For something different today, I’m tackling a recent question from reader, Hope, on frugality and weight loss. She asks:
If My story is that I’ve been working out at home all summer but once the rain hits I may need to go to the gym. Do you have any advice? – Hope
you’re interested and willing, would you write a post regarding
frugality and weight loss/health? I know you’re losing baby weight and
you may have other knowledge to share, too.
like so many, I’m overweight AND in debt. The two seem to go together
and it seems to at least partly be from the inability to say no to
yourself. Anyway, I’m on Dave Ramsey’s plan (thanks to you!) and I’m
trying to cut back all things that are a non-necessity. Currently I
have lost 25 lbs in the last 3 months by doing Weight Watchers ($39.95
per month) and exercising. I have a $42 a month gym membership but I
haven’t used it in months since I’ve been exercising at home. I have
about 100 lbs more to lose. These two things would be easy to cut out
of my budget and I would save $62 per month. However, I need the
accountability of a weigh-in to continue to lose the weight so I’m
hesitant to cut Weight Watchers.
Hope,
first off, I just wanted to say that I’m so impressed at your
motivation and determination to become more disciplined! My mom always
says that discipline in one area of your life invariably spills out
into discipline in other areas of your life, too. So, way to go!
Since
the only weight loss I’ve ever dealt with before is losing pregnancy
weight, I’m not sure that I am the most knowledgeable on helping with
this question. I do know that determination and discipline go a long
way, as does accountability.
Here are a few thoughts I had for you and then I’ll open up the floor for others to share:
I would first examine what it is about Weight Watchers that is helping you lose weight. I am guessing it is the accountability. I’ve never been to a Weight Watchers
meeting before, but I’ve heard that you have to weigh in and I know
that if I knew I had to weigh in in front of someone else every week,
that would be a big motivation to me! I also think you have to track
points and they keep track of that as well, am I right? Both things are
basically that you are just paying for accountability.
You could easily accomplish this same thing without paying the money by asking an acquaintance or two to be your accountability partners.
But, you would need to make sure that anyone who is going to be your
accountability partner is going to be a "slave driver." By that I mean,
you don’t want to weigh in front of someone who is too positive and is
going to respond "Oh honey, you’re doing a great job. I’m so proud of you for your hard work, even if you gained five pounds this week." No, you want someone who will really and truly keep you accountable for the long haul and won’t let you be a slacker.
However,
if you can’t find someone who will be this sort of persistent,
force-you-to-be-disciplined accountability partner, then I say that
paying for Weight Watchers
until you reach your goal weight and maintain it, might very well be
the way to go. In the long run, losing the weight and keeping it off
will not only make you feel so much better and give you so much more
energy, it will also invariably save you a lot of health problems in
the future. And sometimes, paying for something means you are
attributing value to it and thus will follow through with it.
As far as a gym membership goes, I’m not sure what sort of exercising you’ve been doing, but there are many cheaper alternatives to paying full-price for a gym membership.
I’ve heard from some that you can often swap a few hours of nursery
services each week at the gym for a paid membership. That might be
something to look into. Don’t be afraid to be creative and think
outside the box. Call around to different gyms in your area and see if
they have any discounted rates for those who can’t afford a full-price
membership. Ask for a deal. Who knows what they might say? After all,
it never hurts to ask!
If you
are walking as part of your exercise, you could find an indoor place to
go and walk on rainy days. What about a large store, or mall, or church
or school with a gym? Again, think outside the box here and see what
you might come up with.
Since the
weather is nice, I’ve been running or walking everyday, which has been
great! I also enjoy a few exercise DVDs and found it’s much more
effective for me than trying to just do my own calisthenics or pilates
routine.
Also, this doesn’t help with the rain thing, but it’s another thinking-outside-the-box way to guarantee some regular exercise–sign up for a walking newspaper route!
We recently took two walking routes on as an entrepreneurial thing to
do as a family. The pay isn’t that great, but the exercise is fabulous
and when you’ve contracted to do the job, you have to do it whether you
feel like it or not!
Now, for a few weight-loss ideas and thoughts from me:
Moderation is key. Only eat when you are hungry and then, do not overeat. I repeat, do not overeat.
This will go a long way in curbing the pounds. If you feel somewhat
hungry, try drinking a big glass of water and see if your hunger goes
away. Sometimes that’s all it takes to tide you over for awhile. If you
have a habit of eating while you are on the computer or sitting in
front of the TV, slice up an apple or two to eat or a bag of carrots
instead of that bag of chips or package of Oreos. Not only will you get
in some great nutrition without much thinking about it, you’ll also
save yourself a lot of calories. As an aside, limit vegging or lounging
in front of any kind of screen as much as possible – this will also
help keep the pounds off!
Avoid processed foods.
Not only are they not good for you, processed foods are usually loaded
with calories and artificial stuff. Rid your cupboards of anything
artificial and then don’t buy any more of it. Along the same lines,
avoid anything that says "Reduced fat, reduced calories, reduced
sugar…" these types of foods are usually crawling with artificial
junk and do not help your health in the long-run. Instead of eating
artificial foods, learn to enjoy made-from-scratch goodness. Make it
yourself, if at all possible, and your pocketbook will thank you!
Avoid sugar.
This is a big one for me and probably my very hardest since I admit to
having a sweet tooth. I do allow myself a few desserts per week, but
since I’m trying to lose my last few pounds of pregnancy weight, I’m
really cutting back. And it’s amazing the difference it makes. What has
helped me is to just not have sweets in the house as much as possible.
Also, when I’m craving something sweet, I will eat a piece of fruit
instead or bake some whole-wheat bread and then eat it fresh with honey
and butter!
Drink water.
Cut the soda and latte addiction and you’ll cut a lot of calories.
Instead, drink lots of water. I also occasionally drink fresh homemade
juice and usually daily have at least one or two cups of herbal teas.
As much as I love drinking a Starbucks coffee every now and then, I’ve
resigned myself to avoid it almost altogether until I’ve finished
losing the last of this baby weight. I have a huge mug that I fill up
with ice water and carry around with me all day. Having it nearby me
throughout the day means that I drink more. I try to drink the
equivalent of at least eight glasses of water a day when not nursing
and at least 12 glasses of water when nursing. For extra zest, I’ll
often squeeze a little lemon in the water, or make healthy lemonade.
Eat a diet high in fiber.
I try to have the majority of my diet be made up of fresh fruits and
vegetables and whole grains. Not only do you feel better eating this
way, it’s better for you, and it’s hard to gain extra weight on this
kind of diet!
Always be looking for ways to incorporate more exercise into your life.
Park farther from the door of a store and briskly walk. Take the stairs
whenever you can. Stand instead of sitting. Jog instead of walking.
Don’t eat after 8:00 p.m.This might seem like a strange one, but it works. If you are really hungry after
8:00 p.m., eat some veggies or a piece of fruit to curb your hunger.
Take on a new hobby or interest.
It’s not my usual thing here to tell you to add something new to your
plate (um, no pun intended), but if eating is a sort of "hobby" to you,
branch out and try some new things to get your mind elsewhere!
Volunteer, organize your closets, plant a garden, do some in-depth
cleaning project, learn a new domestic skill, go clean someone’s home,
take a class, start a business… do anything you can do that gets you
away from food and keeps you busy! Pretty soon, you’ll realize that
you’re so busy doing other things, you’ve forgotten to eat! (Please
note: I’m not advocating we just cram our life full or that we live a
life so busy that we often forget to eat. But sometimes, we need to get
out and get distracted so that we can get over addictions – which is
really what over-eating is.)
Write down everything you eat and drink each day. You’ll be amazed at how helpful this simple little exercise can be. I often find that I think I eat a lot less than I do and I also think
I drink a lot more water than I do. Writing it down helps me to see
just exactly what I’m putting into my body and helps me be able to
adjust my diet accordingly. Utilize a program like DietBug.com or SparkPeople.com to help you track your progress, fitness, water intake, and diet each day.
Most importantly, if you are a Christian, ask the Lord for grace.
This is the most important. Don’t try to lose weight in your own
strength. Go to the Lord and ask Him to help you, to give you the
discipline, and the self-control. He is able!
Those
are some of my thoughts on the subject. I’d love to hear others "weigh
in" with advice, personal testimonies, or tips for losing weight
without breaking your budget. Also, if anyone has any advice or
experience with Weight Watchers, gym memberships, or other weight loss
programs or helps, please do share in the comments section.
Originally published in September 2007.
{ 66 comments }
I’ve lost and kept off about 45lbs for two years now. I run, walk and lift weights and do have a gym membership. I’d rather run/walk outdoors but don’t have weight lifting equipment, plus the membership doesn’t let me use the weather as an excuse! It only cost me about $0.70/day for the membership. I replaced my can of pop a day with the cost of the gym membership.
I cut back on what I ate and sometimes I’m still amazed that a self proclaimed junk food junky like myself can turn down ice cream! If I really crave something sweet, I’ll eat one marshmallow, its about 23 calories but hits the sugar craving right on the mark.
I have been doing Weight Watchers for two months now and it has helped tremendously. I don’t have the self discipline to just “eat healthy” on my own, so spending the money is definitely worth it for me. It’s also useful as a resource, because it turns out some things I thought were “healthy” were actually way higher in fat/calories than I thought! So for me, it’s useful for the information and education in addition to the accountability. I appreciate the Weight Watchers message boards where I can glean from so much collective experience (although I believe the boards are free even to non-members). I use the “online” version of Weight Watchers (since it would be too difficult, with three small children, to make it to a meeting every week!) and have found it very manageable and helpful. Once I lose enough weight, I can probably make it “on my own” but Weight Watchers has helped me understand what healthy eating/eating for weight loss should look like so I can figure it out in the future. (How’s that for a glowing review? And they’re not even paying me to say it!)
I have found, grocery-wise, that it’s both a savings and an expense. There’s absolutely no way you need a bunch of special “diet foods” (and there are soooo many out there!) to do it correctly. Also, I’m eating less than before so that cuts back on the grocery bill! LOL! however, I’m also incorporating more fresh fruit and vegetables than before, which makes my grocery budget a little higher (until I lean how to shop more like Crystal and find deals on produce!).
I think My Food Diary is an EXCELLENT and cheap program to lose weight. It gives you more than spark people (free) and is only $9 a month. They have a huge database of foods and you can add your own recipes or food labels, and you track your body measurements, weight, log exercise calories and food that you eat. It’ll tell you when you’d reach your goal weight if you ate like today everyday. It’s a pretty awesome website, and there are forums and groups you can join for accountability.
http://www.myfooddiary.com
I am fairly new to your website, but having been couponing for 25 years or so, but thanks to you and some MOPS moms (I am a Mentor for our group) I am learning more all the time!
I began Weight Watchers in January of this year. I have lost 34 pounds so far with about 66 to go!
I am 47 and have been overweight all of my adult life to some degree or another (although not this much). I have tried various things to lose weight, but was never able to afford some of the pricey food programs on TV. Weight watchers is by far the most logical, least expensive, and helpful thing I’ve ever done. Again, I think you nailed it on the head when you said the price for Weight Watchers is an “INVESTMENT”. We are in debt as well, trying to sell our home to downside, etc., and we cannot afford the Y or a gym either. I have been awful about exercising this summer, but we have a nearby church with an indoor track and gym that you can use free of charge and without a membership at that church. Your comment about relying on God is the absolute best. I truly believe that He led me to WW and that he continues to provide support and prayer through my friends and family and church family. Again, those are my comments and congrats on the 25 pounds for her so far! That’s awesome! Don’t give up!
I used to pay for a gym membership with my husband, but found the gym intimidating and monotonous. So I ended up avoiding it altogether, which is a waste of money and detrimental to my weight loss goal. I also hate running, so jogging in my neighborhood is out of the question, too.
So after a lot of trial and error, I came across a Pilates DVD, which is my new exercise regimen. Its fun and super challenging. I saw results FAR faster than I ever did by going to the gym, and I loved the newfound energy I had. I could actually feel ab muscles again soon after my daughter was born. This fixed my road blocks to exercise, but everyone has their own hurdles to cross. Hope this helps someone!
The food diary (writing everything you eat and drink for a month and tracking the calories, fat, and other nutritional factors like fiber) worked for me. I lost 40 pounds 2 years ago, and it permanently changed the way I view eating. I had no idea how many calories I was ingesting.
So that’s my absolute favorite frugal diet tip of all time. It costs nothing … just the price of a notebook and the commitment to sticking to it. You’ll be amazed at how much you learn about nutrition in the first month. Good luck!
Crystal, one of many things I discuss at Mommy Snacks is my journey to losing weight – Fat Burnin’ Fridays! I’ve lost 30 pounds since January by soreness, sweat, and prayers (actually it has been 60 pounds since April 2007 – lost baby weight too)! Your advice is definitely good and I could echo every single tip! The other thing I’ll add is that I am a member of Sparkpeople.com and it works! It helps you change your mindset on losing weight to make it a way of life, not just another diet! I’ve used the site for years and have had success and accountability with the site and members.
If anyone is interested, I’ll leave a link to all my tips on losing weight – they have worked for me, and I’m a “normal” mother who has had 3 kids and needed lots of help in this area!
http://mommysnacks.blogspot.com/search/label/Fat%20Burnin%27%20Friday
I’m Asian(specifically Filipino) and I noticed that when I came here in America, I gained several pounds. A lot of people I know who went here gained pounds too. I think it’s because of the availability of more and cheaper food here especially the processed ones. The servings in fastfoods and restaurants are huge for me too! I can share my plate with 1-2 other Filipinos like me lol. I’m trying to lose weight too but I don’t want to starve myself or overwork myself just to lose the extra pounds. I have realized that if I change my eating habits, it would help me in the long run. I want something that I can eat the rest of my life with. I’ve been eating more fruits lately and if I get hungry, I just eat fruits. I’m not perfect though coz I still eat a lot of meat and processed foods and chocolate but I’m cutting back. In the morning, I eat cereal and fruits instead of bacons or whatever. It’s cheaper and healthier. Also, I try my best not to jump at every food deals that we see in stores! There are a lot of sale and nice deals out there for processed foods and it’s really tempting. Also, it’s frugal for me to share a plate when eating our or just order appetizer or just salad or even kid’s meal! I don’t even feel I’m shortchanging my body coz that’s only what I can finish on one sitting! Everytime I order regular entree, I always have to take home food and most of my take-homes get thrown coz they don’t taste good anymore lol. I know a lot of people need to eat more food than I can take, but that’s just one of frugal ways I’m doing. And oh, I only drink water when eating out. I always just drink water, no sodas for me!
Oops, forgot to put my URL with my comment above
Don’t ever give up!!! I have joined wellness360.com and they will actually pay you to record your eating and exercise. There is no cost to join and they have good health information on there too. I have struggled with extra pounds most of my adult life.(It is in my Genes) As long as I exercise everyday and eat small healthy meals every few hours, I can keep the weight off. It is not always easy but worth the sacrifice!
My husband wrote a great post at his blog (follow the url) about weight loss and finances. A few years back both of us starting eating better and lost a lot of weight. I think the checks and balances method worked very well for us and just like finances is easier when you can monitor your progress.
Well I don’t have any personal experience with losing weight — but my husband did Weight Watchers for a few months and lost 40 lbs! We decided that he had to quit going because of the cost and we just couldn’t fit that into our budget. Let me just say that actually participating in the meetings is what kept him doing it. (he also went with a guy friend of his which helped –this friend did it for a year and lost 100 pounds). When he had to quit doing WW, he couldn’t seem to keep up the weight loss and manage all the points etc. It really is the best program I know about and if we could afford it, we’d be doing it again (probably together!).
There is an online WW tool (not as good as going to meetings) but I think it is cheaper. The reason why I liked this is because I had online access to recipes to cook for my husband and knew how many points it was! SO much easier than figuring out how many points are in your own recipe.
ANOTHER NOTE: Crystal says to cut out the lattes…now I am a LATTE LOVER! Not starbucks or anywhere but we were blessed with a cappuccino maker last Christmas. We make lattes with fat free milk (which happens to foam the best anyway!) and use sweetener (usually splenda but some people aren’t big fans of that). This keeps the latte fat free! You can also order lattes like this at Starbucks.
Just my thoughts, thanks for letting me share!
I think eating is an area many women struggle with! There is an excellent blog called “Girl Talk (mother-daughter conversations on biblical womanhood)”. In October of last year they did a month-long series about the topic of eating and all the pitfalls that accompany it. They helped readers examine the heart motivations behind why we overeat etc. In other words getting to the root of the problem. I highly recommend this blog, but especially encourage you to read the archive for October 2007. The address is: http://girltalk.blogs.com/ Beyond that I have done several of the things Crystal suggested. When my first child was born, my husband and I wanted me to stay home with him. I got a little job one day a week at the YMCA in the nursery where I could take him with me. I also got a FREE gym membership and then he could go to the nursery while I exercised. I now homeschool my 5 children, so no more part-time job for me. But now I have a scholarship at the Y where I pay a fraction of the cost. I love the Y! I have also found that getting a friend who will journal (what they eat and when they exercise) into a notebook and periodically (and without warning) ask to exchange notebooks with you so they can “check up on you” to be helpful. Also most video stores have workout videos (yoga, aerobics, pilates etc) for rent. This can keep you from getting bored. My kids even like to do yoga (very funny to watch). Hope this serves you.
Hi there.. I was a die hard WW for over 3 solid years. I went so far as to get my story published in local papers after winning a motivational WW story sponsored through WW magazine. I got several friends to join WW, started a walking club after our gym shut down unexpectantly, started a biking club for my neighborhood, plus got a gym membership so my husband and son could also work out.
Things came to a screeching halt on Sept 16th last year. That was the last day I worked out, ate right, paid attention to my weight because I had a new obsession.. debt reduction. I got a 2nd job, my husband did too, I started cutting corners everywhere and unfortunately all the things that helped me keep the weight off including time to go to the gym/bike/walk, the gym membership, lower calorie/fat foods/snacks options all went out the window.
I have gained over 30lbs back in the 11 months and feel fat and miserable all the time. It was a long hard road and now I’m at the point where everyday is the “restart” of WW. I have to be honest in saying I realize that for some of us WW that scale at the meeting is key. Facing that scale from week to week is what keeps us accountable.
Luckily I’m a lifetime member so I will only have to pay until I get back down to my goal weight but that could easily take 6+ months. I do have a free log on for the WW chat rooms and I know they have challenges all the time. I would also agree that having a partner, anyone, a neighbor, friend, family member, co-worker, will help you keep on track.
PS I paid off my $30,000 in credit card debt in 6 months and 20 days. YOU CAN DO IT!! Keep chugging!
I wrote about this topic on my own blog right after the New Year of this year. I have lots of links listed in the post that are really great to utilize. I have had great success with the Weight Watchers plan, but I have never been to a meeting. I utilize many websites and resources I found online. I even found a great printable food journal for recording points that is just awesome. My blog post about Frugal Weight Loss can be found at http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/frugalkendra/453202/ HTH!! Feel free to email me from my blog with any questions or comments!
I’ll start by saying that my tip may not be practical & cost effective for everyone, but it was for me. I own a Wii. Yes, I went and paid full price for it ($250) a couple of years ago, but it has been the only gaming system I have ever purchased, and I purchased it as a reward to myself with a small portion of backpay I received from a promotion at work. Now just using the Wii to play the sports games, gets you active… if you own a Wii, you can do what I did, I recently bought the Wii Fit (another $89 investment) – but with it, you have the ability to weigh in every day, as well as do body strength/agility tests each day that also measure your progress… There are then different exercises, etc that you can do. Does it replace a gym all together, no… but it is a creative way to keep active and have some fun… and some of the activities can be a good workout if you get into it. But the neat thing, is similiar to the Weight Watcher’s weigh in, this allows you to weigh in, and it tracks your progress on a calendar… you set goals for yourself, it tracks you towards your goal. It allows you to add in and keep track of physical activity you do outside of playing, if you gain weight, it will actually ask you to identify why you think you gained, and provide some feedback… it may not seem like it, but there is some accountability there, when I know that if I pig out on pizza at lunch, I might have to go home and have the little guy on the TV show me just how that affected me.
Now obviously, just going out and purchasing this equipment isn’t a practical and frugal expense for everyone, but I balanced it into my budget, and now that it is purchased, I don’t have the recurring expense of a meeting, etc
Funny you should post this because I am needing to lose some baby weight {plus a bit more} & have been looking into Weight Watchers as well. I can’t afford the meetings. Period. What about an online “group” for your accountability? I have been checking out PeerTrainer myself. Also, maybe you could apply Crystal’s idea of asking for a reduced rate at the gym to WW. Maybe there is some sort of service/work you could exchange for being able to attend the meetings. Just a thought :>)
Something that goes along w/ not eating junk food is to incorporate more whole grains/legumes into your diet. Brown rice and wheat pasta are not much more expensive than the white versions when you consider that they are way cheaper than anything processed that you buy (and like Crystal said, when you assign value to something like your health, you can spend a little more money on it.) You can incorporate more beans and lentils into your diet and save money/fat/calories formerly used on meat. When my mother was losing weight (over 30 lbs.) she followed the Weight Watchers Point System. Beans are a free food on that program, so I gave her several of my “cheap” bean and brown rice recipes and she loved them. They were the same recipes my husband and I ate all the time while we were getting out of debt.
Great ideas, Crystal. One that helped me in the beginning of trying to lose weight when I need to break the routine of eating at night was to buy the whitening strips for my teeth that needed to stay on for a period of time. I know that sounds funny, but I obviously couldn’t eat with those one and hten didn’t want to eat after they’d been on. Plus, there are coupons for them all the time! Along the same lines is to chew gum when cooking or giving the kids a snack.
One other idea would be to get with some friends and see if you could find a trainer that would do a session or two for the group (split the cost) and show you different exercises to do indoors in the weather. Also, our library has exercise DVDs to borrow for a change of pace.
check out sparkpeople.com. It’s totally free, is a solid program and you can get all the support you need.
check out sparkpeople.com. It’s totally free, is a solid program and you can get all the support you need.
Giving back will get you a free breakfast at Panera Bread.
The bakery chain is hosting a food drive for the FreestoreFoodbank at all Greater Cincinnati locations starting Friday.
Customers who donate a non-perishable breakfast item before 10:30 a.m. will get a free breakfast sandwich.
The new line of breakfast sandwiches are made with a combo of eggs, cheese, bacon, and sausage on ciabatta bread.
The food drive starts tomorrow and continues through August 16
Good morning, I was glad to see the advice you wrote this morning. I am a mom of 2, a 4 year old and a 7 year old. God’s richest blessings to me.
I gained 90 pounds between the time Hubby and I were married in 92′ til I had my second child. I thankfully did not gain over 25 pounds with either child, but again, I was carrying around a lot of weight. I am tall, so I just looked enormous…
Hubby and I talked on several occasions about me having the bi-pass surgery, at the time we had insurance. I was a candidate, especially because I had gestational diabetes with my 2nd child. I went through all necessary appts. and lost 10#’s. My date was set for surgery…God kept showing me Weight Watchers: commercials, magazines, products…I asked God so many times to help me lose the weight without surgery.
Understand I could write a book here, but to end this on a quick note, I began weight watchers on 12-29-2005, I have lost 70 pounds and kept it off, not by doing anything weird, just eating good foods and the right amounts. I was a chicken when it came to surgery, but Weight Watchers, I could do. A-N-D…I still am. I have lots of online friends that help me stay accountable and I am working on losing the last 20 pounds as we speak. Also, I don’t have a gym membership, I get out and ride bikes with the boys. A one-time cost of $90.00 for a new bike, time with my kids…priceless!
I have heard of people doing their own “Biggest Loser” programs with co-workers, family, and friends. The way it works is that everyone puts in a certain amount of money to start (I think it was $10 or $20). Then there is a set amount of time- say 3 months- that each participant has to lose a certain amount of weight- I believe it was 10% for girls, maybe 15% for guys. At the end of the 3 months, there is a weigh-in. If you have accomplished the goal (10% or 15%) you get your money back. If you have lost the most weight percentage-wise, you get your money back and you get the money of anyone who did not achieve their percentage goal.
I think it’s a great way to lose weight because you can be motivated with accountability to others AND you have the potential to earn some extra cash!
I had one thought to add when Crystal mentioned writing down what you eat. When I took a nutrition class, we once had to log what we ate. The thing that was eye-opening to me was that we had to also keep track of why we were eating it, what time, where, what were we doing, etc. It may seem like a lot of information, but it really helped me recognize what my bodies needs were, as well as recognize my patterns of bad habits. I realized that I was only tempted to eat some crummy sweet thing in the afternoon because I needed to get some more energy in me–easily accomplished by having something with protein in it, like nuts.
I just canceled my gym membership and was recently trying to decide what to do about exercise. My husband and I take frequent walks in the summer, but we live in Wisconsin, so winter walking just isn’t going to happen!
A friend of my husband’s recently mentioned that you don’t need to sign a contract when you join the YMCA! I never realized this. It means that my husband and I can start our gym membership in October and cancel again in April. That’s 5 months a year where we are NOT paying for a membership that we don’t use in the summer, anyway. I’m pretty excited to join this fall!
I would suggest looking into a local YMCA. While they are not always as shiny or fancy as other gyms, they offer scholarships for people who can’t afford full memberships.
And don’t be so intimidated by the gym. Just this morning I went with my mom (she’s 44 and I’m 22) to a group exercise class at our local YMCA. It was called ZUMBA and was basically an intense aerobic/dance class. There were women of all shapes and sizes there, and the instructor was mindful that everyone has different abilities. It was SO fun, and really motivating. Something like that could really jump start your weight loss if you find something to do with other people that is really fun.
I agree about using http://www.Sparkpeople.com. I was able to lose 20lbs this year so far by planning my weekly meals and keeping track of what I eat using this free website. I like that it gives me an easy categorized shopping list each week to go shopping with. I also used a website through ivillage for awhile but I have had more success with Sparkpeople. SparkPeople also has a lot of fun features like recipe pages and personal boards for you to create, mark your progress with and make friends with. I have not had much success with any other type of program or diet other than keeping track of what I eat and keeping my calories low each day but also not depriving myself of the foods I really want.
Well in the past 2 years, i have lost about 40 pounds, and kept it off. I have not exercised, I am horrible with that. But i am very aware of what i eat. I have a slimfast every morning (they are on sale maybe once a month, so they arent too expensive) followed by any of the following as an organic snack (apple, cheese stick, yogurt, smoothie, etc) Eat every few hours to keep yourself satisfied, and so you dont inhale your food once you get it. Also, drink a glass of water 30 minutes before every meal. It help to fill you up, and you will eat less. Lastly, I have been drinking this tea that i swear by! Its called three ballerina tea, or dieters drink, and it can be found at Publix in the asian food section, in a green box. It is about $4 for a 2 week supply. I only do it for maybe 2 weeks a month, but the results are great! It is basically a colon cleansing tea, so be careful drinking it but I couldnt live without it!
Those are just a few of my tips, Good luck!
Crystal, I think your last piece of advice is terrific – to ask God for grace, but I question the way you prefaced it, “if you are a Christian”. How about, “if you believe in God”? The way you stated it makes it seems like God only believes in Christians.
I’ve struggled with weight since childhood. IMO, if weight watchers is working for you, then stick with it. Weight related health problems will cost you more down the road, and aside from that, if it works for you, isn’t losing the weight worth $40 a month? Although I love trying to cut corners and be as frugal as possible, sometimes something is worth what you pay for, and that’s that. I did WW for a year with a friend, and it worked well– until my friend moved away. Then I didn’t have much motivation to go to meetings by myself, etc. Now, I’m doing a different program– more expensive, unfortunately, but one that I think will work much better for me. It is going better so far, and if I can lose weight with this even though it is almost twice the price of WW, then it’s worth it to me.
The gym membership on the other hand is something I would cut. If you’re not using it now, it’s not worth it. There are other alternatives like exercise videos. You can rent them or get a netflix subscription for a couple months (25% of the cost of your membership), see which ones you like or if you do like them, and then buy a couple of your favorites or keep up the netflix. Also, Crystal’s mall walking idea is another good one.
I too needed to lose weight from having my thee kids. After each child, I worked out for a year until I lost the baby weight before getting pregnant again. I gained 50 lbs during my last pregnancy and since I’m almost 40 has taken longer to lose. But here are my tips (mostly suggested by a friend who owns a gym in another town). I have a gym membership of only $27 and waited to join when they had a promo. I selected this gym because they have a great kids care room.
1)We (me and my kiddos) go to the gym 4 days a week in the am. If you can work out in the morning, you will jump start your metabolism all day.
2) Eat breakfast right after you get up. That also gets the metabolism going.
3) Do strength training or a weight lifting class 2 times a week and alternate with cardio interval training and high level cardio.
(This is what my week look likes: monday walking on a treadmill at a high rate for 30 min and then ab work, tuesday weight training, wednesday interval training work go as fast as you can on whatever you want for 1 min and then slower for 1 1/2 min, thursday weight training.)
4)Now your fat burning zone based on your age and resting heart rate. Ask someone at a gym, or search for a calculator on the net.
5)Eat sensible meals and snack on veges, fruit or cheese stick between your meals
6)I agree with Crystal but have 1/2 cup of icecream (my other love) at 8pm when the kids are sleeping. My comfort food.
Good luck!
I second sparkpeople. LOVE it. I have done WW online but couldnt justify the price! Spark people is FREE and you use calories instead of points. Easy peasy.
I also use netflix, which has saved our family a ton of money, we no longer buy any dvds! And they now have work out dvds you can rent. I work out alsmot everyday now!
I did pay for Weight Watchers for a year, but it really helped me succeed in losing weight. And once you are at your goal weight and become a lifetime member, you don’t have to pay! I did pay a what seemed like a lot of money for that year, but I have been going for free for 7 years now (continuing to attend meetings helps me keep my weight in check), so it seems a worthwhile investment to me.
If you have not used the gym membership in months, give it up.
Weight Watchers is obiviously working for you and it is proven that people who attend meetings lose more and keep it off better than people who don’t attend meetings. Stick with it, you and your health are worth the $39 a month. Better yet, let that be an incentive for you to reach your goal weight, become a lifetime member and never pay again…while still attending meetings for free.
There is so much more to Weight Watchers meetings than accountability (although that is one aspect). They teach you a new way of life and if you do not learn and adapt it to your life, it does not matter how much weight you lose, you will gain it back.
Ok, off my soapbox
I’m going to be the naysayer. I stopped trying to lose weight. Completely. Forever. I can’t believe all the money, time, and energy I wasted on weight loss. (I grieve the damage I probably did to my body with 2 years of slimfast.) Be happy with who you are, eat the healthiest food you can, and do things you enjoy. If you want to read more about how diets don’t work and Weight Watchers is a diet, check out Kate Harding’s Shapely Prose ( http://kateharding.net/) and Junk Food Science ( http://www.junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/ ).
It was spiritually very freeing to come to understand that all my problems aren’t from being fat, and that God loves me no matter how I look, and that the care I give to my body and self are not necessarily reflected in the shape of my body.
Hey I would really encourage you to stick with the WW. I have been going for about 5 months with great sucess, but still have another 85 pounds to go. I find for those of us who have had a lifelong problem, WW works well. Its not just the weighing in, but the rewards given for accomplishments, the speakers, the comraderie of the group. Don’t give it up! Your health is worth $40 a month!
Thank you for posting this. I have been using my frugalness as an excuse for not getting back on the diet bandwagon – saying “I can’t afford to eat healthy.” About the most stupid thing you’ve heard in a while huh?
Time to change my thinking, and start using the treadmill we were blessed with 3 months ago!
I think WW also has tools for counting calories, carbs, etc. and sets limits. If you use an online food diary (free), it will do the same thing. I reviewed three of them on my blog. Here’s the link to the most recent one:
http://www.soundmoneymatters.com/daily-food-diary/
The thing I like best is that it shows me in a big number how many calories I have left for the day to reach my weight loss goal (you can set a weight and a date). When you exercise, you get more calories to eat, so that’s another motivation.
I was told at our local YMCA that no person is turned away for the inability to pay. Their rates were low, but I went with a all woman’s gym instead.
I am also doing WW and finding it very successful in my eight loss journey. 8lbs down, 20 to go
A great alternative to a gym membership is the YMCA/YWCA. An annual family membership for our local Y is $140. They have great classes, as well as other activities.
I’m pregnant now and gaining weight again, but between my third and fourth babies I lost 25 lbs in 8 months by exercising 5 days a week for at least an hour. I didn’t change my diet a whole lot, except I incorporated more salads into our meals. I’ve posted a lot of those recipes on my blog.
I could not get the scale to budge no matter how hard I tried until I ramped up my exercise. So many people are willing to diet for a time (and always fall off that wagon) because they won’t sweat, and I mean SWEAT, too. I can’t describe the feeling when I was finally able to run one mile without stopping!
I found Galloway’s Book of Running to be hugely helpful. I never dreamed I could run. Even when I was young and skinny I couldn’t do it. Be sure to get fitted with a great shoe from someone who knows what they’re doing. It’s a splurge, but one that’s worth it. Start slow, slow slow so you don’t get hurt.
It’s SOOO worth it! Besides, running and walking is FREE.
Now that’s frugal!
I would encourage you to find a friend or friends who also are wanting to lose weight. Keep each other motivated and on the right path with encouragement, honest talk about weight, exercise, and food, and prayer. I have one friend (hopefully soon to be two) who is actively trying to lose weight and get in shape so we talk all the time about food, exercise, and even share our weight and goals. We live too far apart to exercise together (she at a ladies’ gym and me at home with a Leslie Sansone DVD plus I am on a strict Candida diet,Dr. prescribed, while she is doing more WW and low fat) but it helps so much just to have someone to talk to who understands and who prays for me.
The cost is very small but the benefit is great, plus our friendship is strengthened as is encouraging each other in the Lord. i appreciate her more everyday for her inspiration.
I would encourage you to find a friend or friends who also are wanting to lose weight. Keep each other motivated and on the right path with encouragement, honest talk about weight, exercise, and food, and prayer. I have one friend (hopefully soon to be two) who is actively trying to lose weight and get in shape so we talk all the time about food, exercise, and even share our weight and goals. We live too far apart to exercise together (she at a ladies’ gym and me at home with a Leslie Sansone DVD plus I am on a strict Candida diet,Dr. prescribed, while she is doing more WW and low fat) but it helps so much just to have someone to talk to who understands and who prays for me.
The cost is very small but the benefit is great, plus our friendship is strengthened as is encouraging each other in the Lord. i appreciate her more everyday for her inspiration.
@Hope: I’m guessing that since being on Weight Watchers you’ve already significantly changed the way you eat at home (this has been the case for my aunt and grandmother who have been long time WW members).
Here are a few of my own tips that you may or may not have already tried:
Add cayenne or chili seasoning to nearly everything you cook at home. It doesn’t have to be enough to taste it, just a little helps, at least in my experience. Or, you could add fresh hot peppers to your cooking – I do this often with jalapenos. Peppers give your metabolism a little boost, helping to burn more calories than you would without them. When I use the seasoning, I typically leave out the salt and pepper.
Don’t eat meat on the bone or with skin. My reasons for not doing this are not health related, but it does cut a lot of extra fat out of my diet. Boneless/skinless meat is sometimes more expensive, but there are deals to be had, especially if you buy in bulk.
Make big pots of soup. I happen to love cabbage, so it is often used when I make soup, along with hot italian sausage. It really doesn’t matter what you use, as long as you throw in tons of veggies and keep out the typical bones/fat that are used to make stock. You can eat your fill of the soup, then freeze the extra in individual servings to be had later.
Drink lots of water. You can flavor it with lemon or lime juice. When I have other beverages – pink lemonade is big in our home right now – I pour half juice/lemonade and half water. This cuts down on the sugar, still tastes great, and sneaks in some more water for you.
I would definitely say to cancel your gym membership if you haven’t used it in months. Even if you were to use it three months out of the year, you’d be paying the equivalent of $168 a month for it. ($42 * 12 / # of months used) There are other things you can do in the winter months that cost less: go bowling or ice skating, check some yoga and pilates videos out from your local library, do daily stretches to increase your energy and get you motivated to move about the house more, find a group of women in your area that meets for indoor activities (even if it’s not exercise, you will burn a ton of calories from the interaction with others and the inevitable laughing).
One last thing: fidget. A lot. Every little bit adds up, so why not burn a few extra calories with fidgeting?
I have to agree with sparkpeople.com. It is a great program that allows you to be accountable, track your food/exercise/water intake,a nd provides healful tips and recipes. Also, be sure to buy your fresh produce when it is in season. Not only does it taste better, but it is cheaper too.
Although I have never had a weight problem to speak of, the book that transformed how I thought about food was The Weigh Down Diet by Gwen Shamblin. It is a biblically-based weight loss program, and it makes so much SENSE it was stunning to me. I truly now don’t give a second thought to whether or not what I am eating is “good” or “bad” and whether or not I should feel guilty and like a failure for eating something “bad”. Deliverance from the shackles of guilt! It changed my life!
Another vote for http://www.sparkpeople.com– it can provide the accountability that Weight Watchers does through either the tracking programs or through the groups.
I found out about this website from somebody once, and I’ve been passing it on ever since– I used to do Weight Watchers Online, but also had to cut it to save money. There is a similar, free alternative called Spark People (www.sparkpeople.com) that lets you track your food (and you get to choose what aspects you track: calories, fat, fiber, carbs, etc.) and your exercise. You get little trophies as milemarkers. AND, they have an online community you can become a part of in order to help motivate you, if you need that accountability or interpersonal support from others attempting to lose weight.
It’s very customizable and easy to use, and they even have recommended meal plans, recipes and other health information. I highly recommend it!
I am also a WW member–in fact I just made it to my goal weight 3 weeks ago! After 15 months of paying the monthly fee, I can honestly say it’s worth every penny! I also have a gym membership. The amount of energy I have and my new outlook on life is priceless.
That being said, I know these things do hit the pocketbook. But here’s a couple of bright sides:
1) for WW, when you do make it to your goal and maintain for 6 weeks, you become a Lifetime member and there are no more dues as long as you continue to maintain!
2) think about the cost of being unhealthy–healthcare costs and medication costs are through the roof and they will only get worse! Take care of yourself now to save some of this!
3) on a much smaller scale, I’ve found that losing weight has also helped me fight gas prices–I use my bike and walk so much more than I ever did before!
Keep up the great work!
(1) I’d like to say don’t feel bad about not going to the gym as much as you would have liked.
(2) Think about what has worked for you in the past, what is working for you now. Are there activities you did when you were younger, maybe hiking or tennis that you could get back into now?
(3) You’ve lost 25 lbs in 3 months ~ that is great success.
(4) Having a personal trainer may be a good option for you. If you aren’t going to keep your gym membership, perhaps you can look into online personal training. Just be sure to check credentials. One place you may try is http://www.created4excellence.com. If that doesn’t work for you, let me know as I have another link someplace.
(5) Be proud of your accomplishment and keep up the great work!
Don’t skip breakfast! I know it is popular to think you shouldn’t eat when you are not hungry – and for the most part this is true, however, when you eat breakfast you tell your metabolism to start and you wake your brain up. Feeling tired and sluggish during the day will only make you crave more food so start the day off right with a decent, healthy breakfast and you can help save yourself extra calories, fat, and money food costs later in the day.
I was overweight AFTER the baby weight came off from my first pregnancy, so I decided to train for a triathlon in order to get to a healthy weight before trying to become pregnant again. I found a lot of (FREE)support (including weight loss support & online accountability groups for weekly weigh-ins) at http://www.beginnertriathlete.com. Thinking of exercise as “training” helped me make it a priority, and it felt GREAT to cross the finish line. 18 months after my daughter was born, I finished my second sprint triathlon and had lost 35 lbs. My favorite part about triathlon (or any of its component sports) is that so much of the training can be done outside– good for the body and the soul!
I’ve been doing a series at the Frugal Bookworm about the “Financial Costs of Obesity” with some alternatives for how we can make changes and lose weight. Please come on over and read the posts and join us! Tomorrow, I’ll be doing a special post on “Emotional Eating” and how it’s affected me lately.
My husband and I had pretty good results when we went through a free online bible study for people with eating issues. Check it out at:
http://www.settingcaptivesfree.com/lords_table/
I too have been going to WW on and off for the last 20 years. I was at a point where I thought it was the only way I could loose weight, but cannot justify the cost.
I have been using a website called thedailyplate.com. It has been terrific. It must be similiar to spark people. It is FREE and I just pop in everything I eat and it automatically counts calories, fat, protein, carbs, etc. I have found almost every food I eat is in it’s library so I don’t have to enter anything other than the item. It tells me how many calories I should be eating based on my current weight and the amount of weight I would like to use.
I also enter my weight weekly and the website charts my weight loss (9 lbs in 4 weeks!)
I HIGHLY recommend this to WW junkies who can’t justify WW prices.
I have tried (and failed) most of the diets that are on the market today. I just recently joined Weight Watchers with my daughter and, I have to say, that this is the best program ever. It is not a diet, it is a way to learn how to eat properly. This program is worth the money that I am paying, just to see the look on my daughters face when she loses weight each week. Also, the online interface is worth its weight in gold. Food diary, meal planning, all of it. Money is tight, but this is something that I would find a way to pay for.
Just my opinion.
Eve
One other support group alternative is Overeaters Anonymous. There are meetings in most cities as well as online. They don’t require specific diets but the key component of the program is following a food plan (much like the spending plan in Debtors Anonymous). No official weigh-in, but accountability is definitely built-in. Not exactly WW, but maybe a good option for folks who can’t pay for it.
I’m a registered nurse and I lost 70 lbs with Weight Watchers. I am an avid couponer and am always looking to save a buck. But I also believe it’s important to take care of your body (you’ve only got one)! So… my suggestion would be to keep going to Weight Watchers (Like someone mentioned, it’s an INVESTMENT) But maybe since you’re not really using the gym membership find alternative forms of exercise that have been mentioned earlier(ie: walking in the mall, etc…) Good luck.
I also am on WW and I have found that the online access is a lot more extensive then at spark. I have around 70 lbs. to lose. I have successful lost the weight before my baby! (now 20m old) So I do know it does work. A good way to excercise without the cost is to walk around the mall..before they open is a good time. I have started a blog to help all WW’s with meal planning and recipes. Check it out…it is just in the baby steps right now and is in process of getting a new look so check back for the big reveal. http://www.chubbiechica.blogspot.com
I also have been getting out of debt with Dave’s “Total Money Makeover.” Following along those lines, I use what I like to call the “Total Diet Makeover!”
I have put on about 20 pounds over the last five years due to health issues and the use of Prednisone. The weight went on easy, but wasn’t coming off. I was walking a couple miles a day and lifting weights two days a week, but it wasn’t helping. I realized I was just plain eating too much!
So, now with a little planning (about 5 minutes each morning) I “spend” my daily calories on paper, on purpose, just like a food budget.
I figured if I could stick to our financial budget like I had been, I could stick to this dietary budget. I just eat the meals I planned out on paper, and that is it. NO extra snacking! I have felt hungry for the first time in a long time, and stop eating before I’m stuffed. I am learning to say no to myself and be disciplined in my money and food life. I have started to lose weight and feel better about myself.
It didn’t cost a penny! Hope this helps
First of all GREAT JOB on losing weight!! I’m also a weight watchers member. And the support and morale at my weekly meetings keep me going, not just the accountablity at the scale. But foremost myself and my husband have put my weight loss in God’s hands.
One tip to share is be sure and check out your local library for weight watcher cookbooks and other inspirational books. If your local branch doesn’t carry any then request and have them sent to your branch. I have found that losing weight has boosted my energy level enabling me to do more and given me more confidence eventhough I have only lost only 24lbs with about 80 more to go.
We have save money by eating at home and not out since I know exactly what I’m cooking. Also I found a wonderful Sunflower farmers market next door to my meeting. They have AWESOME deals on produce. Good luck on the weight loss journey.
Spark People will also help Hope in the accountability department – especially with so many groups that she could join!
It’s a fabulous website and helped me lose 40 lbs! I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to lose weight or maintain a healthy lifestyle.
I have recently faced this problem, as I am trying to get pregnant and this birth will hopefully be a VBAC. That means I have to be in much better shape, but we couldn’t afford a gym membership. I scoured Craigslist for about a month and finally found a good treadmill for $100. This is much cheaper than a gym membership, and I bought a brand that both my sister and mom have, and the best part is, if anything ever needs to be replaced, you can go to the website and replace any individual part. My sister’s treadmill has lasted her 11 years and it’s still going strong, which is why I was great buying a used one (But BE PICKY!!!). As to the WeightWatchers – totally go for it. It is absolutely an investment.
I don’t have much to add except that myfooddiary.com was also very useful for me. You can take a tour of the site to see if it would be useful for you.
I like to go for weight loss programs for having myself good looking and maintaining it through out. This is a good weight loss program must be followed by one who is really willing to get slim.
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