I don't have a problem with the perceived expense of a low carb diet. For every pot roast I buy, I don't buy bread or a bag of cookies or the like. But I was running into my own mental problems about the tradeoff between money and time.

I'm still coming back from an illness that is a considerable drain on my energies. I used to think nothing of making a big casserole and freezing portions for my own frozen meals. But the last time I made a casserole I made a poor choice of sausage and then we got busy with other things.

It seems silly, but just this week I realized that for what I pay for one strip steak I could get a frozen meal -- which I can't eat. But the price is the same.

So I have my economic and my low carb rationalization for my frustration with not being able to stock the freezer with frozen meals. I can stay stocked with my favorite meats, though.

Those frozen meals? Convenient, but hardly satisfying. I would always go prowling through the kichen for more food.

Now, I don't. I eat my meat and veg and I stop being hungry. Now that is a working system

In addition to the excellent points you make; overall, I'm eating less and satisfied sooner with 1 or 2 meals a day than when I was carb addicted. I no longer plan my days or activities around my meals, and I require less food volume. The foods I eat are nutrient dense, and this is a very efficient way to eat.

First time in my life I'm not hungry all the time. Priceless!!

The price of potato chips per pound costs the same as filet mignon, that's what I always say if someone complains about cost of low carb.

A couple of weeks ago I had a discussion with my niece and her husband. They are vegetarians for ethical and environmental reasons. They strongly believe meat consumption contributes to global warming. I'm not a scientist and the last thing I wanted to do was get into a religious/political debate with anyone, but they made some joke about how bad my way of eating is for the environment so I did ask them if they had considered all the energy it takes to get their way of eating to their tables.

I still go grocery shopping once a week - I have a large family and most of our kids still eat carbs pretty regularly. But if I were only shopping for myself and my husband, I could easily make one trip a month and refrigerate or freeze our calories until we were ready to eat them. Wouldn't a lot less fossil fuel be consumed not only by the trucking companies but also the workers if most of us did our monthly grocery shopping in one day?

My niece and nephew responded that methane is a far bigger threat than anything fossil fuels are doing. I have no idea if what they're saying is true, but I asked the question and they answered it. I do know that there is no way I'm going back to whole wheat bread at all three meals. It wasn't good for my health. And quite frankly, it wasn't good for our grocery budget - I spent a lot more on groceries for my family when I thought grains and sugary fruits were good and fat was bad.

Here's my rant for the day - I am tired of the holier than thou moral rectitude of the vegetarians and vegans among us. All of us humans who live on this earth are complicit with the death of other animals and the contamination of the planet, this includes those who don't eat animal products but do eat agricultural products. In order to clear land to raise crops habitats are lost and animals killed. We are all complicit. We also each get to choose how we behave, not just how we eat but how we dispose of our waste, how we transport ourselves, what clothes we wear and where they are made etc etc etc. It is a complex and inter-related system and to declare oneself as morally superior because of one choice or another we may make is to not see the big picture. There is so much bias in people's minds that none of us can see things with clarity, not our own choices and not the choices other people make. It is better not to judge others and to merely tend one's own garden, even if livestock is allowed to grow in that garden .

Jean

Absolutely. I could say so much in support, but I think you've said it perfectly. We have a farm, and we only eat our friends. That is, we know how our friends have been raised and treated. The inputs of grain growing are enormous. Horticulture? Also big. There are areas in the world which lend themselves to raising animals, especially semi arid and higher altitude areas. I better stop here, getting on my high horse!!

A common vegan lie. In addition, fossil fuels... release methane.

http://www.motherjones.com/environm...inquiring-minds

And if it were not for animals contribution to the nitrogen cycle, plants could not live either. It really is a cycle of life. I understand people who want to be vegans for ethical reasons, and yet, there is all that lying to justify it.

I was just surprised by how this price misconception was still in my head. Yes, meat is expensive, but my body does better with animal protein. Even when I was vegetarian and still eating eggs and cheese, it did not work. And even when I did get over-priced frozen meals, I would always eat more. At worst, I break even now, and eat better.

To a certain extent, spending on health food is the best return on our health care dollar. That is what my husband and I have decided.

Our farm is quite small, but yes, we eat our friends. The other day I was cheering on the baby rabbits (their first-time clueless mother made their survival kind of iffy), then realized that after all this work to keep them alive, we're going to be butchering them in a few months. I refuse to do the number-crunching to find out how much the rabbits are costing us by the pound, or the eggs by the dozen. I would have to add in all the enjoyment I get by having these animals. And that, as those old ads said, is priceless.

We spend much less at the grocery store now & eat way better. In the bad old days, I could easily eat $10 worth of potato chips, bread, & candy during the day. There's no way I can eat $10 worth of meat, lettuce, or cauliflower in a day.

And if anyone is wondering, 4 rabbits out of a litter of 6 survived. Now I'm waiting for the next rabbit to bless us with bunnies. Today would be the perfect day for her to become a mother!

Almost forgot - both my husband & I were able to ditch our medications. That saves a bunch right there!

Allan Savory is a bit of a hero for us meat eaters. His Ted talk is all about reversing desertification and climate change by growing meat. https://www.ted.com/talks/allan_sav..._climate_change

I'd love to have enough land to raise all of our meat on grass but even though we spend a lot of money at the feed store, I still feel like part of the solution, not part of the problem. Hooray for small farms

I think it's interesting that some of my judgemental anti-meat veg friends drive a lot, in big cars, live in big houses, take lots of vacations where they travel in airplanes etc etc etc. Like none of those things are causing climate change but meatless Mondays will save the world..

I keep pretty good track of our grocery spending, but since I do the bulk of our food shopping at BJ's, Costco, and Walmart, our grocery budget includes things like clothes and toiletries. Even with having to buy new, smaller clthoes, I can tell you that I spend much less on groceries now than I did three years ago when I had a $50/month Diet Coke habit. And now that my husband's on board with this WOE, I expect our grocery bill will go down even more. We just eat so much less food now since I've been shopping with LCHF in mind for the whole family. Even the kids, who still do eat a fair amount of carbs, eat a whole lot less food than they used to now that they're eating higher fat.

Yeah, that's what I do too. It's surprising how little you can get by on, and kind of fun to find out. Now my "fear of fasting" is gone. A little of what you fancy, if nutrient dense, can go a long way and doesn't have to break your budget. It's hard to know what to do with all the time you save too