Tag Archives: weight loss

Losing Weight Frugally?

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I’m down over 20 pounds to date.

It’s been a hard time losing weight because I’ve been sick with vertigo like symptoms for the past month.  Even so, I’ve still manage to lose at least 5 more pounds since my symptoms started.

So the question is: “Am I Losing Weight Frugally“?  After all this was and still is part of my goal!

The answer is: “Yes“, but I’m not doing it as frugally as I had hoped that I would.

I started out being very frugal, eating both very healthy and inexpensive foods like eggs, peanuts, cheese and broccoli.  And those worked out well at first, but eventually they got boring.  So I decided to spice it up with some grilled hamburger, and that was a good and welcome change, but that got old too.  So that’s when I started cooking salmon burgers!  Good but on the pricey side, but to make matters worse I started craving chocolate, and I bought some Atkin’s low carb bars (peanut butter and chocolate crisps).  Those last two were getting on the pricier side, especially when I went through the Atkin’s bars in two days (the box cost about $6.00).  The salmon is very heathy for you but the chocolate bars isn’t but at least it’s crunchy!

white egg

Actually I’ve been craving fish a lot lately, and too much tuna isn’t good for you…  Oh Well…

I’ve made the eggs less boring by warning up my eggs in the microwave (be carefully since they will explode if you aren’t careful!).  Of course I remove the shell first and only have the egg in for a few seconds (just enough to take the chill off and give them some warmth!  It’s not great, but it’s better than cold hard-boiled eggs.

So if you have any tips, for low carb foods, please comment!  I need to keep myself in check from a cost perspective!

Cheers,

MR

P.S. Remember to take a good vitamin while you are on a low carb diet.  It slipped my mind this last time!

Losing Weight the Frugal Way

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To lose weight the frugal way is to simple eat less and consume food that are cheaper but still hold nutritional value.

I’m tired of yo-yo diets, and intense workouts that I eventually get tired of and quit.  I knew this at the beginning of the year, but I haven’t found an acceptable substitute until now.

So what is my new magic bullet for losing weight?  Adopting a more frugal lifestyle.  I’m going to set a money limit for how much I can spend a day for food, and stick to that number!

For a month, I’m going to use 2 dollars for breakfast, 3 dollars for lunch, and 5 dollars for dinner, so I’m not going to spend more than $10 a day.  The idea is to come in below $10, not to meet that number everyday!  In fact, I’m really hoping that I can get away with only $6.00 a day.

I plan in creating a journal (as I have in the past), but this time instead of just recording what I ate, I’m going to record the cost of what I ate and do a tally at the end of the day (or the next day) to determine if I met my less than $10 goal or not.

You might be wondering why just a month?

There have been studies that concluded that if you do a task/job or whatever for 21 days in a row, it become habit-forming.  So after those 21 days, the task become part of your routine.

What will I do with the money saved from this new weight loss approach?

I’m going to channel the extra  money into my “Dividend Stocks, Free Lunch Experiment #10“.  The experiment has been repurposed to really provide a meal that I will cook for my family once a week on Thursdays.  Previously, I was saving $40 a week to fund the experiment, but now I think I’ll jump the number up to $50 or $60 a week (depending on how well I do with my calculations above).

What is different this time?

Previously, I had no really big motivator do lose weight, but now that I have a more concrete purpose to back the goal up, it become more rewarding!  It’s also nice to start losing weight at the beginning of the month instead of on an off day.  While not a huge reason, it does make the journal seem more legit.  Another nice aspect is this process is now a win-win.  I win because I will be losing weight and I win again because I will be saving money.

Bests,

MR

Healthy Life Journal, A Slow Start

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I had planned on starting my weight loss journal,( now call Healthy Life Journal) on Feb. 1…  But the ice storm kept me at home these past few days, with my car frozen shut (this is a first for me, very funny).  Luckily I was able to get a few things before the storm hit, so I have started the diet (sort of).

So far, the items I bought to start the diet for the journal are as follows:

  • eggs (the perfect source of protein)
  • cheese strips
  • pepper jack cheese slices
  • cottage cheese

I’ve been eating the cheese at lunch, but the other meals I have been eating regular food around the house.  So while this isn’t effective from a weight-loss standpoint, it’s still a start.

I’ve only exercised 1 day, keeping it simple 10 pushups, 10 situps and 10 leg bends?  And of course breaking my back trying to break up the ice in my driveway and on my car!

In previous years, I would have become discouraged from the weather and thought it must not be meant to be, or my luck was bad…  Either way, I would give up on the effort, but not this year! 

I now believe that you have to keep plowing through the barriers and bottlenecks encountered along the way!  So while I’m a little bummed, I realize that there is no master scheme to have me stop, things just happen, and my success on my little programs depend on me pushing through the muck!

 Have a great weekend, hopefully I’ll have more next Friday!!!

2010 Resolution #1, Losing Weight While Saving Money

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This is my most important Resolution for 2010.  If I fail at all other 2010 Resolutions, I must not fail at this one! 

Here are the Reasons why:

  • My weight is a health risk.  While I’m not huge, my weight has raised my blood pressure, and needs to be lowered.  High blood pressure puts too much strain on the heart. 
  • My kids need me.  Being out of shape makes it hard for me to keep up with my kids.  I want to able to play soccer, basketball, and just plain old play outside with them. 
  • It’s expensive, both in the short and long terms.  By short term, I mean that I don’t need to spend money on extra food when I’m so heavy already.  By long term, I mean if I don’t get into shape, I’m in danger of having a heart attack, diabetes, or other weight related diseases.  Neither is necessary, and need to be fixed now! 
  • I want to enjoy life more fully.  Let’s be honest, when you are in shape, you can do much more than if you aren’t (and often times, it’s cheaper to boot).  I need my health to do fun activities like skiing, tennis, golf, basketball, wave running, boating, hiking, jogging, biking, etc… the list just goes on and on… 
  • Increased energy level.  When I was in shape, I had a lot more energy than I currently do.  This is life energy!  Use it or lose it as they say… 
  • Being thinner (unless to a fault), make you more attractive.  It’s that first impression thing…  If you’re more attractive, people will like you more just by default.  Being healthy puts you in that group.  In fact, I’m often amazed at how a heavier girl can sometimes lose weight and be a total knockout!  I feel bad for young girls (and boys) that are really physically beautiful, but never fully realize it because of the diet that their family practices.
  • Life Insurance is cheaper if you are in shape.  If you are in shape and don’t smoke, you can get life insurance at a very cheap rate (barring any other serious problems…)
  • Reducing the change of back problems.  Yes, I have back problems and my extra weight isn’t helping matters.  While being think won’t prevent you from having back problems.  Being heavier definitely will add stress to your back, thus increasing the likelihood that you will have problems.
  • Weight loss can lessen asthma symptoms and make healthier lungs.  This one I heard from a friend.  I have allergies, so hopefully this will help me too.

 How I’m going to save money:

  • I’m still doing my Lunch Experiment, so I’m not going to spend money for a special diet program.  It would be easier that way, but I want to keep doing my experiment.
  • This year I’m not going to join a gym (besides I have free weights in the basement just laying there waiting for me).  I going to workout 3 days per week (Monday, Wednesday & Friday), for less that 30 minutes per day.
  • Since I’m dieting, I’ll eat less food, that should help me keep costs down.
  • Ideally, I’ll get sick less often, which means less doctor visits.

Now that I’ve mentioned the reasons why, below are my personal details and the spreadsheet that I’m going to use to track my weight loss:

 Personal Details:  I’m 5′ 10″ and I weight 235 (I’m not a round 235 though since I use to lift weights), by normal standards I’m considered obese.  So my goal for the year is to loss at least 40 lbs. (any more than that would be icing on the cake!) 😉

Click here to enlarge this Obesity Chart

Click here to enlarge this Obesity Chart

 

 

This is the amount of weight (in lbs.) that I want to loose in each of the months below:

       
  Jan 9  
  Feb 5  
  Mar 4  
  Apr 4  
  May 3  
  Jun 3  
  Jul 2  
  Aug 2  
  Sep 2  
  Oct 2  
  Nov 2  
  Dec 2  
       

 

Here is my Weight-Loss spreadsheet to track my progress:   The weekly table below is the one I’m going to use record my progress every Saturday, with my results posted on the following Sunday mornings.

             
  Date
Weight/lbs.
Loss/Gain  
             
  01/02/10   135   0  
 
 
 
 
  01/09/10  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  01/16/10  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  01/23/10  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  01/30/10  
 
 
             
  Total Loss for the Month : 0  
             

 

Now that I have the tools and monthly target goals in place, I’m ready to roll with this Resolution! 🙂

-D