The Budget Diet

With so many expensive diet products on the market, dieting on a budget has become a challenge for many people. The following are some ways and tips to get started on your DIY (do it yourself) diet! Let’s look at these:

Choose a plan: Consider many of the FREE resources available for your diet.  You could check out diet books at the library or utilize free diet websites like SparkPeople.com or MyFitnessPal.  Both of these sites help you set a goal, weigh-in, track exercise, keep a food diary and count calories, fat, carbs and protein.  Support and motivation is also available on these sites through forums.

Diet together:  Dieting with a spouse, family member or friend will help keep you motivated and accountable.

Plan your meals:  Write everything down!  Start by planning your meals and making a grocery list to avoid temptations.  Next, keep a food diary and write down everything you eat.  Both SparkPeople.com and MyFitnessPal have great free food diary options.

Keep the basic ingredients handy: Make sure you keep all the basic ingredients required for your diet  handy at home. Healthy options include protein shakes and bars, oats, canned tuna, whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, chicken breasts, beans, fruits and vegetables. With these ingredients at home you will be less tempted to grab high carb sugary snacks.

Since this is your DIY diet, it will demand lots of research to design the best suited diet plan for you.  The tips discussed above should help you embark on your budget friendly diet plan!

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written by:  Ellen Spencer

About the author: Ellen Spencer is a blogger and writer. She is a health freak and very environmentally aware. These days she is busy in writing an article on best multivitamin. Beside this she is fond of Chicco Strollers.

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Image courtesy of: greenphile / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The television has entire channels dedicated to weight loss products and exercise equipment that will magically eliminate those excess pounds if you happen to have a load of extra cash floating around the house. The internet and magazines are filled with ads for miracle diets that promise to make the weight drop off, providing you spend a small fortune on special products. But, actually, the same results can be achieved on a tight budget without any extra expense.

The good news is you do not have to pay vast sums of money to join a gym, buy special foods or supplements, or sign up for an online weight loss club. By having a plan and maintaining your focus, you can reach your weight loss goals by making just a few changes in your daily habits and eating healthier, portion-controlled meals.

Use Free Resources to Set Your Targets

Before you begin, you will need to determine your personal weight loss goal, and break this down into mini-goals. This will help you maintain motivation as you will see progress being made on a regular basis. The internet is a great place to find free information to help you decide on your own personal weight loss targets. For example, this weight loss speed calculator will give you an idea of how many calories different activities will burn. On that same site, you can also find out your current and ideal Body Mass Index, so you can set realistic goals.

Lowering Calories Without Additional Expenses

Eating healthily does not have to mean putting more money into the family budget for diet foods. These ideas are inexpensive and healthy as well.

• Water is the most inexpensive drink available, and it is the healthiest. If you do not like the taste, add a squirt of lemon or lime.

• Use a smaller plate to eat all meals. Even if you fill it full, you are likely to consume fewer calories.

• Substitute inexpensive legumes for meat; they are a good source of low-calorie protein and fiber, and cost a fraction of the price of meat.

• Buy fresh fruits and vegetables that are in season to get the best price.

• Stock up on canned and frozen fruits and vegetables when they are on sale and use coupons whenever possible.

• Put olive oil in a spray bottle for a healthier way to sauté or season vegetables and fish.

• Combine frozen fruit, such as strawberries or pineapple, with skim milk in a blender to make your own low calorie smoothie treats.

• Substitute grape tomatoes for chips or fries.

• Make filling soups using low-fat, low-sodium broth and vegetables; add flavour by adding herbs, spices or a few pepper flakes or jalapenos.

• Plan your meals in advance, and if you’re really organised, buy ingredients in bulk when they are on sale at the grocery store, make up big batches of stews and soups, and freeze in individual portions.

Burning Calories with Economical Exercise

Exercise is almost as important to weight control as calorie reduction, and is certainly vital for good health. The problem is that exercise programs are quite expensive, and most of us have difficulty fitting them into our daily schedules. Try these alternatives that can be more easily incorporated into a busy routine:

• Put on your favorite music and get out the kid’s jump rope, hula hoop, or Wii.

• Invite some friends to walk around the neighborhood and help pick up litter.

• Use heavy cans for weights and a broom for stretching exercises.

• While bringing in bags of groceries or carrying the laundry basket, do vertical lifts to build muscle mass.

• Organize an exercise DVD exchange with neighbors or friends to get fresh routines without spending additional money.

• Ride bikes with the children each evening, or learn to roller blade to burn more calories.

• Take the stairs rather than the elevator.

• Consider walking or cycling on short journeys rather than taking the car.

Doing weight bearing exercises will strengthen the heart and muscles. It will also increase metabolism to burn calories more rapidly. When exercise is used in conjunction with a healthy diet, you should be able to reach your weight loss goals quite naturally, without spending a cent on expensive weight loss products or a pricey gym membership.

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This guest post is by Catherine Denton, who used this free time to lose weight calculator to figure out how long it would take her to reach her desired weight. She’s used the ideas above to fit more exercise and healthy foods into her busy schedule while saving money. So far, she’s pleased with the results and has realised she doesn’t need to spend her hard-earned cash on expensive diets or exercise programmes when there are so many free things she can do everyday to achieve her goals.

If budget is becoming a major concern for you lately, along with the growing concern for extra flab that has given you unsightly love handles, it’s time you become a smart mother and find a solution to tackle both the problems together.

Without having to rely on bland vegetables, you can now lose weight in a succulent manner with various kinds of soups that are discussed in this article. Not only are these soups a delightful treat but they are also quite easy on your budget too.

Try out these chicken and vegetable soup varieties at home and begin admiring your going-slender silhouette in just seven days. Below are the variety of soup delicacies that form a part of your soup diet plan:

Cabbage Soup Diet
The Cabbage Soup Diet is a fantastic way to burn your extra calories in just seven days time. The diet constitutes of some mouthwatering low-calorie cabbage soup along with some more vegetables and fresh fruits that you need to simply gorge in good quantities during the first few days of the week. If you are a meat buff, do not look glum. The last few days allows you to add some gratifying beef to your soup.
You might however, hear some criticisms surrounding this diet. Many complain of feeling feeble and flaccid due to the dearth of protein content and presence of excessive of sodium. You might end up losing most of water content and muscle tissue, instead of calories. Some other names given to this diet plan are the Military Cabbage Soup, the Sacred Heart Diet, TJ Miracle Soup Diet and the Russian Peasant Diet.

Good Housekeeping’s Amazing Soup
Foodies and gourmands! This is just the apt diet recipe for you, wherein, you can eat as much as you desire and yet lose up to 20 pounds. You need to take care of your ingredient portions in your breakfast; snacks and main meals and you will be enamored to see the transformation within a week. The 12-quart stockpot vegetable soup will comprise fresh mixed vegetables like carrots, tomatoes, onions, pepper, zucchini, green beans, cabbage and some spinach leaves along with dollops of chicken broth. To get rid of the monotony, you can just spice up your piquant soupy savory with chicken breasts or ambrosial corn kernels to sup your new Mexican Chicken Soup Delight.

Chicken Soup Diet
Begin your day with a sumptuous breakfast embracing some fresh fruit salad and yogurt. You can even replace it with a bowl full of skimmed milk and cereals added to it. For the rest of the day have as much chicken soup you want, stuffing your stomach to the brim. You need not indulge in any long-term commitment in this diet too as this is meant for following only a week.

No soup diet plan that you might choose to follow can have a hundred per cent claim of permanent weight loss. If you are a fitness freak, it is worthwhile to maintain a healthy long-term diet commitment to do away with any unwanted weight gain later on and to lose weight gradually, yet in generous amounts.

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written by: Brenda Lyttle

Brenda Lyttle is a health expert who began writing for publications in her community in 2005 and now commands an authority in writing on healthy living, diet pills, anti-aging, and HGH related topics.

A few months ago, I was watching TV, and an infomercial for an expensive exercise program began enticing me with “not typical” results and tempting payment plans. I was instantly in a trance watching women my age and older doing fitness moves I have only done in my dreams. As I watched, I began to rationalize spending almost one week’s salary on this crazy exercise program if it meant that I could lose 5 inches in one week. Don’t worry, though. I stopped myself from making 8 payments of $19.95 and got real. If you find yourself tempted by fancy exercise infomercials or an expensive gym membership, stop now and step away from the television. The answer to your fitness dreams is all around you AND it’s free. Try these tips to get fit for free before spending that money.

YouTube, you Lose.

YouTube is a great resource of exercise videos. Check out this a 15-minute ab workout video or there’s even a workout you can do at your desk! If you need to target a certain area or a certain piece of equipment (weights, bands, exercise balls), simply search YouTube for your keywords. Another great online resource is www.exercisetv.tv. They offer full length videos and mini workout videos. Both YouTube and Exercisetv.tv are great ways to bring entire collections of workouts into your home for free.

Work your way up.
The best kept secret in fitness? Stairs. Ultimate effort is attained much faster climbing stairs than walking, which is why nearly everyone feels short of breath going upstairs. Stairs get you into shape, and they do it fast. Climb the flight of stairs in your home or head over to a local building with a killer set of stairs. Also, many high schools offer stadium stairs with public access. Make a 30 minute long iPod mix to motivate you, and you’ve got yourself a killer (free) workout.

Cleanliness is next to fitness.
Did you know that the average person burns 250 calories an hour while cleaning? Get that mop, broom, dust pan, and vacuum, and get to work. If your house is spotless, think of elderly family members or friends who may need some help. If you clean two hours a week, that is 500 extra calories burned each week. Kick it up to four hours, and you can burn almost an entire pound of fat (1,200 calories) in one week.

Window shop and the pounds drop.

Leave your debit card, cash, and credit cards at home and head to the mall. If you live in an area with frightful seasonal weather, mall walking is a great way to get your cardio in. We often associate mall walking with the retiree generation, but it’s starting to catch on with the younger generation, as well. If you’re worried about the stigma and don’t want to stand out amongst the crowd, wear your tennis shoes and jeans. There’s no need to advertise the fact that you’re at the mall to walk, and it’s okay to pace yourself with the rest of the crowd. Make it enjoyable! People watch, window shop, and walk.
While the media may tell us the only way to get fit is to fork over the dough, losing inches doesn’t have to cost you hard earned money. The best part of getting fit for free is that it brings you back to the basics. It’s unnecessary to make working out complicated, and it doesn’t have to involve tricky machines and crazy equipment. Just move your body! The next time you’re considering that $200 gym membership or that workout DVD collection, brainstorm ways you can get fit for free. You’ll be surprised at how many options are out there if you only look for them.

About the Author:
Sally Mellinger is a health and wellness blogger who often focuses on health issues such as depression, weight loss, hypothyroidism, oral health, and demystifying health and dental insurance for the average individual. She is an avid researcher, and enjoys expanding her knowledge of health and wellness and sharing it with others.

I just finished day 5 of the Cinch diet, and I happily stepped on the scale this morning 6 pounds lighter! Woohoo!

Eating the same foods everyday on the 5 day diet made for easy meal planning, but I was yearning for variety! Here’s my updated Cinch diet “report card” after the 5-day diet:

• I was never hungry!
• Cinch promised to curb cravings, and so far, so good!
• Still missing my salt and sugar substitute, but maybe that’s why I’m not craving a giant piece of chocolate cake!
• I don’t think I’ll ever eat plain yogurt again!

 
What’s next?

Cinch core, a 25 day plan that consists of 4 meals a day plus 1 small piece of dark chocolate! Any diet with chocolate gets an A+ from me!

The Cinch Diet allows me to pick the food I like from their list (what a relief!), and when it comes to meal planning, every meal must have a lean protein, produce, fiber and a healthy fat. This is going to be a huge change for me because I’ve been in the low-carb, low-fat mode for way too long. My previous New Year’s diets have always steered away from carbs and fat, and relied heavily on packaged foods, but Cinch says bring on real foods like olives, guacamole, nuts, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, and don’t forget the dark chocolate!

I’m looking forward to this new (and healthy) method of eating, and I’m delighted that my 3 teenage children have really taken an interest in the program. As my son said,”I’m not trying to lose weight, I just need to start eating better.” Not bad coming from a 15 year old teenage boy that loves his junk food!

So, what’s for dinner at our house? We’re trying the Cinch recipe for Black Bean Tacos with Cilantro-Jalapeno Guacamole – sounds yummy!

It’s a new year, and a new diet. My annual New Year’s resolution is to lose those holiday pounds, and I think the holidays began for me with Halloween candy!

What’s my goal?

• 1 month
• lose 10 lbs. (yes, it’s humanly possible to gain that much over the holidays!)

What’s my plan?

It’s called Cinch, and I’m hoping that’s exactly what it is!

I’m not a big fan of paying for diet programs when there is so much information available, and when I have my husband to do my weekly weigh-ins! I am a fan of the latest and greatest diet book, and this year it’s Cinch, by Cynthia Sass.

Cinch jump starts your metabolism and cleanses your body by beginning with a 5-day, 5-food fast forward program. You’ll lose up to 7 lbs. – woohoo! So, for 5 days I’ll be eating various combinations of spinach, plain fat-free yogurt, almonds, raspberries and tofu or eggs…that’s it! I can do anything for 5 days except eat plain yogurt, so I’ve taken the liberty to use my 1 allocated raw sugar packet to make my plain yogurt “pucker-proof”! After the first 5 days, it’s 4 meals a day and plenty of freedom to choose your favorites for the next 25 days! Simply look at the Cinch food lists and choose a produce, whole grain, lean protein, plant based fat (like olives & avocados…yummy!) and SASS (slimming and satiating seasonings) for each of your 4 meals. It gets even better, 1 piece of dark chocolate (50 – 100 calories) each day!

My first impressions of Cinch after day 1…

• Thrilled that their are no calories to count, and the plan is easy to understand!
• A little worried about giving up sugar substitutes! My past diets have always been Splenda happy!
• Oh so excited about a daily dose of chocolate!
• Happy to find a diet that offers vegetarian (that’s me!) and vegan options!
• Pleasantly surprised that my stomach isn’t growling!
• Relieved to discover that Cinch is based on healthy, whole foods…no prepackaged junk!
• Eager to try the recipes – especially the Fresh Mozzarella Basil “Pizzalad” and the Black Bean Tacos with Cilantro-Jalapeno Guacamole!
• Terrified of life without my salt shaker!
• Interested to see if Cinch can really curb my sweet tooth!
• Looking forward to a flatter belly in just 5 days!
• Cynthia’s a brilliant woman since she equates diets to budgets!
• Can’t wait to step on the scale after day 5 – check back Saturday for an updated Cinch report!

To learn more about Cinch and author, Cynthia Sass:

• Tune in to The Rachael Ray Show tomorrow (January 5th, 2011)
• Cynthia’s bio
• Cynthia’s weight loss bio
• Cynthia Sass on twitter
• CynthiaSass.com

Save Your Money – Stop Buying Bottled Water!

It’s time for another pledge from The Budget Diet Girl…

I will no longer buy bottled water,
and in doing so I will save money and save the Earth!

Bottled water has become the American way, and up until a year ago…I was guilty of buying a 24-pack every single week! WOW…that’s $4 a week, $16 a month and $208 a year for WATER! Remember The Budget Diet Motto: Every little bit adds up!

When my children began drinking bottled water at home (and we have perfectly good filtered water) that’s when I knew it was time for a solution!

I bought every member of the family their own metal bottle that they could simply refill and take to school, sports, work or just to the living room sofa! Yes, I call it bottled tap water!

The cost of four metal refillable bottles is less than $15 if you shop at T.J. Maxx, Ross, Marshall’s or Homegoods.

If you give up bottled water…

You’ll save your money!

You’ll save the earth!

You’ll save your back from lugging another case of bottled water in from the car!

The only downside…you’ll have to wash them everyday, so a bottle brush will come in handy!

Go Green and Save Your Money!

Save Your Money – Free Workout Routines

You don’t need a home gym or a gym membership to stay in shape!

Free workouts are always available on demand with fitness shows on TV (try a Zumba class on Bravo!), or you can take a trip to your local library and check out exercise videos or dvd’s.

Just think…it’s a great way to try different workout routines in the comfort of your home where there are no excuses about the weather and nobody cares what you are wearing!

Get fit today for free!

If you have a favorite TV fitness show, please click on the title of this article to let us know. Thanks!