How Can I Afford To Diet During The Credit Crunch?

Are you thinking about dieting, but worrying whether your budget will accommodate it?

Have you slipped back to unhealthy junk foods because they’re cheaper than the healthier alternatives that you were buying?

A lot of dieters and would-be-dieters worry about the costs of eating healthily – but the reality is that you could actually save money by dieting.

Staying In is the New Going Out

Many of us are cutting down on former treats like restaurant meals – and even on little indulgences like takeout coffees. Eating at home is good for your wallet and for your diet (so long as you don’t order a pizza…)

Here are some ways in which eating in helps:
• You can control exactly what goes into the food. Although more and more chains are providing calorie information now, you usually won’t have much control over what choices are available.
• You’re less likely to be tempted by extras. How often have you gone out for dinner, been full after the entree, and decided to “just look” at the dessert menu? At home, you wouldn’t have all those tempting options available – you’d just stop eating because you were full.
• You can serve yourself the amount that you want. Yes, you can ask for a doggy bag when eating out, but many of us (especially those with a tendency to gain weight!) are in the habit of eating whatever’s in front of us. And don’t forget drinks: do you really need that supersized soda? Would you and your partner finish off that whole bottle of wine if you were at home, or would you save half for another occasion?

Fruits and Vegetables Don’t Have To Be Expensive

Ignore the “superfood” hype (often whipped up by food manufacturers), and you can get your five-a-day for under $1.50. Stick to basics that you can bulk-buy: apples and bananas are great snack options, and can be sliced into cereals.

Don’t forget about frozen veggies – try peas, sweetcorn or mixed, ready-prepared veg. These cost pennies per portion, and save you on cooking time too. Plus, since they’re frozen straight after picking, they often have more nutrients than the fresh options (which might have been sitting around in the store for days).

Canned fruits and veggies also count towards your five-a-day. Some vitamins are lost during the canning process, but cans are cheap, easy to stock up on, and the mineral and fibre content won’t have been affected.

Avoid “Diet” Products

One of the biggest food expenses for many dieters is special “diet” products. These could be mail-order meals from a special diet plan, or just pricy “light” cake bars, crisps and other snack products, or ready meals.

Try to avoid purchasing specialised foods. Being on a diet means eating more healthily – it doesn’t mean that you need to buy weird and nutritionally-dubious products. In some cases, of course you’ll want to choose a light option (such as skim milk or low-fat cream cheese), but you don’t need things like 100-calorie snack packs or expensive low-fat ice-creams.

Eat Less Meat

Chances are, the most expensive item in your evening meal is the meat. Rather than buying cheap, poor-quality, fatty meat, try having three or four “vegetarian” days each week. Base your evening meal on vegetables, and avoid high-calorie veggie options like nut roast or high-fat cheese.

Meat alternatives such as soya and quorn tend to be cheaper and much lower-calorie than meat, saving you cash and helping you shed pounds at the same time. Eggs are a great, healthy protein source, and very filling. Two medium eggs contain just 150 calories.

If you don’t want to try out a lot of new recipes, look for ways to adapt existing ones. For example, you could make a vegetable or quorn mince chilli, instead of a meat version, or you could make a roasted vegetable lasagne instead of a meat or fish one.

Are you struggling with the cost of eating healthily? Or do you manage a great diet on a budget? Let us know how in the comments…

Written by Ali Hale

Related posts:

1. The Gluten Free Diet
2. Can You Have a Social Life While You’re on a Diet?
3. Eating Out When You’re On a Diet