foods but I read labels so no HFCS and most of it is organic like granola bars with lots of fiber and protein. I've dropped 35 pounds in 4 months by making these small changes. I don't feel deprived at all.

Actually dark green leafy lettuce is very good for you like Romaine and Green Leaf. It's Iceberg that has no nutritional value. I also love baby spinach. I eat a mixture of the two in salads.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

What kinds of things do you eat with the beans?

black beans and salsa on a single corn tortilla, bean soup, and my favorite, black bean confetti salad (recipe below)

1 can of black beans (drained and rinsed)
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup diced red bell peppers
1/2 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup diced celery
teaspoon (or a bit more) of chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons low or non fat vinegar based dressing. Balsamic is good, but my favorites are raspberry or mango vinaigrette. Consorzio makes good dressings.

toss together and refrigerate for at least an hour for the flavors to meld. Tastes even better the 2nd and 3rd days (if it lasts that long)

Enjoy!

 

[OceanAnnie]

I was interested in the Shape Up shoes. I started a thread on the CB about them and got some great suggestions. K-Mart and Wal-Mart sell these shoes too, different brands. K-Mart sells, "Therashoe" for $35 and Wal-Mart sells, Danskin's version for $25. The prices may vary some. One poster mentioned she got her, Therashoe for $30, mine was $35.

I like mine. The, Shape Ups run $99 on sale. I just couldn't justify buying something like that not knowing if I'd like them or even wear them. I probably would've gotten the Danskins shoe for $25 had I seen that post in time. Anyway, to pay 1/3 or 1/4 the price sounded good to me!

I've worn mine all day. They are comfortable. And they are supposed to maximize walking benefits. That remains to be seen, but they are worth a shot to me. I needed new walking shoes anyway. Just thought I'd pass this along as it is budget minded.

 

[crisi]

We just got an air popper because my son is allergic to dairy and we wanted to make our own popcorn. We made our first batch this weekend and it didnt have good flavor. Any suggestions? I could taste the canola oil too much and we used what it called for. Do you use anything to flavor yours?

Ours doesn't use oil, just air - never heard of an air popper that wanted oil. And then we just put some salt on it. The kids like melted butter, I avoid that. A little parmesan cheese (we call it "shaky cheese")

 

[NeverlandClub23]

I put a tablespoon or two of olive oil on my air popped popcorn and then salt. I don't know why but it tastes so much like it has butter on it and I don't even care for the smell/flavor of olive oil by itself!

 

[NeverlandClub23]

black beans and salsa on a single corn tortilla, bean soup, and my favorite, black bean confetti salad (recipe below)

Enjoy!

Thanks for the recipe! My local Kroger had all of their bags of dried beans on sale and one of them even at a discontinued price ($.50 for a huge bag o' beans). I guess I went a little crazy or didn't realize that when the beans are soaked overnight you get enough beans to feed an army so I now have a ton of beans to use up. This recipe sounds great!