I have a VERY serious question... Is it possible to succeed on Atkins on a restricted budget??? My household consists of my husband, 3 kids, and myself. On average we spend about $300 a month on groceries and I am starting to feel very guilty about starting the induction diet. I don't start until 1/5/04, but I have people outside of our household commenting on how selfish that seems.
"...people eat potatoes and rice for a reason...It makes the money stretch that much farther". This is what I am hearing. Can anyone please tell me how going Low-Carb has affected their budget? I feel that this is a legitimate concern and may possibly be what sets me up for failure.

Here's a good thread for you to read:

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...ighlight=budget

I guess that answer to that depends on what you are buying now. If you're spending money on ice cream, cookies, chips, etc...you may find that you break about even by not buying those foods and buying more meats, eggs, and veggies instead.
Poultry is an inexpensive form of protein as are eggs and tuna. It's not necessary to eat steak or other more expensive cuts of meat every night on low carb.
I don't really spend more on meat now than I did before. I probably spend more money on veggies (both fresh and frozen) than I did before, but that's balanced by my not spending money on lots of junk food and convenience foods like frozen pizza and frozen dinners.
For a long time, I cooked the same way I always had; everyone else ate the starchy sides of rice, pasta or potatoes with the meat and veggies and I ate the meat and veggies; more for them and I could still stay on plan.



It's selfish to care about your health and take action on a weight problem? It's selfish to think ahead and realize that if you keep going the way you are, the family is headed for medical bills, medication bills and possibly losing you sooner than they should? Anyone who would tell me that I'm being selfish by taking care of myself and changing what I eat to meet that goal would get an earful from me to say the least. I'd say you're doing just another thing to take care of your family by taking care of yourself.

First, let me say, "$300 a month for a family of 5". You must be a great shopper.
To be honest, it will probably increase the grocery expenditures a bit. My overall expenses however, have decreased once my prescription medicine bill is considered. I have cut my medication expenses over $200 per month due to the weight loss and blood sugar control that is a result of my new Way of eating. Replacing soft drinks with water and cutting out Little Debbies and Three Musketeers has also helped cut back expenses, although with $300 grocery bill you probably weren't spending much on those items.
Overall, though, I would consider the added expense as if I were paying premiums on an insurance policy. If we can increase our health by our style of eating, it is worth a little extra expense.

Lots of luck,
Johnie

Thanks Johnie!
What an excellant way of looking at it!

My grocery bill has gone up, but for that expense in return I feel better and will eventually look the way I want in order to feel good about myself, not to mention the health benefits. I would say the grocery bill went up about $30 for me.

I too am feeding a family of 5 on a tight budget. I buy my meat in bulk and cut it up. When we meat we eat a lot of chicken and pork because it is cheap. I go to the warehouse store (Costco or Smart & Final) because meat,butter and cheese are about half the price of grocery stores. I go to the local farmer's market for fresh produce. My budget allows $350 to feed 2 adults, a college studet and 2 high school Juniors.

My grocery bill has gone down because I don't spend alot of money on low carb things. DH buys Orowheat lc bread for me and we buy much fewer chips, cookies etc. I think that if I were on welfare I could still eat a lc woe.
Come to think of it,I think that I would have been a better shopper if I had been on Atkins at the time I was on welfare in the 80's.

I was just thinking today, how would I stretch out the food bill without carbs, back in the day. I could feed my family more meat and veggies. As we know, carbs stimulate the appetite. To save on food one must fill up on foods that stifle the appetite.Breads, rice and potatoes can't do that.

i'm re-starting now. the first time i ate this way, i was really gung-ho about it, lost all i needed too, and was feeding three other people (husband & two growing daughters) that were not low-carbing.

i didn't notice a significant increase in food costs. i didn't buy low-carb foods, bars, etc.

i bought the basics, and adapted my diet around them. breakfast for me (i never eat until i've been awake for an hour or two so that meant at work) was a few hard boiled eggs. lunch was cheese & turkey roll ups, or maybe a take out burger with the bread off, or a salad with chicken etc on it. dinner was when i had to cook for everyone else. i made a good meat dish (steaks, chicken, fish), with potatoes or pasta for the rest of the folks, and a giant salad. course, i ate my fill of meat and had a lovely salad.

i must say that i did better on this than i do now when i try to cook or buy special low carb items or dishes. simple really did work best for me and that's what i'm trying to get back to.

didn't do anything special, just adapted what i could eat to our menu.

Yeah the LC products that are out are outrageously priced, I mean $4 for LC bake mix that is about 1/2 the oz's of regular bake mix and twice the cost, geez. Vegetables are the most expensive to me, lettuce seems very hard to keep for more than 3 days.
I get tired of chicken fast, and pork doesn't taste so great reheated, so I eat a lot of cheap hamburger when the budget is tight.

I'll add my 2-cents worth here, as I have on other threads about this topic (AND what I tell family members who ask--even my sister who is now on Atkins with a grocery budget of about $150/month for 2).

If you stay away from the specialty products, you can actually save money on this WOE. As suggested, when it's feasible, buy meat in bulk and re-package it yourself. Take a little time to shop around at local stores and familiarize yourself with their niches. WalMart, for example, carries quite a few products which, while low-carb, are also a reasonable buy. Fred Meyer has a health food within their store which carries many 'health food store' products for less (we buy a box of cereal that my daughter really likes about once a month of so). We also have a huge grocery store in our area that has a really large bulk section. I buy nuts, vital wheat gluten and soy flour there cheaper than I can buy it anywhere else.

It takes a little while to get into the swing of shopping LC (probably the first month) but when you get used to it, it's a snap. Before long, you know who has the best buy on salad dressing, eggs, cheese, and so on, just as you do with the products you buy now.

And selfish? Good grief! As Lisa said, what's so selfish about trying to take care of yourself? One of the best things you could do for you and your family is to put not only yourself, but also them on a healthier way of eating. And trust me, if they don't need a LC diet, they will still benefit from yours because you'll be seeing how you benefit, and you'll be putting a whole lot healthier food on the table for everyone.

Oh yeah! Before I forget. Our suppers before starting LC consisted of 2-2.5 pounds of meat (uncooked weight), a true low-carb vegetable or two and a starchy food (rice, potatoes, pasta, biscuits, whatever). Now our supper consists of 2-2.5 pounds of meat (uncooked weight) and two low-carb veggies. Sometimes we cook extra meat to have for lunch the next day. Breakfast of eggs and berries and cream is cheaper than cereal and all the recommended goodies to go with it (toast, juice, etc.). And basically all the money we were spending on low-nutrient, high-carb foods like bread, cereal, potatoes, rice, chips, sugar, flour, etc., etc. every month is now being spent on high-nutrient vegetables, nuts, berries, a box of Splenda, and a few LC baking ingredients (and the baking ingredients are used very sparingly.

You might find these links helpful as well:

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...0693#post340693
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...&threadid=39472
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...&threadid=23152
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...&threadid=45835

I try to buy more expensive things like quarts or half gallons of cream at bulk stores as well as eggs and butter. I base my meat purchases on what's on sale the week I go grocery shopping and stock up when it's a particularly good deal (I have a stand up freezer in the basement). For example; this week I got Western style spare ribs for 79 cents a pound, chicken thighs for 69 cents a pound, chicken breast for 1 doller per pound, bacon for 2 dollars a pound (I use mostly in recipes to make it go farther), pork butt roast for 99 cents a pound and ham for 89 cents a pound. One store had Clementines on sale for $2.98 for a 5 pound box (for my girls) and I get whatever veggies are on sale that week or buy frozen (prices stay fairly steady) when nothing else is available. The week before Christmas, one store had bags of frozen veggies (broccoli, green beans, cauliflower) on sale for 50 cents a piece, so I stocked up. What tends to run my grocery bill up is things I get for my kids like milk, yogurt and CarbSmart ice cream, but I get cheese in blocks and shred it myself. Sometimes I wind up going to 3 or 4 stores to take advantage of the deals, but they are all either close to home or close to my office so I'm not really going out of my way to get the better prices, just spending a bit more time.
I agree that if you stay away from the low carb treats and convenience products, which you really don't need, this WOE can actually be less expensive.
However, if you were pretty much living on very little meat and mostly rice, pasta and potatoes, of course your grocery bill is going to increase. Personally, I consider it an investment in my long term health.

I found the first month was costing alot more, but that was because we had totally cleaned out the pantry and had to buy alot of new foods. I agree that if you stay away from the "frankenfoods" you will save money. Right now, veggies are expensive, but if you have a garden in the summer you will save alot then. I grow lettuce in my garden, and it's so nice to walk back there, snip off some lettuce and have a fresh salad. And it grows back, so as long as you plant about a 10 day supply, you've always got more coming up. We ended up giving alot away, and we ate a lot of lettuce.

I can't believe that someone has the nerve to call you selfish over this... this HAS to be some family member... it is not selfish to take care of yourself. How can you care for your family if you don't start by caring for yourself? I've said this before in other posts, people today have a totally messed up idea of what "selfish" means, and they throw that word around when they want to manipulate you. Do not let them manipulate you. Where there's a will, there's a way, and if $300 is what you've got to spend, you will find a way to do this woe on $300.
Best to you,

Jenn

Just some thoughts on trying to conserve. Luckily I don't have a family to feed - the way I shop it would cost me $1500/mo.

My grocery bill definitely increased by about 50% last year. A lot was due to waste: I'm single, and even buying small quantities I had leftovers which inevitably went bad. In November, I bought one of those Vac machines that vacuum-seal the food in plastic bags, so now I can buy food and not be throwing it away.

And planning has a lot to do with it, too. Formerly, I was making recipes whose ingredients had absolutely no relationship to each other. My "New Years Resolution" is to actually sit down each week and figure out what I'm going to make, and try to utilize individual ingredients in as many meals as possible. And also try to make things that use spices & condiments that I already have.

My grocery bill definitely went up. Actually, I had to quit the diet twice due to finances. I also have 3 growing children and a DH to feed.

However... low carbing is definitely worth it if you can swing it. My main problem is/was hypoglycemia and migraines. I am symptom free when I eat low carb. Symptoms come back when I'm off the diet. Low carbing, I have more energy to take care of the house and kids, and to get everything else done that needs to be done.

Also- I find that when I eat induction levels of carbs, a little bit of protein/fat goes a longer way than a little bit of carby food anyway. Sure, carbs cost less, but I find I have to eat a lot more of them to feel full. On Atkins, I can keep my portions pretty small, and still feel satisfied.

I do most of my shopping at Costco. We are supposed to be getting a Super Walmart in our area soon, as well- and that will help a lot with the food bill!

If you have good freezer space, you can buy meat on sale and store it until you need it.