Healthy on a budget
Eating healthy costs too much!! Right?? That’s the most common excuse I hear about why people can’t stick to the nutrition plan. They just can’t afford to buy all that “healthy food”. After all, a bag of chips IS cheaper than a container of blueberries. There’s no denying that! And a value meal at McDonalds is cheaper than grilled chicken with steamed veggies from a restaurant.
However, I think there is a lot more to the story of eating healthy than just how much we spend on any one item. It’s a total picture. And I’ve found that the TRUE COST of healthy eating is actually less …. MUCH LESS, than the normal American fast-food culture.
Before I started eating right (before the X!), I ate fast food for lunch 4-5 times per week. That usually cost me $6-$8. I also stopped at the Quick Trip at least once (if not twice) per day for a snack and pop, at about $3 a stop. Add to that the late night ice cream, chips and dip, the cookies for munching between meals, and of course our big family nights out at the restaurant, with meal and tip always racking up $50 or more. I was blowing a TON of money each month on my typical American diet.
Making the change to eat healthy and really be smart about my nutrition wasn’t easy. I resisted it in the beginning. And the easiest thing to do would have been to make excuses for why I couldn’t do it (whether it be money, time, family, etc.). But I wasn’t going to go down the “excuse” road — I’d done that before and it never led to my goals. I was going to commit to clean eating and buying foods that I know my body really needs — not junk food to fill me up with empty calories.
And how does my budget look now that I’ve been eating healthy for over 2 years?? I take my lunch. I make NO stops at the Quick Trip. We eat dinner at home, with healthy cooking. I don’t munch on cookies and candy between meals. And there’s no more late night ice cream. So yes, blueberries cost more. Shakeology costs more. Lean meat costs more per pound than ground beef. But overall, I am saving a lot of money if I look at the big picture. And the healthy foods I put in my body satisfy it, keep it feeling full and well-fueled, and stop the impulse eating and boredom eating that used to plague me (and my pocketbook).
And then, of course, there is a much bigger cost that I haven’t even touched on yet — the cost of being overweight and in bad health! Americans spend billions and billions per year on preventable diseases because we, as a culture, have let ourselves go. This is the real tragedy in all of this.
Even if I spent more on healthy food (which I don’t believe is the case), isn’t my health worth it? How much work do overweight, sick people miss? How much productivity is lost from preventable sicknesses? How much productivity is lost by simply being too overweight, out-of-shape, and tired to give a full day’s work? And how much do we spend on diabetes meds, high blood pressure meds, etc. etc.? The list goes on.
And that’s just touching on productivity (which translates into dollars). What about our ability to enjoy life? Obesity and it’s effect on our energy and health can completely devastate our ability to enjoy the simple pleasures of life — going on a bike ride, hiking, fitting in a roller-coaster seat, etc., etc.
There is a HUGE cost to obesity — more than we realize when we pick McDonalds over our sack lunch.
Think about the big picture the next time you hear the excuse, “I can’t afford to eat healthy.” Then respond, “How can you afford not to!?!?”
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Great post Coach!!! Today is my day 1 of p90x my biggest concern has been being able to afford nutrition but last night i was thinking how much i spend on fast food which can actually be used on healthy food. I probably spend more than 10 dollars a day between breakfast, a trip to mcdonalds and snacks in between….I believe when you change your life physically it changes and betters you emotionally,spiritually, and even financially!!! I believe they are all connected.
One word… “Amen!”
Just joined TeamRIPPED! I’m so excited to finally start the “X” I have tried so many times this past year but never had the push or support to help me keep going. I saw TeamRIPPED on Facebook and joined. I can see how every one here helps each other and pushes each other to keep it up. Thanks Coach W.! It is so hard to start eating right but to really get the results of P90X we have to stop the fast food and junk and really start getting eating healthy.
I am a numbers fanatic and track everything I do in my life with Excel.
Just an idea and this is just for me and my wife…
Before the X:
Daily Food Cost average from 1 week: $51.25
Thats right we were eating a pretty nice house payment a month.
After the X: Even including supplements and shakeology:
Daily Food Cost average from 1 week: $18.24
There are so many more examples but this gives you an idea of where we were and where we are now.
I was more surprised over this than I was the numbers that the program is giving me.
Makes sense to me Coach…great article!
No joke! I used to spend $3-$5 almost every a.m. on my way to work at the local gas station and anywhere from $8-$12 on lunch eating out every day… over the course of a month it was really adding up! After redistributing my funds towards buying healthier foods at the grocery store and packing my breakfast, lunch, & snacks, I am saving a lot of money over the course of a month. I’m now eating cleaner, hitting my nutritional goals by tracking them and feel much healthier and all while saving money! Its a win-win!
Hey Ryan! Awesome man! Glad you found us and plugged in. Let’s get you to your goals!
Great post as usual Coach. Had a good friend of mine the other day who I was talking too about Shakeology tell me it was “too expensive”. ame old line, right? My response? “How much did that mocha frappachino in your hand just cost you, 5 bucks?” Aha moments free of charge…
The last part of your article hits the nail on the head Wayne. Even if it somehow does turn out that we are spending more on healthy food, in the long run, a healthy, active body is worth the money and will pay for itself in other rewards 10 times over. More energy for your kids and spouse, more energy for work and usually a better attitude and performance!
Since I’ve joined Team Ripped and held myself accountable to eating properly (NOT EASY!!) I feel a lot better and actually look forward (most of the time ;) ) to eating healthy foods. You and your health are worth a few extra bucks!! Thanks Wayne, keep em coming!
This article makes sense but there are people who are overweight but dont eat alot, not me but when i think about my mom shes overweight but she eats only like once a day and thats prob like 2 pieces of toast so when they do decide to go healthy it IS alot more costly for them
Hey Gibson, if your mom can be overweight on 100 calories (2 pieces of toast) per day then her metabolism might be a tad on the low side! Clearly she’s eating a lot more than that. You may just not see her eat because she may be hiding it from you out of embarrassment (just being honest — not trying to judge her).
On another note, a person’s metabolism can slow way down if they let themselves starve for extended periods of time (like I discuss in my “starvation mode” article). Often times in dieters who think they will lose weight by skipping meals, they actually slow their metabolism down and undermine their efforts to burn body fat. Plus, they are tired and lethargic all the time as their body attempts to conserve energy and live on the sparse calories they feed it.
I totally agree. My sister doesn’t eat very healthy and she spends more on food than I do on healthy food AND supplements per month. It has been added up before, and it is not like she even eats out a lot (to my knowledge). So, in the long term, healthy eating does cost less. Thanks for the post, Coach!
This is a great article Coach! This was exactly my excuse when I started out weighing in at 270 back in February! I have since learned that eating healthier does actually cost less and once you break your old habits and start your healthier ones things just fall into place. Being in EMS, I see just how much being unhealthy cost people each and every day. When you see things from the perspective of cost, then there really is no reason to eat healthier. The nutrition guide can be as complex or simple as you want it to be. You just have to work it and stick with it!
Oops, typo on my above post coach. Ment to say “Then there is really is not a reason why you shouldn’t eat healthier” typo’s are the bane of my exisistance.. sorry coach LOL
was just thinking about posting a similar article on my website after getting the same response from people lately!
Perfect timing! I literally walked in the door 10 minutes ago from grocery shopping. Great topic
ya i know how if you dont eat as much your metabolism slows down, maybe she isnt eating around me though, i mean if i were a dad and overweight and my 14 year old kid was ripped and eating really healthy i would prob feel bad
I cannot describe how true this article is. When I was a little heavier the fun things in life seemed a lot less enjoyable. Things like going to the beach, a pool party with friends, and even hanging out out with my girlfriend. That first barrier was eating the right foods. I wouldn’t pass up a Mcdonalds burger when given the chance. I said enough, I starting eating only healthy foods. I joined football and wrestling and bought P90X which gave me amazing results. Every aspect of my life has improved because I took care of my body. Now everyone I know wonders how the hell I pulled it off. Family I haven’t seen in months wonder I have gotton so huge. When I go outside I just want to rip my shirt off cause I can’t help but brag. Healthier food was a huge obsticle for me. Great Article!
Great article Coach!!
Coach I thought eating clean would be expensive but if we all examine where are money is truly going on a day to day basis we can see that we can make adjustment to live a healthier life style. Buy in bulk its more cost efficient and we get our moneys worth.
Coach I have been on the fat shredder phase for about 2 weeks now. Im doing 2000 calories daily. I have seen excellent progress in fat loss doing insanity. I haven’t lost anything on the scale but notice myself slimming down on the abdominal area. Im on last week of insanity. Next up is the Asylum. Its in the mail… How long can I Be on the shredding phase doing 2,000 calories daily. im doing the 50/30/20 like p90x. Im never hungry cause im eating good quality foods. Im still not shredded ripped like I want to be. I feel fine and never fatigued throughout the whole day. Ill keep you posted as far as my post asylum results. Im brining it every workout!!
I had some major financial apprehensions about Shakeology before buying in to it, a month in I can’t get over how little I’m spending now that I skip the coffee shop in the morning ($6) (where they asked me what type of muffin I wanted each morning automatically) and bring a healthy lunch along with me every day which is probably another $70 a week on average. When was the last time you heard Suze Orman tell someone vegetables and meat are what caused their debt? :) Great article coach.
If you think about it, many of us have had good foods in our houses already.
Most of us grew up with our parents keeping it pretty simple.
Meat or fish, potato or rice, veggie, glass of milk was dinner every night.
It’s still that way in my home.
The difference now that my family and I are making is the choices of those foods and how we’re preparing it.
Like steaming or microwaving the veggies, instead of boiling them to death and then throwing a big slab of butter on it.
Choosing a little better cut of meat, or at least trim the fat away.
Using real potatoes instead of boxed potatoes.
using fresh or frozen veggies instead of canned.
Modify recipes so their more healthy.
Use skim instead of whole milk for the recipes.
Buy the whole grain wheat bread instead of white.
etc…
And really I think you do save in the long run.
Heck, check out your local Farmers Market.
You’ll probably be able save a little more that way than at the grocery store for your fruits and veggies.
We need to move away from the boxed and canned foods, back to the natural foods.
Really, if you can put the effort into P90x, you should be able to easily put the effort into to peeling a few potatoes instead opening up the boxed ones.
Excellent post. I’m curious what the “cost” savings are in dental treatments. When you are eating healthy less sugar in your mouth to do bad things. How about the cost to health care, whether you pay or your employer pays-there is still a cost.
How about the cost to the garbage man. No pizza boxes or fast food bags in my garbage, only fruit and veggies pealings and other raw food packaging which is usually minimal so my garbage output is minimal.
Okay I shower way and use more soap, shampoo and conditioner, but I think it would be interesting to measure the total health and ecological benefits of being healthy?. Oh where to start?
Hello Coach, I was looking at GNC at saw this post workout drink called BIORhythm AfterGlow. Can you give me your input on this because I’ve read a lot of comments on beachbody’s message boards that the new formula of P90X RR drink isn’t the same.
Hey JD, AfterGlow is a GNC affiliated brand, and I’ve tried a sample. It’s CRAZY expensive though — well over $100 for a tub (twice the cost of Results/Recovery formula and about the same as far as quality).
I’ve discussed the new formulation of R/R several times, but basically it doesn’t taste as sweet as the original formulation because they did away with most of the artificial flavoring. I still think it tastes great though, and it’s nice to know that the ingredients and nutritional profile of the new Results / Recovery formula is second to none.
Thank you for your input Coach Wayne! I will stick to R/R then!
My question is: How do you eat healthy when you’re a poor college student??? Do you have any tips for that?
Hey Tami! Keep a budget of what you spend for a week right now as a “poor college student” on food. Do you eat out? Do you eat fast food? I bet if you track it, you’ll find (just like I point out above in the article) that you could switch to a totally healthy diet and spend LESS money, not even factoring in the health benefits and long term savings of being healthy and avoiding illness and medications related to eating junk.
Read the comments on this thread that others have made who found the exact same thing when they switched! You can too! You just have to plan and put some effort into it. Look at my 1900 calorie diet. That’s easy, affordable, and simple.
I’m glad I joined team ripped, and chose you as my coach. You are very well informed and you tell us the hard truth and not what we want to hear. I really appreciate that. To be honest I didn’t follow my nutrition the first Nine days of doing P90X. But that all changed today. I just want to say thanks for being a awesome coach, and I’m ready to eat right, live right, and get RIPPED P90X style.
So many times I hear that fast food is cheaper and faster. I cant help but tell people how untrue it is. First, the cost alone is not true. My homemade meals cost anywhere from $2 to $6 to make. Most of the time it is about 2-3 though. Compared to the $8-$10 range that people usually pay for fast food, clearly a person is wasting money.
What about being faster? Often times people sell this part far short of the real value when including the variables. The time it takes to drive to the restaurant (2-15 min for me). The time it takes to wait in line or get help at the counter (can be up to 20 min or longer if it is during the ‘rush’ hours). the time they take to prepare it (usually around 5 min). The time to get back to the car and drive to work or home (2-15 min for me again).
I have timed this whole scenario for myself and the quickest time I can expect is 60 min for fast food. Compare that to the approximate 10min it takes to make and eat my food, the choice is clear. I used to make my own pizza from scratch in less than 30 min. That is still half the time it takes to get fast food or the 45 min it takes to order dominoes.
For those saying that they can get through the drive-thru quickly, Im guessing are the ones who have more of a problem getting through P90X (just a guess because if a person can’t get out of their car to wait in line for that stuff has more problems than just working out).
Hope this helps everyone think about getting fast food. One tip when you find yourself hungry and out in town without food. Go to a grocery store and buy food. I went to a safeway/vons and got an apple with yogurt and granola (all prepackaged with nutrition facts and no bad stuff) and 5 hardboiled eggs for less than $4. Not to mention that I spent 10 min waiting in line (and watching the Mcd’s line across the road not move hahaha).
Remember! There is NO EXCUSE to eat that crap! NONE
Hey Coach Wayne,
I need some serious advise. Ok so im coming up on the end of round one of p90x, and let me tell you it wasnt easy, I miss some workouts like yoga, kenpo and plyo, but other then that I nail every thing else. Im a hard gainer, so I took your advise and started in phase three nutriution wise, but ran wit it all the way for nearly the inentire 90 days. Ive gotten some bulk and really gotten lean, but I think ive put my self in a hole cuz my body’s so accustom to all the carbs and I wanna bulk up big time. What do think I should do? (this is me tryna tap in)
Hey Shawn, if you are lean and wanting to add bulk, then for the next round bump up the total calories and go to phase 3 nutrition (even more carbs). Sounds like your body is doing exactly what you want it to — running like a well oiled machine! You aren’t in a hole … you are in perfect posittion. Lean and ripped and ready to shift the nutrition for building mass.
So coach, what your saying is im never gonna leave phase 3 nutrition?! That I’m not able to move down to phase 2 or even one? Cuz rite now if I skip a meal I friggin crash (i mean that my energy level falls like a rock! At that point im sluggish and all I wanna do is sleep!) plus im on a serious budget, times are hard, food prices are up, im 20 working a lame job and barely getting by,But I still brought to the best of my ability. Any whoo so I should just stick 60 percent carbs, 20 percent protien and fats. Oh I currently weight 167 and im 5’7 (hope give you clearer picture of my situation) all I got do is up my caloric intake?
Hey Shawn, yes, your body needs fuel to run and if you drop it down, you’ll lose body fat or energy. Since you don’t have body fat to loose, you crash when you don’t fuel. The phase 1 is for fat people trying to lose a lot of body fat, so you won’t get to do that one! Sorry! LOL! The phase 2 just depends on your metabolism. Some people maintain at that and some need the phase 3. You should count your blessings because phase 3 is the cheapest diet to maintain (carbs like rice and beans are cheap compared to lean meats on a high protein diet).
I live in Hawaii, Oahu. One of the most expensive states to live in financially. If I can do it, so can you. I am a peduatric nurse, and used to work in geriatrics in a nursing home. Ive seen men and women have to chop off body parts due to adult onset diabetes, which is high in Hawaii, mostly due to the local diet (plate lunch of 2 scoops white rice, one scoop macaroni salad, 2 deep fried hamburger patties covered in gravy, and 2 eggs on top). Called a ” loco moco.” scenario= And when the middle aged person comes in the nursing home, and has one leg, then continues down the path of self destruction, then had no legs soon, just hanging stubbs. Then they tell me ” bernard I was healthy like you once… But I dunno whats happenning to me now.” I myself never wanna go down that path, so do the right thing now, before it goes to your head (excuse the pun).
Coach. I sent you an email. Please check it.
I was on youtube looking at P90x transformations and your video came up coach, it really inspired me to start working out and doing something with my life. I like you am also tall I am 6’5 and 220lbs. I just started my X about thirty days ago and I can already see the outline of my abs!! It gives me the drive to keep digging deep and getting to my goals. Thanks coach for giving me the inspiration to get to my goals.
Great Rob! Keep bringing it!