- I am what some might characterize as a fat ass.
- 6'2"
- 307 lbs.
- Was 338 lbs as of September 16, 2012
- Been doing weight watchers since that date.
And now, hilarious photo break
Okay, now that we've got that out of the way. A few more facts.
In order to eat properly and get within those fucking points that I get everyday, the princess and I have had to change the way we eat and change the foods we buy.
Everything's gotta be fat free, low fat, low sodium, light, 1/2, and blah bitty blah.
Another little fun fact. We went to Wal-Mart this morning to do our bi-weekly shopping and it cost us $229.37
Last fun fact, a buddy of mine this week told me to go to Trader Joe's or Caputo's fresh market to get all my food because its so much better and healthier for you there.
To which I replied. FUCK YOU!!!
Sorry pal, but now that I'm doing my best to eat right, exercise daily and not allow the criminal food corporations to poison me a little each day my bill has pretty much doubled.
I can tell you that this eating healthy thing is quite a project. A project that requires money. Now given that we are a couple, both with Fed jobs, pulling in in excess of $100,000 per year we can handle the food bill.
That being said I can tell you for certain that if you were to throw a little rug rat into the equation and all the expenses that come with that we'd have a hard time making that bill.
And as I thought about that, this came to mind. What about all the people out there who don't have jobs like we've got. What about all the people out there who are trying to survive on one job, or two underemployed people, or what about people who have 3 kids. And on and on my brain went.
Its gotta be fucking impossible. And all you ever hear is that Americans are fat. By whatever year 50% of the population is going to obese. Obesity causes however many billions of dollars in health care problems. Kids are obese and its raising the doctor's bill and lower life expectancy.
For Christ sake they're outlawing Big Gulps because pop is so bad for you.
Now here's the question. If all this is so bad for us, why are we constantly getting fed all this crap? Why is that its cheaper and easier to feed a family of 4 at McDonalds than it is to cook a healthy meal at home for them with high quality ingredients. That just seems wrong to me.
The government, whether we like it or not (for the record I don't) taxes and regulates EVERYTHING.
So through their little taxes and regulations they put incentives on doing certain things and not doing others. For individuals and businesses alike.
Why don't they make a push to bring food costs under some kind of rational control and make it a bit easier to get your hands on good, healthy foods.
When I was single and couldn't give a shit about what I put in my body I could eat for a month on about $240. Plus, I could eat out a bunch of times at fast food joints and the like for about what it costs us in food now.
The question still stands, and I'd like an answer. Why the fuck is it so damn expensive to be skinny in America?
I feel the same way!! I'm not fat or anywhere close to eat. I am crazy healthy trying to stay that way. I am 5'2" 125 pounds, 10% body fat. I run 3-5 miles a day do USMC workouts the whole nine. What I do to eat healthy and keep my food bill, which just for me is $50 a week at walmart I use coupons a lot and print them off online. I also try to shop at other places like butcher shops which has better meat and is generally cheaper. I also found a place called produce junction. Idk if they have any near you, but it's really cheap good produce. I can get a pound of grapes for $2 3 pounds of mushrooms for 1.50. It's great. Google search farmers markets. If you have the room you could also start your own garden. But to answer your question-I would say big food corporations that sell groceries like walmart, super fresh, and fast food places like Mcd's have a lot of pull with lawmakers and such. THat would be my guess. They contribute to campaigns and that filters down to more $$$$ for us? just a guess
ReplyDeleteBasically, food is just like every other good or service then.
DeleteYou're probably right.
I've been dieting all my life and you are right; it can be expensive. But the reason people are fat is that they make poor choices. They start out with poor habits and eat way too big of portions. Then they cannot make changes in their eating habits - and their exercise habits. Eating a bag of chips or candy is just easier than making something good-for-you to eat.
ReplyDeleteFor ME (emphasis on me) Weight Watchers taught me portion control, but I hated eating fat-free tasteless food. Then there is the sugars that are in the fat-free and low fat foods. I could only lose so much weight before I plateaued on WW. And it was expensive. A low carb diet (like Atkins) where I cut out bad carbs, worked much better and tastes much better. I buy normal foods. I can live on this kind of diet.
I do think kids (and adults) can be taught to eat right and not have the weight problems and do it fairly cheaply. They are just lots of lazy folk out their.
You're right about being taught to eat right, but this WW thing doesn't bother me, I get to eat whatever I want I just have to count it. So it leads to better choices when I see what each food I want to eat costs me.
DeleteWorks for me, but that doesn't mean it will work for all.
Thanks for reading.
Dude, those of us who are, like me, poor, we fucking cook from scratch. We don't use low fat, no fat, reduced fat bullshit high price crap, we simply eat less.
ReplyDeleteWe eat more complex carbs (whole grain bread, which apparently you can't get in the states, so aside from the whole snakes problem you have, I'm never moving to the states, simply because your bread? It sucks!) and those make you feel full faster, so you can't put as many calories in your mouth.
My food bill for three (two kids and me) is about 60-80€ a week. That includes all snacks, drinks, plus everything else I buy at the grocery store, like paper towels and toiletpaper and whatever special something they have like new socks for all of us, or pj's, or, like today, a new small roasting pan because the old one has the coating flaking off.
So yeah, if you manage to spend 230 bucks on food for two for a week, you're buying stuff you should re examine.
Check prices. Seriously. Buy the no name brand instead of the big brand. If the big pack is cheaper per serving than the small, buy the bigger one. Cook more and freeze leftovers. Eat less.
If you have less money, you budget better. Trust me. I've had less money than I have now, and we lived ok on it. It meant no treats bought on the go, ever, but I just made sure I had something with me, like nuts or dried fruit or a granola bar if we could afford some.
I used to bake at least once a week, usually more often. I made our bread myself. I made at least 12 muffins every week for me and my son, sometimes I baked every other night, 6 muffins, three sweet, three savory, for dinner (we eat a hot lunch and then usually have sandwiches or something like that for dinner) and desert and then he could take one each to kindergarten the next day.
Just because you're poor doesn't mean you have too live poorly. It doesn't mean you have to dress in rags, it doesn't mean you can't keep yourself clean and neat. It just means you have to put in more effort.
So, stop whining about how eating right is so expensive and start shopping a bit smarter?
I'm very sorry you're poor. You should probably look into fixing that. You should also look into writing. You're quite long winded. But make sure you get your facts straight. The 230 was for 2 weeks of food. That's what bi-weekly means.
DeleteAnd while baking might work for you, that doesn't work out real well for two people working full time jobs.
Plus, this shopping trip was at Wal-Mart and you won't ever find any cheaper than that place.
Last but not least, 80€ per week is $101.70 which multiplied by two equals $203.40 for two weeks.
So that's pretty comparable given that my bill did also involve toilet paper, paper towels, vitamins and a few OTC medications.
And I'll whine all I want.