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Low-carb on a tight budget



 
 
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  #1  
Old November 12th, 2007, 04:25 AM posted to alt.support.diet.low-carb
em
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Posts: 519
Default Low-carb on a tight budget



Eric's comment made me want to bring up the subject of doing low-carb on a
budget:

"Eric" wrote i
We're talking at least six dollars a
day if you try to eat 2000 calories in meat and fish with some level
of variety. That adds up to some serious bread, doesn't it?



Rather than blather, I thought I'd just open up the topic to see what
everyone has to say.

  #2  
Old November 12th, 2007, 04:58 AM posted to alt.support.diet.low-carb
UsenetID
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Posts: 185
Default Low-carb on a tight budget

"em" wrote in message ...
Eric's comment made me want to bring up the subject of doing low-carb on a
budget:

"Eric" wrote i
We're talking at least six dollars a
day if you try to eat 2000 calories in meat and fish with some level
of variety. That adds up to some serious bread, doesn't it?


Rather than blather, I thought I'd just open up the topic to see what
everyone has to say.


The budget for our family of 3 is $75/week. I buy one "variety pack" of
meat from a local butcher that contains 45# of chicken, beef, and pork of
various cuts and sorts, for $74.95. The rest goes into fresh and frozen
produce, dairy (including eggs), fish, spices/seasonings/condiments mostly,
with the occasional - approx. monthly - package of sweetener, jar of the
coffee substitute I drink, and nuts/seeds. We don't eat fruit for the most
part, but I do have frozen berries in my "shop" (a big kitchen, actually,
out of which I run my business) and will sometimes take a half-cup or so for
a sauce or dessert. If the budget allows, when one of our foods goes on
sale, I buy as much as I can even if it means buying less of something else.

When we ate packaged, prepared, and carby foods, I couldn't shop for
$75/week. Low carb is cheaper for us.

--
Sherry
lowcarb.owly.net


  #3  
Old November 12th, 2007, 12:38 PM posted to alt.support.diet.low-carb
Jackie Patti
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Posts: 429
Default Low-carb on a tight budget

em wrote:
Rather than blather, I thought I'd just open up the topic to see what
everyone has to say.


It depends on how you were eating before; if you were eating a lot of
processed junk, going low-carb with real food is cheaper.

But that's really not about it being low-carb, that's about eating whole
foods. And it's actually cheaper to eat high-carb whole foods... wheat
berries are darned cheap; you can get 100 lbs of them for under $10 and
that would stretch anyone's food budget. Grain is cheap; there's no
getting around that - cutting it from your diet raises average food cost.

On the other hand, there's some seriously expensive costs associated
with not eating well. Even one day in the hospital more than wipes out
a year's worth of carefully frugal grocery shopping; it gets a lot worse
if you're out-of-work for health reasons.

Even on high-carb, you need to get sufficient protein and the only
really cheap source of protein is eggs whether you are low-carb or
high-carb.

IMO, the primary thing to save money low-carbing is a freezer; if you
buy meats in bulk, you can save a LOT of money on them. I will have 3
or 4 turkeys in my freezer before the holiday is over as this is the
cheap time to buy them.

I have been trying hard not to care about food cost since my heart
attack, insisting on buying pasture-raised animal products which are
more expensive, preferring organic fresh produce over regular, using
avocado and coconut oils, etc. Some of the individual prices of stuff I
buy freaks me out, but I've not been spending more overall.

--
http://www.ornery-geeks.org/consulting/
  #4  
Old November 12th, 2007, 01:53 PM posted to alt.support.diet.low-carb
Jim
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Posts: 279
Default Low-carb on a tight budget

UsenetID wrote:
"em" wrote in message ...

Eric's comment made me want to bring up the subject of doing low-carb on a
budget:

"Eric" wrote i

We're talking at least six dollars a
day if you try to eat 2000 calories in meat and fish with some level
of variety. That adds up to some serious bread, doesn't it?


Rather than blather, I thought I'd just open up the topic to see what
everyone has to say.



Eric appears fixated on the all meat approach to Atkins and low carb.

Beef and pork average around 400 to 600 Cals per 6 ounce serving, so the
2000 Calorie intake would require 30 to 20 ounces of beef/pork or call
it roughly 1.5 pounds of meat per day.

Fattier cuts of meat would reduce the required daily poundage by 20 to
40%. Vegetable oil fats are a pretty cheap form of calories, also.

The price range of this much meat can range from $2 / lb to $10 / lb so
this could be $3.00 / day to $15.00 per day.

The basic answer on expense as raised by Eric is "it depends".

I tend to now ignore much of what is claimed about reasons to support
oddish forms of low carb diets.
  #5  
Old November 12th, 2007, 02:04 PM posted to alt.support.diet.low-carb
[email protected]
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Posts: 993
Default Low-carb on a tight budget

On Nov 11, 10:58 pm, "UsenetID" wrote:
"em" wrote in ...
Eric's comment made me want to bring up the subject of doing low-carb on a
budget:


"Eric" wrote i
We're talking at least six dollars a
day if you try to eat 2000 calories in meat and fish with some level
of variety. That adds up to some serious bread, doesn't it?


Rather than blather, I thought I'd just open up the topic to see what
everyone has to say.


The budget for our family of 3 is $75/week. I buy one "variety pack" of
meat from a local butcher that contains 45# of chicken, beef, and pork of
various cuts and sorts, for $74.95. The rest goes into fresh and frozen
produce, dairy (including eggs), fish, spices/seasonings/condiments mostly,
with the occasional - approx. monthly - package of sweetener, jar of the
coffee substitute I drink, and nuts/seeds.



How much of that stuff do you get for $.05?



We don't eat fruit for the most
part, but I do have frozen berries in my "shop" (a big kitchen, actually,
out of which I run my business) and will sometimes take a half-cup or so for
a sauce or dessert. If the budget allows, when one of our foods goes on
sale, I buy as much as I can even if it means buying less of something else.

When we ate packaged, prepared, and carby foods, I couldn't shop for
$75/week. Low carb is cheaper for us.

--
Sherry
lowcarb.owly.net



Yes, I was going to bring that up too. If you're an out of control
blivitt eating everything is sight, you're going to eat a whole lot
less when you're on LC. Not sure it will entirely offset the higher
cost of real food, but it certainly is a factor. And it also depends
on what kind of carby stuff you were eating.

You can also reduce the cost by using more chicken and less beef,
fish, etc. Chicken is on sale here for 40 to 50% off at one
supermarket or another every week.


  #6  
Old November 12th, 2007, 02:47 PM posted to alt.support.diet.low-carb
Roger Zoul
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Posts: 1,790
Default Low-carb on a tight budget

em wrote:
:: Eric's comment made me want to bring up the subject of doing
:: low-carb on a budget:
::
:: "Eric" wrote i
::: We're talking at least six dollars a
::: day if you try to eat 2000 calories in meat and fish with some level
::: of variety. That adds up to some serious bread, doesn't it?
::
::
:: Rather than blather, I thought I'd just open up the topic to see what
:: everyone has to say.

Worrying about cost where one's health is concerned is "penny-wise and pound
foolish".

Besides, when one gives up junky overly processed foods, the cost will go
down because one typically will eat less (assuming one is losing weight).


  #7  
Old November 12th, 2007, 04:39 PM posted to alt.support.diet.low-carb
Ophelia[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 199
Default Low-carb on a tight budget

Jackie Patti wrote:
I have been trying hard not to care about food cost since my heart
attack, insisting on buying pasture-raised animal products which are
more expensive, preferring organic fresh produce over regular, using
avocado and coconut oils, etc. Some of the individual prices of
stuff I buy freaks me out, but I've not been spending more overall.


Jackie, I hope you don't mind me asking, but did you have your heart attack
before eating low carb? If not, how did you change your diet?

O


  #8  
Old November 12th, 2007, 05:19 PM posted to alt.support.diet.low-carb
em
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 519
Default Low-carb on a tight budget


"Roger Zoul" wrote


Worrying about cost where one's health is concerned is "penny-wise and
pound foolish".


I remember a time in my life, not so long ago, at a time that I happened to
be on a low-cal diet. My budget was so tight at the time that, when buying
food, one of my main buying considerations was calories per dollar.


Besides, when one gives up junky overly processed foods, the cost will go
down because one typically will eat less (assuming one is losing weight).


Junk food is pretty cheap. A loaf of bread. The dollar menu at McDonalds.
Cheap microwave pizza. Ravioli on sale for eighty cents a can.

There are a lot of inexpensive low-carb foods too. Canned meat on-sale, such
as tuna, chicken, etc., goes well with salad & cheap lc dressing. I see tuna
on-sale once and a while for $0.50/can. Minute steaks, 12 oz "steaks" are $1
each. You can stock up on mayo when its on sale. Eggs keep for a while and
they go on sale frequently. I see a lot of steak on-sale for $1.79 a pound,
such as London Broil (I think that's what its called.) I rarely pay more
than $3.99/pound for cheese. Buying bulk goods makes a big difference, too.
I see five pound blocks of cheese on-sale for pretty cheap, and huge
packages of five dozen hot dogs. "Back then", I didn't have the storage
space for that kind of stuff.

I almost always calculate out cost/pound when choosing food. A difference of
..05/oz in price comes out to .80/pound, for example. You really have to
watch the cents/oz when you're buying sandwich meat and cheese. When money
is tight, its tight. Down-to-the-penny shopping can make a big difference.

I guess a lot of this depends on where you live -- I'm in Los Angeles, and I
would guess that prices are higher here than they are in many other cities.

Being broke sucks, by the way. I am a much happier person now that I am (and
have been) working steady for a while.

Mike

  #9  
Old November 12th, 2007, 06:38 PM posted to alt.support.diet.low-carb
Roger Zoul
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,790
Default Low-carb on a tight budget

em wrote:
:: "Roger Zoul" wrote
::
:::
::: Worrying about cost where one's health is concerned is "penny-wise
::: and pound foolish".
::
:: I remember a time in my life, not so long ago, at a time that I
:: happened to be on a low-cal diet. My budget was so tight at the time
:: that, when buying food, one of my main buying considerations was
:: calories per dollar.

I can understand...however, "penny-wise and pound foolish" means that while
you're eating "low cost" the pounds are piling on.

::
:::
::: Besides, when one gives up junky overly processed foods, the cost
::: will go down because one typically will eat less (assuming one is
::: losing weight).
::
:: Junk food is pretty cheap. A loaf of bread. The dollar menu at
:: McDonalds. Cheap microwave pizza. Ravioli on sale for eighty cents a
:: can.
::

Yep. Certainly appears cheap at first glance. However, eating lots of carbs
tends to ramp appetite and people end up eating more food than really need.
A loaf of bread might be cheap, but when you eat 4 sandwiches at a time, you
go through it quickly while racking up a lot of calories. And you start to
get fat. Later on, it will cost you more.

:: There are a lot of inexpensive low-carb foods too. Canned meat
:: on-sale, such as tuna, chicken, etc., goes well with salad & cheap
:: lc dressing. I see tuna on-sale once and a while for $0.50/can.
:: Minute steaks, 12 oz "steaks" are $1 each. You can stock up on mayo
:: when its on sale. Eggs keep for a while and they go on sale
:: frequently. I see a lot of steak on-sale for $1.79 a pound, such as
:: London Broil (I think that's what its called.) I rarely pay more
:: than $3.99/pound for cheese. Buying bulk goods makes a big
:: difference, too. I see five pound blocks of cheese on-sale for
:: pretty cheap, and huge packages of five dozen hot dogs. "Back then",
:: I didn't have the storage space for that kind of stuff.

Good news. You'll pay less and eat less.

::
:: I almost always calculate out cost/pound when choosing food. A
:: difference of .05/oz in price comes out to .80/pound, for example.
:: You really have to watch the cents/oz when you're buying sandwich
:: meat and cheese. When money is tight, its tight. Down-to-the-penny
:: shopping can make a big difference.
::

Yes, cost of food is one thing. But the affect it has on how much you want
ot eat is another. I wonder if you knew then what you know now if your math
might have been different.

:: I guess a lot of this depends on where you live -- I'm in Los
:: Angeles, and I would guess that prices are higher here than they are
:: in many other cities.
::
:: Being broke sucks, by the way. I am a much happier person now that I
:: am (and have been) working steady for a while.

I was broke for many, many years. It does suck.


  #10  
Old November 12th, 2007, 06:51 PM posted to alt.support.diet.low-carb
Aaron Baugher
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 647
Default Low-carb on a tight budget

"em" writes:

Eric's comment made me want to bring up the subject of doing low-carb
on a budget:

"Eric" wrote i
We're talking at least six dollars a
day if you try to eat 2000 calories in meat and fish with some level
of variety. That adds up to some serious bread, doesn't it?


$6/day is hardly "serious bread," is it? If you buy fast food or eat in
restaurants or cafeterias *at all*, you're going to average more than
that. If you can't squeeze out $200/month for the right food (I've been
there), then that's a separate issue you need to get handled. I'm a
cheap *******, but I don't flinch at spending $200-300 on food for
myself every month. Sometimes you do get what you pay for, after all.

It's true that you *can* eat high-carb cheaper than low-carb, because
grains tend to be very cheap (partly due to government subsidies), but
most overweight people who come to low-carb aren't leaving behind a diet
of ramen noodles and rice. More likely they're leaving behind pizza,
pastries, subs, TV dinners, chips, and plenty of other expensive
processed foods. Low-carb foods don't have to cost more than those
processed high-carb foods, as long as you're willing to do your own
preparation and cooking. If you're smart about it, you can have steak
and salad at home cheaper than a Happy Meal or a big bag of Doritos.

As someone else mentioned, eggs may have the best nutrition/cost ratio
of any food there is. Even if you pay a little more for eggs that
didn't come from a factory farm, you can get them for 20 cents or less
each. Fry 4-5 in a pat of butter, and you've got breakfast for under
$1. I get hamburger and pork sausage from a local butcher in bulk for
well under $2/pound, so I can have a couple quarter-pounders with mayo
and mustard for lunch for another $1 or less. I watch for sales on
canned goods like mushrooms, so I can toss them into dishes like
omelettes or meatloaf for maybe 10 cents/serving.

Some things are harder to find cheap. Nuts are just plain expensive,
but if you can find them in large quantities and raw, they're a lot
cheaper than a few ounces roasted in a can--sometimes less than half the
price. Roast a whole bunch and freeze them. Cheese can be expensive,
but around here it goes on sale regularly, so when it does, I buy up
several pounds and freeze them. I only pay $1-1.50/pound for cheese
that way. Some salad fixin's don't keep long enough to stock up when
they're on sale, so I tend to eat a lot of salads when lettuce is on
sale, and then take a break from them when it's not. I get bored with
salads if I eat them all the time anyway.

It may also help to buy directly from local growers. A lot of people
who sell eggs, meat, or garden produce do it because they enjoy it or
have a surplus, so they don't necessarily charge much. Even if you end
up paying as much as you would at the grocery store, you can get a much
better product. There's also the option of having your own garden, if
you have a place for it. $25 in seeds can turn into a heck of a lot of
food.



--
Aaron -- 285/254/200 -- aaron.baugher.biz
 




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