One of the common reasons I see from FA on why weight/fat loss is impossible is that there’s a high cost barrier
**This is only for people who are overweight/obese and not dealing with a restrictive ED**
I saved a lot on expenses when I started on a health journey because I stopped eating out/ordering so much and reduced my drinking. Now my biggest purchases for my health are protein powder and creatine but that isn’t necessary for fat loss whatsoever.
Some other ways I cut down on costs are:
Buying canned foods instead of fresh
I found this especially true for fish, it’s easy enough to find them canned in water or tomato sauce, making it pretty lean and high protein
Don’t consistently eat too much tuna so other options include salmon, mackerel and sardines
You don’t have to eat them straight from the can or in a tuna salad, I stir fried the fish/put them in soups/made curries etc.
Frozen food
I’m not talking about processed foods like frozen meals, breaded chicken/nuggets, frozen chips etc. I’ve personally found that these can be more expensive compared to lower processed frozen foods
The pellets of frozen minced meat can look a little grim but they work great, I used to make a shepherd’s pie from chicken mince (lower fat and I don’t eat beef)
You can get frozen fish too, I used to primarily eat frozen veg, frozen berries often taste better because they are harvested at their peak
Started baking/making things instead of buying ‘healthy’ snacks
If you do want to have a sweet treat it can be cheaper to just bake something, you’ll have it in bulk, it can be frozen and stretched out
It helps with weight loss because it’s just more effort than opening a wrapper so you are less likely to have it readily available
Not baking but if flavoured yoghurts are too expensive (oikos and chobani types) you can make your own yoghurt with just a little starter yoghurt and milk, add in some sugar free sweetener and fruit and you’re done
Dried/canned legumes as your carb source
Extremely cheap when bought in bulk!
More shelf stable than bread so you don’t risk wasting it
Higher protein and fibre than rice, so they tend to be more filling for longer
Measuring your oil/fat
I reduced my oil and butter intake drastically, most of my regular meals don’t use it and at most I use about half a teaspoon (not including baking)
I used to mildly dread buying oil and butter because they can be so expensive
YOU TECHNICALLY DON’T HAVE TO GO TO THE GYM
You definitely should if you can but you don’t even have to exercise to lose fat (it’s easier to control what you eat than burn it off)
If you can brisk walking counts as exercise, if you live on the coast/near a lake etc. swimming is great, there are tons of at home Pilates/HIIT/dance workouts videos (what I started off with)
I’m sure there’s more but that’s all I can think of off the top of my head.
