The Best Values to Achieve Your Ideal Weight on Less than Five Dollars Extra a Day

Good morning, Live Better than a Billionaire-a-Holics!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so. I know that I am!

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Introduction

I thought of this subject as I considered the many portly billionaires out there. With all their money, you would think that they would look just as svelte as they want. But many don't seem to take that route.

While a billionaire can afford to buy any ingredients and have a private chef prepare meals, you and I need to watch our budgets and our time. This blog entry is for us . . . so we can do better with our weight than some billionaires do.

What is your ideal weight? For most people, it's less than what they weigh today.

But the subject is more complicated than that. I have a lot of different ideal weights. Here are a few:

1. Weighing what the doctor recommends.

2. Weighing what makes me look best when I'm not in shape.

3. Weighing what makes me look best when I am in shape.

4. Weighing what keeps me warm in the winter.

5. Weighing less than when I got married.

You may have other "ideal" weights. Just be sure that you are focused on the right one for you.

When I was younger than 50, I could lose weight on any diet . . . simply by restricting calories. If I kept my calorie count between 900 and 1,200 calories a day, the weight just melted off me.

That easy success stopped when I got to be 50. If I reduced calories, I just seemed to reduce my metabolism so that my weight didn't go down.

I began to suspect that something fundamental was wrong . . . and that was the case. I needed to reduce my consumption of high glycemic (fast burning) and high fat (except those loaded with omega-3 fatty acids) foods .

The South Beach Diet offers both, and I did extremely well with the diet. I think I had become insulin resistant so that any food I ate was stored as fat unless it was very slow burning food (low glycemic). When I looked at the list of high glycemic foods in The South Beach Diet, I realized that I primarily had been eating high glycemic foods (even though I did not put sugar in my coffee, drink sugared soft drinks or juice . . . or eat any of the usual culprits -- like doughnuts). If you want to check out your favorite foods and the benefits of controlling your glycemic intake go to: http://www.southbeach-diet-plan.com/gi_index.htm/.

Whenever I've tried a diet, one of my issues is what the food costs . . . but I'm also interested in how much time it takes to prepare the food.

Recommendations

Here are a few principles I've found for less costly eating on weight reduction (and maintenance) programs.

1. Find some foods that you love which can be eaten every day. Decide to make some of these foods staples in your diet. Pick ones that are inexpensive to provide a low floor to your food costs.

In my case, old-fashioned oatmeal is such an item. Private label old-fashioned oatmeal in my store is $1.99 for two pounds and ten ounces. I like to put cinnamon on the oatmeal and enjoy it warm for lunch. This food is great for those who want to lower their cholesterol as well.

2. Pick out 20 vegetables and fruits that you like that are inexpensive when they are either in season or when dried. No diet is going to be very healthy for you unless you eat lots of vegetables and fruits . . . with more of the former. By deciding what you like, you can pick out the best values when you do your weekly food shopping. Dried apricots have become a staple for me because they are pretty low on the glycemic index and have a satisfying flavor for me. The price is affordable year around but I go lighter on them when fresh fruits are available.

At my local supermarket today, here are some of the best buys:

Early Red Apples -- 50 cents a pound
Cucumbers -- 59 cents each
Red Grapefruit -- 79 cents each
Radishes -- 89 cents for a big bunch of large ones
Most Kinds of Dried Beans -- 89-99 cents a pound
Romaine Lettuce -- 99 cents a head
Eggplant -- 99 cents a pound
Bell peppers -- 99 cents a pound
Pears -- $1.19 a pound
Broccoli -- $1.19 a pound
Broccoli Crowns -- $1.29 a pound
Tomatoes -- $1.29 a pound
Onions -- $1.29 a pound
Green Beans -- $1.29 a pound
Iceberg Lettuce -- $1.29 a head
Peaches -- $1.29 a pound
Black and Red Plums -- $1.59 a pound
Nectarines -- $1.79 a pound

I'm sure your prices will vary but this list will give you a place to start.

3. Substitute dairy products for meats. <>Dairy products come in no-fat and low-fat versions. They are usually cheaper than the equivalent protein intake of meat and poultry.

Here are some prices from my supermarket today:

Low-fat yogurt -- $1.59 for two pounds
Ricotta cheese -- $1.79 a pound
Low-fat cottage cheese -- $1.79 a pint

4. Use soy products if you like them as a protein source. These are especially good for women going through menopause.

5. Make your own low-fat ground beef.

Buy the high-fat kind, cook the meat, and drain the fat. You can make the ground beef as low-fat as you want that way, and you won't be paying a butcher $30 an hour in salary and benefits to trim the fat first. It's faster and easier to drain cooked fat than to cut it away.

The 75% lean ground beef is $1.69 a pound today. You can turn that into 100 % lean ground beef at a cost of $2.25 a pound.

6. Find low-cost snacks that leave you feeling satisfied. A great discovery for me on the South Beach Diet was low-fat cheddar cheese. It has almost no calories, but is very satisfying and has a nice flavor. I can have a little piece every couple of hours if I want to snack. At the end of the week, I've spent very little money on snacks.

Each ounce of this cheese costs about 60 cents which is my snacking amount. I also snack on one-third of a pint of low-fat cottage cheese which also costs about 60 cents.

7. Carry a list of the glycemic index for foods when you go shopping. A good source is The South Beach Diet Good Fats/Good Carbs Guide. Then if you see something is on sale, you can figure out whether it fits in with your eating plans or not. Here are foods that are almost always inexpensive and healthy for dieting and weight maintenance:

low or non-fat milk
plain, fat-free yogurt
low-fat cheese
low or non-fat cottage cheese
eggs (medium eggs were only 79 cents for a dozen today -- a great value!)
cabbage
carrots
cauliflower
celery ($1.99 for a big package)
chick peas
chilies (Jalapenos are $2.99 a pound for a little goes a long way)
collards
cucumbers (59 cents each)
eggplant (99 cents a pound)
garlic
kidney beans (89 cents a pound for dried)
lentils (99 cents a pound for dried)
lima beans (99 cents a pound for dried)
lettuce ($1.29 a head)
old-fashioned oatmeal ($1.99 for two pounds, ten ounces)
okra
onions ($1.29 a pound)
peas
peppers (99 cents a pound)
pinto beans (99 cents a pound for dried)
soy beans (99 cents a pound for dried)
spinach
squash
tomatoes ($1.29 a pound)
zucchini
spices
cocoa powder
apples (50 cents a pound for Early Red)
apricots
grapefruit (79 cents each)
peaches ($1.29 a pound)
pears ($1.19 a pound)
plums ($1.59 a pound)
strawberries ($2.50 a pound)
canola oil
soups (barley mushroom, beef barley, beef vegetable, black bean, cream of broccoli make with water, cream of chicken made with water, lentil, tomato, and vegetable) -- these are usually 50 - 69 cents a can for most in private label

8. Save room for expensive items when you dine out on someone else's tab such as for seafood, lean meats and poultry, and delicious fruits like raspberries and kiwi.

If you want to buy seafood at the store, this week's best buys are

Atlantic Salmon Steaks -- $4.59 a pound
Hake fillets -- $4.99 a pound
Cooked Shrimp -- $5.99 a pound

9. I usually keep several entrees pre-made and frozen so that I can pop them into the microwave for a quick meal whenever I want. Low-fat chili is one of my favorites for this purpose. I dress it up with fresh chilies and other crunchy vegetables for a great taste treat. That approach avoids quick trips for "fast food" that's expensive and not very healthy.

10. I also expanded my spice shelf so that I can improve the flavor and variety of foods that I make.

11. Stock up on low-cost, low fat meats when they are on sale.

Good values this week include:

Roasting Chickens -- 99 cents a pound
Smoked Ham -- $1.19 a pound

I'm sure that you know "tricks of the trade" that I have not mentioned. Please add your comments so that we can all benefit.

Tomorrow, you'll get a close look at the upcoming NFL season, and especially the Thursday Night game where the Oakland Raiders come to New England to watch the Patriots put up their third World Championship banner. Friday, I'll describe how you can learn a foreign language in less than 100 days and have more fun than a billionaire when you travel abroad.

Friday, I'll describe how you can learn a foreign language in less than 100 days and have more fun than a billionaire when you travel abroad.

Saturday, we'll take a closer look at Trump University's Web course on Wealth Creation, delivered by The Donald and other experts.

Sunday, I'll look at how you can pray better than a billionaire and have a better relationship with God. Don't miss it!

Please let me know what else you would like to learn, and I'll do my best to help in future blog entries.

If you are new to this blog, be sure to check out the updated table of contents entry that I posted earlier today. It will help you find earlier entries that may be of interest. I'll update this table of contents every week or so for your convenience.

August 31 was the most frequently read blog entry to date. Be sure to check it out!

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Enjoy Mansions Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoymansionsbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

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Be a World Hero Better than a Billionaire at http://beaworldherobetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/.

May God bless you.

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell