Do Diet Plans Have to Be So Expensive?

So now that you have decided to lose weight, you’re looking at diet plans and you’re finding that maybe they are more expensive than just continuing to eat the way you normally do. The number one complaint about weight-loss plans is that they turn out to be so expensive. The number two complaint about weight-loss plans is that they are so hard to maintain. I can’t promise you any miracle cures but let me make the point that you can change your food lifestyle to lose weight and still follow your household budget. It comes down to making good choices.

First, Begin With Understanding Weight Loss and Management

The purpose of a weight loss diet is to deprive your body of the calories it has become accustomed to consuming and storing. A weight loss diet is often a drastic change in nutrition. Some diet plans are designed to trick or force your body into burning stored fat simply because you starve yourself. These diet plans may not be the best choice for you.

Truly healthy weight loss and control is more easily achieved simply by increasing your physical activity. That means walking more, carrying more loads, carrying slightly heavier loads, and generally pushing yourself just slightly farther each day than you did before. Many people have stabilized their body weight just by increasing their physical activity. And many people go on to lose weight by participating in physical activity that they enjoy.

You may not want to go out and jog for 20 miles every day (you would have to work up to this over the course of about 1 year), but you would probably enjoy some form of dancing. Even people with leg injuries can find some form of recreational physical activity that is healthier for them than sitting around the office and home all day and night.

Finally, you have to take care of your body while you are losing weight. That means you need to stay hydrated, especially, and ensure your body gets enough vitamins, minerals, protein, fat, and carbohydrates to lose weight safely. One common, simple, frugal method for changing your diet lifestyle is to drink more water and fewer sugary, carbonated drinks (and less alcohol).

In addition to maintaining good nutrition you also need to pay attention to good hygiene. Increasing your physical activity means that you will perspire more. Your body odor may be too strong for people around you to tolerate; in most situations people are too polite to say anything. But when you perspire a lot, especially if you sit down for any length of time afterward, you should clean up. Leaving your skin wet from a lot of perspiration can lead to skin infections by bacteria or fungi. You don’t want to become sick because that will disrupt your weight loss program.

Stay as dry, clean, and odor-free as you can. Of course, this becomes easier as you lose weight.

Second, Find a Diet Plan that Encourages Good Eating Habits

Many diet plans stir controversy because they are designed to deprive your body of certain kinds of foods. Some diet plans, such as the South Beach Diet or the Atkins Diet, strive to teach you better eating habits. A complicated diet plan may lead you through several stages where you gradually add back in some foods you were forbidden to eat in the first stage.

The Atkins Diet Plan is famous for multi-stage dieting and it can be very confusing and frustrating for people. But when you eliminate certain foods from your diet you sometimes save money simply because you’re not buying a lot of sugary junk foods and breads.

If you enjoy eating fast food there are even fast food options that follow the Atkins diet plan, so you don’t necessarily have to give up eating out. Fast food is not really a good budget management practice but if you’re facing a choice between a $20 lunch and a $10 lunch, you’ll save more money with the $10 lunch. If you can lose weight, too, all the better.

Combine Healthy Choices with Common Sense

You can follow a healthy, natural lifestyle and still save money but you’ll have to change how you think about things. You can eat at home more often but you need to learn how to choose the right foods and how to prepare them. You can also look for alternatives to your favorite restaurants that are less expensive.

Improving your physical activity choices will also help you burn calories and save money. It may not be a good idea to sign up for expensive gym memberships, sports lessons, and other costs at the start of your weight-loss program. If you need personal supervision then by all means integrate that cost into your budget but think about where you are most likely to stay committed.

Just walking an extra 30 minutes a day improves your health. When that becomes a comfortable habit for you, try increasing your walking time to 1 hour a day, and then to 90 minutes. When you get to 2 hours a day most doctors will tell you that you are doing good.

Don’t try to jump ahead of the plan and do everything at once. You need to give both your body and your budget time to adjust to your new lifestyle.