Diet and Fitness on a budget

Im 5'5" and 135lbs ... not too overweight, but definately not in shape. i know i eat horrible and need more exercise, but i find it difficult to do on my budget.

Most of the time the healthier foods seem more expensive, and since its only me and my boyfriend in our household, most of the time the things i buy end up going bad before i get a chance to eat it all... and im ending up having to buy completely different foods for just me because my boyfriend would rather have the unhealthy stuff.

when it comes to exercise i cant afford a gym pass, so instead i just walk most of the time, but that usually only happens on the weekends since i leave work work farely early in the morning and dont get home until after dark at night.

any tips on keeping healthy and exercising well on a low budget?! thanks!

First of all - I struggle with buying things and then having them go bad before they are eaten too.  Frozen fruits and vegetables are great in this instance.  You have to balance whether the large bag is actually cheaper than the small bag if you only eat half of it before it goes bad.  Try buying the basic stuff that you will have every day, like lettuce and a couple of other vegetables to make an interesting salad.

My husband likes the unhealthy foods too, but having eaten that way for 35 years it has caught up with him, so he is trying to eat better.  You can't eat unhealthy and not have it catch up with you health-wise.

As far as exercise, there are a lot of places that you can find online that have exercise routines you can do with little or no equipment.  Calorie Count has several, and you can do search for more.  Workout videos may also be an option, as well as doing just a few things during lunch.  If you do 25 jumping jacks every time you go to the restroom, that is an improvement.  Just 15 minutes in the morning isn't much time, but good benefits.  Walking is good, but it does take a lot of time to feel like you did anything.

Good luck!

Eating healthy on a budget is a piece of cake. It's cheaper then not being healthy. Here's what you do: Stop buying junk food and fast food.  Easy right?

You'll notice than when you load your cart with veggies, whole grains, nuts, fruits, lean proteins and fats that you're not buying as much and not spending as much.

Exercise: walk/jogging/bike riding/roller blading...anything outdoors is free and great exercise. You don't need a gym in spring, summer or fall in most places of the western world bc the weather cooperates.

Just bc you're not a part of a fancy gym doesn't mean you can't get healthy.

I'm not entirely sure I agree, mperic, though you have a good point. 

Some things are cheaper, yes, and being healthier saves money in the long run, too.  Eating out is more expensive than eating at home.  Eating "whole", homemade foods as opposed to "processed" or prepackaged foods is usually cheaper, but not always, especially if you are buying for one, or used to buying low-quality items.  And admitedly, whole foods do tend to be more filling, so you do eat less of them.  But whole-wheat bread costs more than white bread, and so does whole wheat pasta.  Romaine lettuce costs more than iceberg lettuce.  Baloney and hot dogs are cheaper than chicken.  Nuts are just plain expensive.  Olive oil is more expensive than any other oil. 

Not to mention the fact that if you live in the south, where it can be over 100 degrees in the summer, especially if it is humid too, it can be downright dangerous to exercise outside.

But, ssixbery, it can be done!  I'm not trying to discourage you - it is just my parents made the same statement years ago, and it has irritated me every since.  You just have to be smart about it, and it has taken a few years and a bit more income for me to learn how to do it.

I think it is possible to get healthy on a budget.  For food, unprocessed foods are usually cheaper.  You don't have to buy the fancy shmancy organic farmstand foods.  Buy things in bulk, frozen.  Think fruit, veggies, meats, breads, etc.  You don't need to make huge elegant meals that are expensive.  Meals can be simple, and still taste good.  You could make a stirfry (chicken, veggies, soy sauce) and some rice.  Sauteed chicken and vegetables with bread.  De-frosted tilapia baked with baked potato and broccoli.  You get where I'm going.

As for exercise, there's the obvious running or walking, crunches, push ups, etc.  But you can get more creative with it.  What about jump roping?  Rollerblading.  bicycling.  And you can invest in cheap things to aid your work outs:  exercise ball.  medicine ball.  free weights or dumbells.  chin up bar.  jump rope.  bands.  yoga mat.  roller blades.  a bike (look at yardsales, craiglist, etc).  Things like that.  Also, have you looked into joining a cheaper gym, like the YMCA?  It really is a decent place to work out (it has a pool, weight rooms, cardio rooms, etc).  

Good luck!

I have bought many exercise videos at thrift stores, all for under $1.  I've bought a couple of new videos, too, for about $15 each, and I've used them many, many times so I consider them a bargain.  I also like to walk for exercise...would you be able to go for a brisk walk during your lunch hour?  I have an inexpensive pedometer ($5) and I try to go 2 miles in under half an hour, that is a pace that gets my heart rate up but I don't need to shower afterwards!

I buy groceries for my family of 9 and we have NO room for waste in our food budget!  I buy a 25 pound bag of oatmeal for under $20 and it lasts my family a month...it would last much longer for your household!  We like to add a few nuts and raisins to our oatmeal, and while those ingredients are expensive a little goes a long ways.  Another staple breakfast at our house is homemade bread, toasted, with about 1 T of peanut butter on top, and a glass of milk.  I usually have about 400 calories at breakfast and that amount of food keeps me full until lunch.  Soup is inexpensive and can be very healthy and diet friendly!  I make enough soup so that if my family is having something off-limits for me, I reheat a bowl of soup for myself.  For me, portion control has saved money.  I was embarrassed when our grocery bill dropped significantly because I broke my habit of overeating! 

Good luck...it can be done! 

Being on a tight budget myself I understand your need to stretch every grocery penny. A few tips I live by:

I don't buy anything unless its on sale or I have a coupon. (there are alot of great Internet coupon sites, just make sure your store accepts them) THis also means sometime I am buying things even if I don't immediately need them. (shampoo, canned goods etc...)

Don't be brand loyal, many times the sale or house brand is just a good.

For perishables I try to limit to things I can freeze and the rest I use those Green bags for.  Its just me so they really help, though are a pain to clean.

And I try to 'make' my own cleaning supplies as much as I can.  1 gallon of white vinegar is cheaper and last longer then 1 bottle of Windex.  And then I put the money save into the food budget. Clorex for the bath ammoinia for the floors etc....

I also used my 'coupon money' to buy one of those food vacuum sealers, which allows me to buy in bulk and save also.

I just want to make a food suggestion.

Lentils, are very low cost and healthy.  You can have a whole meal for $1.00

Also beans, ex pinto beans.  The are easy to prepare to just add water and some salt to taste.

I eat dark red kidney beans in any soup or salad, because at 59 cents a can, it's the cheapest way to get the protein.

As for fresh fruits and veggies, now is a good time to get them cheap. Find a farmer's market. Where I live, they're also sold cheap at the flea market.

Be creative

- 'Diet' foods are insanely expensive, but the homemade equivalent usually is not. You can find recipes for homemade protein bars, and low cal everything. www.recipzaar.com is my personal favorite for low cal recipes of all kinds.

- I volunteer at a local organic garden in exchange for fresh veggies, and I've heard of other places that allow this. If you know of anything grown fresh in the area, call them up and offer an hour or two of work in exchange for their product. Also, many of these places offer a discount if you pick your own.

- Lots of community centers have gyms that are free or cheap to the public. They are not extensive, or the newest, but the one closest to my house still has a large treadmill, elliptical machine, bike, free weights, and a couple weight machines. As many people don't know they exist (seems like community centers are mostly used for their playgrounds here), they are almost never busy.

People who buy junk food and fast food spend way more money on food than people who spend money on healthy food (even if it is more "expensive"). People eat more junk because it's never filling so they always eat more.

Then,  I see all my friends who blow meals at wendys' mcdonalds, taco bell 2-3 times a week and complain about money where they could have saved $20-$30 right there a week. 

That's why I think buying healthy food is cheaper then buying crap (just to clarify).

This is what I've done to my grocery shopping budget to change from eating crap to eating well on the same or less money : 

 -invested in a cheap freezer

-bought a freezer pack of meat (3 months worth of chicken/pork/beef for $225) from the local butcher shop 

-buy staples (and kids snacks) like cereal and oatmeal from the wholesale club

-in the summer take advantage of all of the fresh fruits and veggies to be had at good prices and buy whatever's on special all year

-plan a menu and keep my weekly grocery shopping to just what I need for breakfast lunch and dinners for the week, staples like milk and bread,  buying poatoes and brown rice for sides and flavoring them myself 

I've gone from spending about (for a family of 4)  $520 a month to around $425 give or take a few, but we are eating soooo much better.  All of the good things I can make - it's like we're feasting every night.  My husband's cholesterol is down 40 points in the last 3 months to prove it!

As far as exercise - find a rec center or use excercise videos or take a walk around the block!  Anything that you can do for 30 minutes a day to get your heart rate up will help tremendously!

Oh - and about the boyfriend eating crappy - hubby was the same way - wanted nothing but hamburger helper and Doritos - he's WAY happier having great meals every night!

thank you all so much for your suggestions!! I'll definately be trying some of them!

Lots of great suggestions here, and I thought I'd just add one that I just love...

Have you considered growing your own vegetables? Even with the smallest space and basic equipment you can surprise yourself how much you can produce without having to fork out much cash... not to mention having tastier crunchier fresher vegetables and fruit that you could ever buy in a shop.

Today I found this .... http://greenupgrader.com/7556/diy-vertical-ga rden-with-reclaimed-gutters/  which I thought was a fantastic way to used common recycled materials to create a mini (and easy!) garden just by using a wall. Use seeds or buy seedlings to grow all sorts of crops

It may seem daunting at first if you haven't grown your own food before, but believe me its easy and rewarding once you get started, and not to mention, addictive! it will definately save you money in the long run