How to Lose Weight on a Budget

1. Add before you subtract

We’re not really talking order of operations in a mathematical sense here. Starting out, don’t change anything that you’re doing normally, except this one thing. Add in more vegetables and fruits, before you start culling potato chips and ice cream. That’s right, I’m telling you go ahead and have the donut. But first, you have to eat two servings of vegetables or a piece of fruit with some nuts. Make it your priority that you add at least two vegetables and one serving of fruit to lunch and dinner before proceeding with the pizza or pasta. At breakfast, add some sliced tomato to your eggs and a bowl of berries.

2. Have a big salad for one meal

Pretty self-explanatory, but let’s talk about this. Doesn’t matter if you choose lunch or dinner. Personally I sleep better if I have a lighter meal like a salad for dinner, but that’s me. I’m not going to ban you from adding bacon bits and blue cheese dressing if that’s what you like. The important thing here is to have a salad that you enjoy and will actually eat. Shoot for 10-14 ounces of a variety of vegetables like greens, carrots, celery, tomatoes, cucumber, green onion, bell peppers, etc. Start with a base of greens then add on the others for color and taste. The more variety you can add, the better. Don’t forget to add a protein like nuts, cheese, grilled chicken, shrimp, or beans.

3. Eat Real Food

Real food, in my view, are foods that are recognizable: potatoes, cornmeal, peaches, walnuts, olives, peas, tomatoes. So when you’re facing down a craving for potato chips, have a baked potato instead. Salt it up. Give it some sour cream and cheese. I guarantee you’ll feel far more satiated eating a whole potato than a few measly chips. And because you’re not likely to eat only one ounce of chips (anyone else think the whole bag is a serving? No? Just me?), even if you go ahead and indulge in toppings, you’ll still end up eating less calories overall by having the whole potato. And! You get better nutrition from eating a nice warm slice of cornbread than you do a small handful of Fritos. Better still, that whole 5-pound bag of potatoes costs less than the 10 ounce bag of Ruffles. Better food, saving money. That’s a win!

4. Drink Water

This is one is a game changer, in more ways that you realize. A lot of times when you think you’re hungry, you’re actually thirsty. If you properly hydrate yourself, you’ll often find less cravings hassling you than you had before you Converted to Waterism.  The general rule of thumb is to drink half an ounce of water, per pound of your body weight. Practically speaking, choosing water over anything else provides two immediate benefits: you’re not drinking your calories (good for slimming down) and it’s free (budget friendly)! If you have the misfortune to have a terrible tasting local water, I advise investing in a water filtration pitcher and/or fruit to toss in for infusing flavor. Can you have coffee and tea? Sure, but I’d suggest staying away from any artificially sweetened drinks. For whatever reason, they make you more hungry.

5. Walk

They say the best exercise is the one that you’ll do. Funny thing is, we’re walking off and on all day. So hop to it! It’s free with no membership contracts necessary. Set a goal of how long or how far you want to walk. Challenge yourself to walk a distance between two famous monuments in a month. Obviously make sure you choose a safe area in which to walk. But many communities have early morning mall walking. Others have walking groups you can find on Meetup or Facebook. If your area doesn’t have a walking group, start your own! Make some new friends and get your activity in.

Eat until you burp.

So please don’t inhale your food. I don’t know why it works, but it does. Take time to enjoy your food and hold off drinking while you eat. Eventually you’ll burp. It’s your stomach pushing out the remainder of the air in your tum so it can release digestive juices. This happens around 80% of stomach capacity, which becomes your signal to stop. Funny enough if you practice the burp, you’ll find that you’re quite satisfied and not at all stuffed, but you’ve eaten enough to last you to the next meal.

Commit your food on a fridge whiteboard.

I know this sounds strange, but it absolutely works. Get a small magnetic whiteboard to hang on your fridge. Either at night before bed, or first thing in the morning, write down what your meals are for the day. Personally I do this at night, right after dinner, when the kitchen is closed and I’m not hungry. I make regrettable decisions when I’m hungry. It doesn’t have to be elaborate, just a quick note of what you intend to eat. That way when lunch rolls up and you’re about to make one of those regrettable decisions, you can check the list and remind yourself what you planned on eating. It helps avoid the dreaded “what’s for dinner?” because you already know. The trick here? You have to commit. You’re a person of integrity. If you said you’re making pork chops and broccoli for dinner, you’re going to follow through on that instead of Doordashing noodles.

Increase your fiber.

Fiber helps keep you fuller longer, and it also helps scrub those insides in all the best ways. I’m not asking you to down Metamucil, just to select for foods that happen to be high in fiber. You should generally aim for at least 35g a day. Be advised, if you load up too fast, your stomach might rebel, especially if your diet to date has consisted of Ding-dongs and Doritos. Make sure you drink plenty of water, with that fiber to help with digestion. But if you’re fuller for a longer period of time, you’ll naturally reduce your calorie intake and overall need for a snack. Foods that are high in fiber include beans, berries, legumes, chia seeds, and most nuts like almonds.

Blessings and delicious food!

Momma