Why does this WOE C*O*S*T so much???
 

:cry: This WOE is so terribly expensive for me. Hubby, son & I are all doing Atkins. We are spending WAY more $$$ at the grocery store than we ever have before. And I don't even buy any of the low-carb stuff.

Who can afford to pay $5.00 plus s/h for a single package of low-carb tortillas??? I certainly cannot.

So, we are getting bored very quickly. No variety. I'm afraid we are going to find that this WOE is not going to work out.

PS: Not to bash Atkins or anything, but I lost WAY more weight on Jenny Craig than I have on the past 6 weeks of Atkins. Any ideas on why that might be?? I do feel better physically on this diet, but am depressed that Iam not losing as fast as I feel I should.

How do you guys get around the high $$$ on this diet???

My grocery bill hasn't really changed really, although I do buy a lot less for the money (I have always spent a lot groceries :( ). I figure its worth it. The money it will save me in health care bills, Tums for hubby, etc. I'll get a second job if I have to...as long as I can be fit and feel good :) Wish I could afford the shrimp, lobster and salmon more often though...lol.


L

Yes my grocery bill has gone up too. All I can say is buy the cheaper cuts of meat and spices spices spices so you don't get bored. And I am about to write a book...One Million Things You Can Make With Eggs! LOL Eggs are cheap and they seem to speed my weight loss along.
Look up and try some recipes on the site here and develop your own too. :) Buy in bulk when it is on sale and above all keep it interesting, you don't want to get bored with your food choices.
~Cindy :)

I find we're spending about the same, or even less. The cost of the extra veggies, meat, etc., is offset by the fact that there's no more chips, bread, pasta, pop (only have a diet pop about twice a week if I get desperate), etc.

Plus we were constantly eating out a few times a week, $30 here, $50 there, so that's stopped now. So I guess all in all, we're kind of saving money.

reasons to spend $$$
 

Well, I've been thinking about the increased costs vs. other, cheaper "meal plans". I've come up with some ideas:

Reasons for spending more for a low-carb lifestyle as opposed to other "diets" that cost less:

1. Slow weight loss usually stays lost, fast weight loss usually comes back.

2. Can enjoy real butter on veggies and good tasting dressing on salads vs. bland low-fat veggies and salads.

3. Have energy; don't feel washed-out. Am more motivated to exercise because I have the energy to do so.

4. Never hungry vs. starving all the time.

5. Improves my lipid profile.

6. I LIKE steaks and pork chops. I DON'T LIKE having to come up with a gazillion low-fat ways to cook a boneless, skinless chicken breast.

7. Not tempted to cheat. If I occasionally get a desire for sweets, low-carb (high fat & high calorie) alternative to candies are allowed, but not on low-fat/calorie diets.

8. It's easier to eat out at restaurants.

9. It feels good to see a steady improvement in my health and not feel deprived.

10. It WORKS!!!!!

Joan

Blemay: We arrange our dinner menus around what is on sale that week...so our grocery bill has really stayed the same. Heck, we are still buying the same foods....just NOT the cookies, cakes, etc...so we are able to spend THAT money on better cuts of meats etc...and Variety is just a matter of being creative, look up recipes here on this forum etc...there are lots of YUMMY ones! I notice we spend more time cooking and cleaning up which is kind of a bummer....but we take turns!

The Tortilla's are only $2.59 per pack...at www.vitaglo.com and if you plan ahead and order over $50.00, shipping is free. And, they are FAST. They sell other products you can use too...and the tortilla's are a lifesaver! They last 6 months in the fridge, I believe it says on the package!

Jenny Craig: If you lose better on JC then Atkins, I would say get back to JC. However, as I am not familiar with the JC program, could not say if the health benefits are as good as atkins...perhaps you should weigh it all out and decide. It is about losing weight, yes...but also about health. Pick whats best for you and your family.

I think it is WONDERFUL that you are taking the time to explore a better way of life and health for your family! GOOD JOB! You are to be admired for your efforts! Pick the plan that you think you can all stay on for the long-haul!
Best wishes;
Jake

I too found that at first I spenta lot more on groceries than usual. However as I've settled into this WOE it's really evened out and back to what I used to spend. I'm never hungry, and eating out is easier.
As to Jenny Craig, I've never tried it. I have tried many others with a variety of results. (I once lost 30kg/66lb on weight watchers) JC may be cheaper but did you keep the weight off?
Icertainly don't know all the answers (just look at my stats!) but I'm giving this a jolly good try and hope that it's a life time answer not jst another fad.

This WOE does not cost a lot of $$$. ITs the low-carb "mocK" products that do. If you stick to what you find in the grocery store like I do, your budget does not change much. I only buy low-carb shakes -- all else is veggies, fruits, meat, dairy..... And you have to shop around...I look at all circulars that come on Sunday and buy what's on sale...meats, dairy, etc. My budget is just slightly higher than pre-LC (and much more healthier!)

Now if you buy lots of low-carb mock products than yes, your budget will go up. BUT There is NO NEED to buy low-carb products ALL THE TIME. These products should be eaten as an occasional "treat" thus your food bill will not suffer. Those foods can be problomatic as well...causing stalls, overeating, etc. for some.

Hmmmmmm... Jenny Craig was cheaper???????
JC meals for just me alone cost more than I spent on my whole family grocery bill pre low-carb. I cannot see how JC could be cheaper.. IMO.
I spent a little more at first on low carb. It is closer to normal now. I think if my whole family were eating LC it would actually be less, but they eat the bread, pasta, cookies, cokes, etc.

I was going broke in the beginning, too. I thought "My God, we can't stay on this or our kids will NEVER go to college!" It has rounded down now that I've been on it a while and didn't have to buy all "new" things.

Buy generic for everything that you can. I've found that things like generic salad dressing and sausages are cheaper and actually have LESS carbs than the name brand.

Don't buy more than 3 days worth of fresh veggies at a time. Any more than that and they can go bad, causing you to spend more money on veggies.

Heavy cream is expensive. Try to keep it as much to a minimum as you can. It really should be used sparingly anyway, but it was a mistake that I made in the beginning.

Don't buy expensive meats. Particularly steaks. Round steaks can taste just as good as a T-bone if seasoned and tenderized the right way.
Buy hamburger in bulk.

Find a fish and meat market. (I didn't think I even HAD one around here, but I was wrong). I just bought 30 lbs of steak for $60. And good steaks to boot! It sounds like a lot of money to shell out at once for meat, but I won't need to get meat for at least 3-4 weeks now. Meat markets are cheaper because they buy in bulk.

Look for one of the "do it yourself" grocery stores (Save-a-Lot, Aldi's). Places that make you bag your own groceries are REALLY cheap. I've saved as much as $40 doing my grocery shopping at these types of places. The "no frills" stores save you TONS of money.

Check those ads!! Anyone who didn't do BIG TIME grocery shopping this weekend missed out. Every store in the world was doing 4th of July sales. I stocked up like crazy!! It's big savings when grocery stores compete over holiday sales. Don't do like I used to do and just look at the ad and say "oh, what a good deal on hamburger" and then throw the ad away and never think about it again. lol. There's stuff on sale EVERYWHERE. You just have to find it. :)

Variety is the spice of life, but don't try out too many new recipes if you don't have the ingrediants right on hand. Maybe try a new recipe every two weeks or so. I have a cupboard full of things that I have used ONCE for ONE recipe and now there they sit. If it's not an ingrediant that you won't use for other things as well, then don't buy it. (What the heck IS pet's milk, anyway? I have 4 cans of it!! LOL)

Ok, I guess that's as far as my knowledge runs. If I think of any more, I'll let you know. Your grocery bill really will go down once you adjust to this WOE and you know what things you need to buy all of the time and which ones can be left at the store. :)

Good luck!!

~Angi~

my bill does not go up unless i buy the lecarb icecream. i have always spent a lot on meats my hubby is a big meat eater. we have a meat every night. i just fix meals as usual and avoid the potatoes, pasta, bread, and desert if we have any.

meal suggestions 1 (chicken)
1 meat of choice
1 dark green veggie (the frozen ones are delish if fried in butter)


#2
meat of choice (pork chops
squash (fried in butter)


#3 pastaless spagetti
brown the burger
put in casserole dish w/ favorite spagetti sauce ( one low sugar would be great the reg serves a lot so you would not really get that much. you do not have to use the whole jar or can. i like the mushroom and green pepper). add lots of cheese of your choice with onions, green peppers, and what ever you want. lots of mushrooms make up for the pasta loss.
*green salad w/ dressing

#4
meat of choice/ the banquet salsbury steaks are good. (7 carbs per steak) i have had no trouble w/ them. or make your own
the already jar gravies are low in carbs so you could use them.
califlour mashed like mashed potatoes

#5
cheeseburger steaks w/ onions
salad/ dressing or just mayo

you may already use these kinds of foods but if not...
you could rearange these so you do not have all the beef in a row. i hope these suggestions help.
this is some of the things we eat at my house no one is low carbing but me.so i make reg. mashed pot. and such and just avoid them. but since your whole family is doing it ...it should be easier for you.

try the recipes section: add a low carb cheese cake to one of the menus.

hope this helps. also check out my journal and others for menu ideas.

I definitely spend less now than before. No more fast food, no more junk food. Heck my favorite meal is roast beef tortilla wraps which probably costs about $1 each.

My wife is on JC (yes, I am on Atkins and she is on JC!) and her bills were about $90 a week. My foods are no where near that amount.

But, cost aside, do what works best for you and your family. I certainly have less/no temptation to cheat on Atkins than on any other plan I have tried.

Good Luck,

OG

I too, kind of plan my weekly menus according to whats on sale. If king kullen or waldbaums has buy one get one free on meats, I'm in my glory! Also, Bj's, price club, sams, those places are great to stock up on quanity meats, cheeses, oils,h20, etc. See, I'm on atkins. Dh and dd are not so I have to buy food to accomadate all of us although I'm getting dd and dh to eat healthier just by example and dd requests fruit salad or cruites over cookies and icecream quite often now! flutter

Funny. I was just thinking the other day how inexpensive this WOE is. Considering that most low-cal programs that you join, you need to pay a membership fee, or buy certain products to stay in-line with "the plan", but with Atkins you just need to buy regular food. I probably do spend more money now on fresh vegetables as I eat way more veggies than I used to, but as far as meat, eggs and cheese, no change there, and I'm certainly buying WAY LESS pasta, rice, cereal and bread so I'm more than making up for the costs there. I don't go for the "low-carb" marketed foods anyway. I like natural foods.

In general, fresh & natural foods do cost more. However, I have found that since we are not eating those high carb packaged side dishes, cookies, crackers, icecream, frozen dinners, etc, my grocery bill is actually less. I buy extra of any meat that's on sale and freeze it. And eggs are the cheapest food going!

As for Jenny Craig, that plan was much more expensive than is this! Plus, what do you really learn? Meals already prepared doesn't teach a person to really change habits.