Poor me :(

[ulovit]

I'm trying not to get too down in the dumps. I don't really feel too bad, but I don't feel too good either. has anyone else gone through this....

Is anybody else too poor for atkins, at the moment? Here's my story. I lost 10 pounds in the first week! Awesome. Everything is working perfectly. Atkins even gave me more energy so i started working out. Unfortunately for me, my pocketbook and my resolve are not in full agreement.

I have a fiancee and 2 kids that are not on Atkins, and who are actually healthy and at a healthy weight. So I was making a separate grocery list for myself. Then when things got tight (or should i say tighter), I just had to bite the bullet and still not buy starches, so they were eating what i was eating. Everything was still going well. But, I didn't have enough food to eat every 6 hours .

Then another road block. Things get even tighter and now I am forced to buy things like 2/$1 boxes of mac and cheese because they last longer and spread further. So now, it feels like I'm choosing between my own personal health and making sure that my family is fed properly. How suckie is that? Any parent knows that if it's between you and your kids, your kids win every time...

Anyway, I'm still working out, and trying to eat as few carbs as i can, but i'm not seeing or feeling the same benefits as before.

Sorry guys, don't mean to be a downer. I'm a bargain shopper, but even I don't see any hope in sight with this situation. Has anybody else gone through this? If so, how did you keep your hope and resolve? How did you recover?

[Carbonator]

Re: Poor me

Have you looked into cheaper sources of protein, like eggs? Or, if worse comes to worse, you can try getting healthier carbs. Its not Atkins, but its better than eating mac and cheese. Like dried beans. You can make a ton of pinto beans for like $1. You are better off eating those for the fiber and protein than mac and cheese and its cheaper per serving. Just a thought.

cheap, but healthy food ideas:
pinto beans
rolled oats
eggs
kale
tofu
bulk ground beef (can get in my area for $2.50/lb, split in 4 servings, only $0.63 per serving)

[atkinsgal08]

Re: Poor me

>>2/$1 boxes of mac and cheese because they last longer and spread further. So now, it feels like I'm choosing between my own personal health and making sure that my family is fed properly.>>

This is feeding your family properly?

Here's some ideas for low carb on a budget:

Budget Low-Carb Eating - How to Save Money While Eating Low-Carb

[cleochatra]

Re: Poor me

This is feeding your family properly?

I think she was intimating it WASN'T the way to feed a family, but it is cheap and spreads out further.

Hey, ulovit! It can be so hard, but the good thing is if everyone else is at a healthy weight, buying proteins will save money. The veggies for them can be more along the lines of yams and potatoes and salads, and you can dip from the lower glycemic scale.

Cheap breakfasts for kids and people living with you:
Eggs
oatmeal
gluten free breads
Bacon

Lunches:
Tuna on gluten free bread
Rice cakes and almond butter
Rice cakes and cream cheese or laughing cow cheese
Cheese, veggies or low glycemic load fruits

Dinners:
Casseroles
Meat sauce with rice pasta (you ditch the pasta and go for spaghetti squash)
Brats and hot dogs
Salmon
Salisbury steaks

In all honesty, with a family of six, I've found we eat more cheaply on Lc than on HC. A bag of cereal and a gallon of milk = $10 and they're hungry in an hour, or steak and veggies = $10 and they're full for hours.

It comes down to being less hungry eating more fat and protein and veggies! I spend $600/month with LC for 6, and was at least at $800 a month without LC.

Hope that helps!

[ShannonM]

Re: Poor me

cleo, I can relate to the OP's problems and your post was a breath of fresh air to me. Thank you for the practical tips and, more importantly, for the lack of judgment.

[MarlaSinger]

Re: Poor me

I have been where you have been.

I shop strategically, combining coupons with sale items. If the rest of your family is still eating a high carb, low fat diet, this can save you tons of money!

couponmom.com has some free eBooks you can read (you just have to read offers) that really helped me save. I regularly buy boxes of cereal for $1 and less, pasta meals close to free, etc. Check out Grocery Coupons & Deal Forums - A Full Cup - Coupons to find coupon matchups specific to your grocery stores.

Low Carb selections are tough to get a great deal on, but if you watch for the sales and keep up on the coupons, it can pay off.

Here is an example of one of my 'deal' shops from my own website. I also regularly get frozen vegetables free, or 80-90% off by waiting for sales and using coupons. I paid .46 for 6 bricks of cream cheese. I wasn't on Atkins when I bought those so I made cream cheese frosting, bought bagels and still have a few to start Atkins with! Same with all the Kraft chunk cheese.

Many of the things you can get free or dirt cheap with coupons aren't all that healthy, but it's a useful skill to cut your grocery budget in half. If you only go to i heart wags, i heart rite aid and i heart cvs to learn how to buy all your household items dirt cheap/free, you'll free up some weekly cash to spend on better cuts of meats and more fresh produce for you and your family!

[callog]

Re: Poor me

This is how I cook for my family~ I have a meat, vegetable, and a potato or macaroni. Ex. hamburger patty cooked with grilled onions, greenbeans or salad, and macaroni and cheese. The family eats everything I have cooked and I just have the meat and vegetable. You can still cook normally for your family just when you eat leave out the carb. Oh yea and you could add deviled eggs to that and they are very inexpensive. Plus my kids love them.

[ulovit]

Re: Poor me

Thank Cleo, that's exactly what I was trying to say. And thanks everyone for all the great tips! I know things will get better in time, but it's those periods where we have to really make do that my progress goes down. Just to give you guys an idea, I'm working with a $200 budget (if I'm lucky that month) for a family of 4.

So far, my best friends in this is eggs (deviled eggs, egg salad, scrambled) and hot dogs. But I am guilty of eating the bread on one $1 menu burger when that's all I have to eat for dinner .

Anyway, thanks. I'm going to definitely explore all the links that you guys provided and I appreciate it. I welcome any tips because I was seriously running out of ideas.

[MarlaSinger]

Re: Poor me

Another idea!

I work from home writing for Demand Studios, Break Studios, Textbrokers and WordGigs. I get paid per article, the amount depends on the type and site. If you excel at writing and research, try applying! You may be able to write a few articles per week and earn your Atkins-friendly food in your spare time! (Not sure if any mother/wife has 'spare' time, but you know what I mean!)

[Dryunderwater]

Re: Poor me

MarlaSinger you are dishing it out "Give a man a fish, teach a man to fish" style...right on! Just had to say that. I'm gonna try to apply for one of those!

To OP: I know how tight things can be. I just put $300 of groceries all LC in the house. It was only high like that cause I went for high quality items this go round. However, I am averaging the same price as Cleo for a family of three on top shelf stuff.

When I began I stuck to eggs, bacon, chicken, broccoli (frozen). It was boring but those are the base of every meal I could think of that I have eaten since childhood. Ok, sans rice and beans but you get the picture.

Next month I will have to back down to $150 but I will still be replenishing the "staples" above. Coupons are great, meat markets sell ends and pieces for cheap and sometimes bulk is even better, say Sam's or Costco.

I don't have as much to contribute as the other posters have done a bang up job already but did wanna at least contribute "Keep the Faith"!

Best Wishes!

[MarlaSinger]

Re: Poor me

MarlaSinger you are dishing it out "Give a man a fish, teach a man to fish" style...right on! Just had to say that. I'm gonna try to apply for one of those!

I know how difficult things are when money is so tight you aren't sure how you can feed your kids. Being broke feels helpless, hopeless and depressing. It doesn't have to be. Good luck with the applications!

Another idea:

Start some seed plants now, so you'll have fresh veggies this summer! If you don't have a lot of yard space, google 'container gardening' and find out what grows well where you are at.

[Aprile]

Re: Poor me

When money is tight look at buying things that can be made into more than one meal. Example: I buy those big pork loins they range about $13-$19 for one big one. I just bought a 9lb one for $13.00 on sale. That one pork loin will make 6 dinners for a family of 5 with left overs for lunch. What I usually do is break the meat into 3 or 4 good size pieces. I leave one out and put the rest in the freezer. First night I make a roast pork which is Atkins friendly. The next day I use the leftovers and put in the crockpot with a little water or broth and cook it down until it can be shredded. I pull out enough shredded pork for me and leave the rest in the crockpot. With my shredded pork I add garlic and spices and usually have it with a salad or sometype of veggie. I can also mix some mayo and spices and make like a pork salad and eat on lettece wraps. For the family I mix BBQ sauce and they have BBQ pulled pork sandwiches. All that from one small piece of meat. The nice thing is I still have 3 more pieces of meat in the freezer I can make another few meals with.

I do the same with Turkey and Chicken roast them up. Eat what we want for dinner and use the rest for me for sliced meat or chuncks of meat for Salad.

If you watch your sales papers you can get packs of frozen veggies sometimes 3/$10 or cans of veggies 10/$10. I know canned is not the best but it is better than eating junk.

I was a single mother for a long time. I now have a family of 5 I have to feed and do it cheaply. For the most part I plan our meals where I can eat what they eat minus the starch. Sometimes I have to make mine a little different but it is usually something I can do before I add a sauce or something to theirs.

[Carne!]

Re: Poor me

Eating well, both for you and your family is not difficult. And the health benefits make this woe much less costly in the long run. If things are tight, maybe you can't have steak and lobster every night, but u can make meals that rival all the packaged junk in terms of price.

-dark meat chicken on the bone is DIRT cheap. Buy some legs or thighs to deep fry or marinate and bake make broth w the bones.
-where I live, bagged veggies are between $1-1.50 for around
4 servings.that's cheaper than a box of hamburger helper.
-eggs
-stew meats in the crockpot with veggies is delish.
-cream cheese
-iceberg lettuce for 'wraps'

U can make all this stuff for u and then supplement w a cheap starch if ur family wants.

[SouLThinKing]

Re: Poor me

As Carne said I buy chicken leg quarters which here are very cheap. You can get them for like 39 cents a pound. Also, I make a lot of ground beef recipes. I always make a meat, starch and vegetables. I eat the meat and vegetables. Green beans are a staple at my house. Buying fresh foods are more expensive but in the long run the kids and hubby don't get hungry as often and everybody is healthier. You can do it. Just buy bulk meat and separate into meals. Do lots of left overs. Good luck

Nichole

[ziggy]

Re: Poor me

i was poor like that in the past once before and i was mostly only eating spagetti and i almost died + i got up to my highest weight ever 330 pounds

it took my body about 6 months of eating healthy before i was healthy again

here are some tips to eating while on a budget

do you live near any forest? or wild life of any kind? there are alot of quail that run around where i live and if your on a budget they are a great source of food

you can get beef fat for free from the butcher

if you got some money to spend buy chicken eggs they are the best value and have nutrients in them that your body needs