by Guest Author Nadia Crum
Seeing your family in a few short weeks? Wanting to look your best for this upcoming holiday season? When the reality of the holidays gatherings kick in, many of us search for a quick fix diet that will help us shed a few pounds in time for reunions with family and friends we may have not seen for quite some time.
So many questions are raised: What diet should I choose? What types of eating programs will help me lose weight quickly—without having to eat crazy weird foods? And with my ever growing holiday gift list, how on earth will I manage to afford some fancy diet plan? In this series of articles, I will be reviewing some of the most popular diet programs available to you today and providing you with hints and tips to cut your healthy-eating grocery bill and make losing weight more effective and affordable.
The Skinny: Weight WatchersThe basics behind Weight Watchers are simple: every food and drink under the sun are assigned a points-value based on a complex equation of their caloric and fat values as well as their dietary fiber content. Then, based upon another complex equation of your age, gender, activity level and a few other factors, you are assigned a daily target points value—that is, an allotted amount of daily points to “spend” on food however you choose. The program is available both in brick and mortar buildings in the form of weekly support meetings, or entirely online using interactive tools and calculators with the support of a very active set of forums; you can also utilize a combination of both.
The Pros: Weight Watchers essentially allows you to truly eat “whatever you want.” However, blow your points on three pieces of apple pie and you will find yourself hungry—and without points—for the rest of the day. The program has a number of support pillars in place to teach you about choosing filling foods, ie, foods that will keep you full until your next meal, over empty foods. Basic healthy eating goals such as 5-a-day fruits and vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains are emphasized, as is taking multivitamin and achieving the 3-a-day dairy goal set forth by the American Dairy Association. With this program, there is flexibility to enjoy holiday treats and still lose weight, a factor that makes this diet very popular with today’s dieters.
The Cons: Because there are endless possibilities for eating and no food is strictly banned, some might find it difficult to use their points wisely on healthful foods, and find themselves going hungry on empty calories.
Losing the Weight without Busting Your Budget : A Bonus Segment on Smart Shopping
Losing weight is difficult enough without having to worry about being able to afford “fancy health food.” Weight Watchers is straightforward—no fancy food required. But with the rising costs of groceries, nearly everything besides Top Ramen has become a budget breaker. On my blog, A-B-C Frugality, I share hundreds of money saving tips for cutting your household bills without having to live like a pauper. Below are a few of my most helpful tips for grocery shopping on a budget.
Saving on fresh produce: Only buy on sale and/or in season. Stores run on a 3 month cycle, so when you see something on sale, buy enough to last your family 3 months. Only buy your fruits or vegetables when they are in season, and you can easily shave another 10% off your grocery bill. Start a grocery stockpile and you will never have to pay full price for something again. No room for a stockpile? You’d be surprised. We lived in a small 2 bedroom apartment and still managed to stockpile hundreds of dollars of groceries.
Plan your weekly meals around the sale items. This has saved me hundreds of dollars each month. Sit down with your sale ads each week as they come out and look at the primary sale items. If chuck roast is on sale, I will plan on buying chuck roast and eating that three or four nights that week (with variation in how it’s prepared of course). I may throw half in the crockpot one day for roast, then have pot roast the next day, and beef stroganoff with the leftovers the third day. This helps stretch how long your meat lasts, too.
Buy whole ingredients instead of prepackaged meals. As discussed above, buying whole ingredients saves money. If I buy a 2 pounds of chuck roast on sale for $4.00, that will provide the bulk of 3 meals. Or, I can spend that same $4.00 on a frozen lasagna and have dinner for one night. By utilizing whole ingredients, you know exactly what is going into your cooking and have a better gauge of the foods you are eating.
Go Meatless. We try to have one or two vegetarian meals per week. There are many healthy, lean sources of vegetable protein like beans, lentils, or tofu that can replace meat. Lentils cooked with diced tomatoes and chilis make an excellent burrito, and lentils will run you less than a dollar per pound, which will make 3 or 4 meals worth.Keep your eyes peeled at the grocery store. The featured displays are often not the best prices. I recall walking through a particular grocery store one day and they had Macaroni and cheese in a huge display for $1.75 per box, marked as a “rollback.” I then walked down the pasta aisle and saw the same brand, almost identical variety of macaroni and cheese for $1.50 on the bottom shelf. Lesson: Beware the “featured displays,” and look high and low. Grocery stores know that most people will buy the items at eye level, so they place lowered priced items on the high and low shelves. Weight Watchers manufactures their own brand of snack food items like cakes and cookies, but these are often way overpriced. Keep an eye out for off-brand reduced calorie snack items and save yourself a wad of cash.
Shop the loss leaders or price match. Loss Leaders are products that grocery stores sell below cost to entice shoppers into the store, hoping to make their money when you proceed to do all your shopping at their store. However, by going to each store and purchasing their loss leaders, you can get groceries at significant discounts. OR, use the power of price matching. Some stores, like Super Walmart, will price match; that is, if you bring in the advertisement of another store, they will match their low advertised price for an identical item. This saves you gas money and time, as well as money.
Always watch as the cashier rings up your items and double check your receipt. If there are discrepancies, it is easier to go to guest services now rather than try to explain to the manager later.
Make it yourself. Foods like bread, bagels, even soft pretzels are very simple to make on your own and taste even better than the prepackaged convenience foods. You can also incorporate whole wheat flower and experiment with adding different grains or protein powders to your baking to beef up the nutritional value of your baked delights
The Fat, The Skinny and Everything Inbetween--Why You Should Care:
Whether you choose to use Weight Watchers or a different method of dieting, it all boils down to calories in versus calories out. Make sure that intake of foods (whether you want to count points, carbs, proteins, etc). Over the next few weeks I'll be showing you the key highlights of some of the most popular diet programs, and teaching you tips for how to make healthy eating more affordable. Stay tuned next week for "The South Beach Diet: Supercharged Savings" and some awesome tips for how to cut back spending in the meat and protein areas of your budget!
About the Author:
I've long wondered how precisely Weight Watchers points program works. Thanks so much for the article; it's clear to me, now. :)
Posted by: Kathleen Tumpane | November 18, 2009 at 09:12 AM
I think that weight watchers works very well. If you use it correctly. It is not all that expensive either if you want to just try to use the points for your food.
Posted by: winstrol | November 30, 2009 at 07:41 AM