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!

I thought of this subject as I thought about 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 to 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 foods (except those loaded with omega-3 fatty acids). 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 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.

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. 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.

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

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.

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.

7. Carry a list of the glycemic index for foods when you go shopping. 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
cabbage
carrots
cauliflower
celery
chick peas
chilies
collards
cucumbers
eggplant
garlic
kidney beans
lentils
lima beans
lettuce
old-fashioned oatmeal
okra
onions
peas
peppers
pinto beans
soy beans
spinach
squash
tomatoes
zucchini
spices
cocoa powder
apples
apricots
grapefruit
peaches
pears
plums
strawberries
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)

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.

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.

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, I will share some ideas for improving your nutrition to feel better and operate more effectively.

Friday, I'll tell you about more mansions and estates that you can visit that will bring you great joy.

Saturday, I'll give you an update on how to enjoy the football season better than a billionaire on five dollars extra a day.

On Sunday, I will explore the spiritual joy and meaning of selflessly serving others.

Monday, we'll explore ways that you can find new estates and mansions to visit that you have never seen before.

Tuesday, I will describe how you can organize an ideal trip to the western United States to see the best sights and sites that most others miss.

Next Wednesday, we'll explore how you can enjoy foreign travel without spending much money.

Please feel free to 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 was 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 16 was the most frequently read blog entry to date. Be sure to check it out!

Thanks so much for your support of this blog. I'm delighted that so many thousands of people have made this blog part of their regular reading habit!

If you like this blog, please let others know who might also enjoy it.

Thank you to my many friends, students, clients and blog readers who are spreading the good word about this blog.

If you are visiting today because someone invited you, I'm delighted to meet you! Let's stay in touch.

May God bless you.

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell