My expenses are WAY down. I used to go out to lunch every day and out to dinner most nights. Dinners always included cocktails or wine. I think I'm saving $30-40 a week in alcholic beverages!

we are big curry eaters here so cheaper cuts of meat are fine. since low carbing i still cook a curry nearly every night and my housemate, who isn't low carbing, gets rice, and i get cauliflower, cabbage or broccoli with the curry. so nothing has really changed dinner wise.

what has dramatically changed is lunches - i used to easily spend 50-60 (australian) dollars a week on lunches and junk and since low carbing i find that i don't have to fill up my wallet with cash as often as i did! now i roast some lamb or pork or beef on sunday to make cold meat and salad for lunch. not only am i saving a bucket-load of cash, i am no longer wanting to fall asleep at my desk in the afternoon!

i also have a chest freezer so i can take advantage of specials on meat and frozen veggies. what a great investment that was.

Initially stocking my kitchen with baking staples was expensive

various nut flours
various davinci syrups
thicknthin not starch/sugar/cake mix (novelties I just had to try)
soy flour
wheat protein isolate
liquid splenda/granulated splenda
Diabetesweet
stevia
various concentrated flavoring oils
xantham
guar gum
salt substitutes
flax meal
wheat bran
oat bran
vital wheat gluten

maybe it has...I was thinking about this more but my fast food bill decreased ;)

We've been spending less. We've always eaten a lot of meats, so no real change there. But we don't buy all the pre-packaged junk food anymore. And I was spending a TON on eating out and fast food junk. I've also noticed our trash cans and recycle bins aren't as full either.

My weekly grocery bill has increased. I used to eat pasta with little or no meat about 3 times per week. Now, Im eating meat on a daily basis. So the bill has increased due to the additional meat that I'm eating.

-Mike

My bill has gone way down! I ddin't get this fat living off of the healthy stuff I eat now!! I no longer buy potato chips, pop, cakes, cookies, dip, ice cream, chinese food, pizza etc..nor do I eat out at all if I can help it. I find that if you shop around you can get great deals on meat and veggies, and whole foods! I totally avoid the majority of LC items, as I really still consider them LC junk food (ie lc ice cream, syrups, etc). I do like the idea of bake mixes etc, and later on I will be purchasing those down the road.

Right now I am concentrating on learning to totally eat whole, nutrient rich food - then after I have gotten to some of my mini goals, I may incorporate a few things. I am worried, however, that incorporating these too early will just continue my previous "bad" eating habits.

Definitely increased, and of course since I am the one who buys groceries in this house, it annoys me. BUT we go to the super Wal Mart, so that saves us some money at least. I remember when my grocery bill use to be $50 a week, now it is NEVER under $70

Our bill has gone waaay up, but it's the initial stocking up. Once I've weeded out all the "convenience foods" and made the switch to whole-grains, more meat, etc. I'll be better able to judge. Though it looks like it won't go up too much, and the trade-off will come when I can take fewer meds that insurance doesn't cover!!

I think I spend more, part of it is feeding another mouth too though (the baby eating solids).

But alot of it is also the fact I am haivng healthier eating habits for the whole family. Now I go to the store and stock up on fresh veggies and fruits. My fridge now is packed full, not just a warehouse for condiments. I have meat and veggies in the freezer, and a basket of fresh fruit on the table.
Plus it's amazing what these kids can eat. My 1 year old daughter ate 1/2 a duck (it was a 6 pound duck I roasted) and almost 1/2 cup of blueberries for dinner tonight. I try to feed my kids healthy, but occasionaly (about once every 4 months) some mac and cheese gets to them just in self defense!


Edit: Well her and her brother finished off the blueberries. I refused to give them another package. She then polished off the dusk. Her brother got 2 bites, I got 1 leg and about 1/4 a breast and she polished off the rest of the duck. Sheesh.

:roll: LadyBelle--isn't it incredible how much a little kid can put away? My 3yo ds eats more than dh!!

Anyways--This month I spent $45 more on our groceries than I did last month. Mainly for fresh produce, organic when I can get it. But that will decrease during gardening season when I can grow my own again!

If you are not used to eating real foods (a la low-fat diet-style) the first trip to the market can put a hole in your wallet. However, after the inital trip, I can see my bill going down weekly - what's left to buy? - fresh veggies, fresh cream, eggs and any meat on sale.

I have run lowered cho diets in the past and spent a fortune ($500 or more a month for me). Most of my expense came from the meat and veggies and other low fat, high protein concoctions like lf cream cheeses etc. Fats generally are only transiently effective at inducing satiety for me, so that was another factor in the grocery bill increase.

Good old animal flesh is hard to come by cheaply.

Now however, I think I can run almost any diet for about 150-200 a month max. I might could drop it below 100 if the need arose and still get all the micronutrients+ plenty of macros.

For protein I go with:

Tuna(.33 cents a can on sale)
Eggs(when they are cheap, eat the whole egg)
MPI (Milk protein isolate or calcium caseinate)
SPI(soy isolate, veggie protein hence is cheap)
Whey(I still like the isolates more than concentrates)

I may try to find a dairy plant nearby and see about buying bulk caseinate. That would be about as cheap as tuna. I run at least .8-1 gram protein/pound lean body mass no matter what diet I follow. So this is about as cheap as it gets for me. Even ground hamburger/chicken I would not consider a staple based on price. Both still are more expensive than what I listed above.

Fats are so darn cheap. For me I go with..

EVOO(olive oil)
Fish oil(for n-3 fatty acids)
coconut oil/butter
dairy butter
basically most oils are flat out cheap in bulk

Veggies....Here is my take on it. I plan to eat veggies in the future more for their micronutrient content than anything. Think about it. The micronutrients are about the only physical attribute of them you 'can't' replicate through another source. Not true about the fiber content, protein values or cho count. Those can be obtained more cheaply taking almost any other route. That way I can get variety but not quantity and save boatloads of money. I figure on about 20-30 buck a month can net me whatever veggies I want given that one criteria. I just don't use them to fill up on! Bingo problem solved on the veggies. I would just look more at the antioxidant values etc. and select veggies based on that. Or I could just go with lots of colors that works too, lol.

-Cardinal

I would say my grocery bill is up a little more. I eat more meat now that I can't eat my pasta anymore. :)

Ours has stayed the same really--I'm feeding 9 people--at least 4 with adult-sized appetites. I have stopped buying cookies, chips, crackers, sugary cereal, juice--all of which cost way more per pound than protien sources. My family is more satisfied with meals, so there's a lot less snacking going on. And--we've been a lot healthier this past winter without all the added sugar, so our drugstore bill has gone down also.

Peach

PS. Don't feel bad about your grocery bills. I regularly spend $200 a WEEK (and that's shopping at the military commissary!)

I would say our bill has gone down. There's only my husband and I and one son left at home so I usually make a good meat and potatoes meal with a salad in the evening (I don't get any potatoes though :nono: ) and I'm always eating the leftover meat and vegetables for lunch the next day. In addition, I've stopped buying chips, sodas, candy, etc. which can really add up. I know my fridge is a lot cleaner these days because I'm always using up the leftovers!

Mine has gone up a bit. But I use coupons creatively hehe. We have a double coupon store (up to .99) and if I see a coupon I can use such as for cheese (usually Kraft) or tuna or whatever I get multiples of them. I know this sounds crazy but we have a dumpster for recycling newspapers here and I'll go early Tues am and pull out the coupon inserts that other people tossed out. Then I'll have like 20 coupons for stuff I can use. The other week I just bought 20 packages of 8oz Kraft cheeses for $1.25 each (that's $2.50#..cheap) and stuck most of them in the freezer. Cheese freezes fine.
Anyway that's what I do lol.

I posted here back in early Feb. We are spending less, not only did we cut out the restraunts, but we seem to enjoy our limited menus so buying in bulk works great and saves money. I will say that it's just me and DH and we're both doing this WOE.

I think I'm spending less. I used to drop 50-60 a week at Trader Joe's, now I'm down to 30-40. I buy the occassional marked down meat at the grocery stores that is nearing its sell by date, then I freeze it and cook it later. I don't buy a lot of processed foods, so I think that keeps things cheaper too.

I really haven't noticed any difference. I have always kept the freezer stocked with meat (buy cheap in bulk) and we always have had salad fixings and tons of frozen veggies in the house.

I usually always kept real butter on hand for baking - I think the only real change has been from buying half and half to buying cream.

I bought a bottle of vitamins when I started this but they'll last me six months.

I don't buy any of the frankenfoods, maybe that makes a difference - I don't want to replace things and end up 'missing' them - I don't miss them, so why substitute?

Pam

ours has stayed about the same, we were low fat before and most low fat items are expensive and never go on sale, so it evens out i think.... we stick to whole foods now so it's about the same... well worth the expense that's for sure =0)

I used to buy a lot of veggies and make my own salads when I first started. And a lot of it went to waste. Now I buy salads at Wendys or McD's and use my own dressing. It's much less of a pain in the butt (I hate chopping veggies).

Sometimes when things are out of season its cheaper to buy the salad bar veggies that most groceries have now then the bags .Bags of lettuce were up over $5.00 a lb.(they are 8-10oz bags but the salad bar stayed at 3.49.

Considering that I don't go out to eat out very often and don't bring take out home for dinner, I spend about the same as before and that includes Atkins supplements. I also throw away a lot less food now.

I spend a ton more at the grocery store! However, that is merely a trade-off, since my husband & I usually at out for dinner.

I am quite pleased with the change, though - I have always liked to cook :)

I break about even since I don't eat out nearly as often. Marty

Woo! I made out at the grocery store today. I got:

2 rump roasts (B1G1 FREE) $1.99#
4 packages reduced green onions (8 bunches) $.50 each
3 packages reduced green beans (about 1# each) $.50 each
1 package reduced brussel sprouts $.45
4 1# packages reduced cooked ham $.99 each
4 1# packages reduced bulk sausage $.99 each
4 large heads broccoli $.68 each

Meat goin right in freezer. Will blanch and freeze most of the produce and eat the brussel sprouts for dinner with leftover ham tonight.

I get so darn excited when I get deals like this lol.

Ummmm.... brussel sprouts. *slurp* I forgot about brussel sprouts.

I don't think it makes an impact on my grocery bill as much as it makes an impact on eating out for lunch. Before, I could just go and grab a sandwich, chineese, or a burger value meal. Now I feel like choices are limited and I end up at a restaurant or ordering takeout from a restaurant. That has had a major impact on the budget.

I think that buying whole foods and good meats has really increased my bill...I am finding now, however that it isn't as bad as before because I have a stock of stuff to cook with and am learning what to buy and not to buy.