One thing I've noticed is that I can barely stand to eat meat that has been frozen and then thawed to cook. I prefer steak to be fresh, (any beef for that matter), chicken tastes better when it is fresh then cooked. The exception is when we stew chicken for chicken and dumplings or soup.. etc. Then it doesn't really matter to me. So for our family, we're buying either smaller packages of meat (thus more expensive) or buying larger packages, cooking it immediately and eating leftovers for at least 1/2 the week.

I think our food bill is about the same, generally speaking. Just more trips to the store which I guess equates in a bit more in gas.

Our kids are semi following our LC plan. They eat a the same times as my husband and I and follow the "no eating after the hour" rule. I think this will set them up for a better WOE later in life. They don't have a snack right before bed so there isn't another insulin release for them. They are hungry in the morning for something besides cerel many mornings. They've also decided that salad is just something we eat on a regular basis and always have some. They're eating better and I'm not going to worry just yet about their eating habits too much.

Lisa

My bill has gone WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAYYYY up!

You have to understand. I don't usuially cook. Before this diet, my bills would run like this

Breakfast: coffee, bagel with cream cheese 2 dollars
Lunch: slice of pizza and soda : 2 dollars and 25 cents
Dinner: Pasta and bread 5 dollars
Snacks: candy: 1 dollar

10 dollars and 25 cents

Now: my bill for today

Breakfast: Carb solution bar 2 dollars and 60 cents
Lunch: wendys blt salad : 5 dollars
Dinner: Turkey dinner and salad 10 dollars
Snack: Carb solution bar 2 dollars and 60 cents

20 dollars and 20 cents!

i would probably do better cooking but I have have no one to cook for. My fiance works nights and I usuially don't get out of work till 10 at night. I'm a studio musician so I keep odd hours. Also, I have portion control problems. If I'm just cooking for myself, most likely, I'll eat a whole lot more. I am more generious to myself then the resturaunts are to me

I know it's worth it in the end and I do save in the long run from less meds and no take outbut...

I use to spend $250 every two weeks on groceries now I spend $310 a week! I'm sure as my husbands appetite supresses a little I won't need to be as much meat but we easily go through 72 eggs and 30 pounds of meat a week. Yikes!

I guess my food bills have gone up, but...

...I like to factor in other costs that have gone down, such as the costs of continually buying new (LARGER) clothing to accomodate my increasing weight (have stopped that!) and the costs of fast foods which were SO bad for me and cost so much.

Plus I also find that in this WOE, little goes to waste. I cook all the time and the leftovers get eaten for breakfast or lunches. Before this WOE, I bought food that I intended to cook but ended up throwing it away because I kept ordering out for pizzza or buying fast food crap.

Bottom line, for me it's worth the extra $$ if I continue to lose weight and feel as good as I do today. I'm down 50lbs.

Continued good health and success to all!

Donald

A "me, too," I guess. My bills have gone up, but considering that I'm generally a big time El-Cheapo when it comes to food, that was inevitable. My staples were potatoes, pasta and canned tomato soup.

The exceptions to my frugality are soy products and free-run organic eggs - a little pricey. Darn my morality. But that's just my personal choice and beliefs.

So my grocery bills are going up, but how can you put a price on being healthier?

I agree with Lesley. I spend less, without a doubt.

My kids are always a concern to me. They are eating the same old foods as we all use to eat...only much less often. I don't think they have even noticed it. In return they are getting more of the "healthy" stuff. Not necessarily low carb food.. but more fruits and veggies and healthy carbs.

Healthy Carbs? well...... ya'll know what I mean by that.

with best wishes,
Libby

oh hey..... I grow my own eggs.....and if you think those are less expensive... HA!

Cereal at $3 a box(which my kids can eat in 3 sittings) compared to 3 doz eggs for $3

Chicken leg/thigh for $.29 (one weighs about a lb and it's usually between $.29-$.50 a lb) compared to a fast food burger at $2.50.

Bag of chips at $3 compared to a whole quart of whipping cream at about the same price.

You people in California don't know how lucky you are in the winter. I just paid $3.04 for a head of Romaine lettuce. But in the summer my DH has a garden and we eat from it.

I also shop at a wholesale club for my meat. It comes in large packages, but I divide it and freeze it.

Most of the time my dinners are meat, and salad, with a baked potato or some noodles for my husband and son. They don't seem to miss the casseroles, or pastas. On the nights when I weigh in at TOPS, they get their pizza or stromboli. (they bring me a chef's salad home)

And BTW, a chicken breast with the bone in weighs about twice as much as one without the bone or skin, so if the price is double for the bonless, it's actually the same price as buying the one with the bone and removing it yourself. When there are good buys on chicken breast, I sometimes buy alot and cook it off and freeze the diced meat in the broth. It's a quick basic ingredient to keep on hand.

My grocery expenses are higher, but like so many others, my eating out expenses are drastically reduced.

I read in one post that the person didn't like to cook. I thought that about myself before I started this WOL. However, as my energy has increased, my enjoyment of cooking has increased. And I used to have a problem cleaning the kitchen after I cooked/ate. Sometimes leaving the dishes for a day or two. Now, I get up after my meal and go clean the kitchen because I don't have all that yucky carby food weighing me down and making me so tired I can't get off the sofa.

I must say that being single makes it both easier and harder to manage this WOL. I have had to devise a lot of single-serving one-pot dishes becaue I don't do well with leftovers. But I have been having fun doing just that. I like to cook now.

As far as the cost of buying meat, I buy it on sale and store as much as will fit in the freezer on top of the refrigerator.

And I save time in the kitchen by preparing things like onions and mushrooms (used in about 90% of all my recipes) in advance.

And what's really a kick is that my refrigerator is full! It used to be that it was mostly empty because the foods I ate were prepackaged convenience foods. I just didn't have the energy to cook. Now all I cook is fresh.

;-Deb

My grocery costs have gone up somewhat, but considering that I'm not hitting McDonalds for breakfast and Arby's for lunch all the time, I'm saving a lot of money there. I'm also not buying junk out of the vending machines at work...another cost savings. I have two children who are 6 and 7...too young to put on LC, but that doesn't mean that I didn't cut out most of the sugary sweets and cereals that they were eating, especially now that we are suspecting that our oldest has ADD..no more sugar for her! The LC treats are pricey, so there is increased cost there, but I just don't buy them often. My "drug" costs have actually increased a lot since I'm now taking a lot of supplements that are not covered by insurance. Worth the price, overall, for better health IMHO.

Our Iceberg Lettuce is $2.50-$2.99 right now. EW!

But hey............ I have been picking mine out of my garden for about 6 weeks now.........

neener neeener nnnnnnnneeener.......
Libby

(oh, I just couldn't help myself)

From someone in the still frozen north, let me say.....thhhhhhhhbbbbttttttt!!! The price of lettuce has gone insane here too, but until I can get my own growing, I will have to bite the bullet and buy it.

My bill has gone up a bit. My dh doesn't "approve" of my WOE. He and our sons will not eat lc (well, they ususally DO, just don't know it ) I no longer buy them the chips, sodas, cookies, etc. The first few weeks there were LOTS of complaints, but I don't hear a peep now. My boys are 16 and 17 years old.
My daughters, 21 and 23, are away at school. They firmly believe in low fat, as does their Dad. I can see the weight slowly creeping up on them. They at least are listening to me about my WOE, and are seeing results. Hoping to see a change for them soon!
DH, by the way, started the same day I did, 01-02-02, to "lose 10 pounds". He's low-fat all the way ("don't feed me any of your high fat poison!"). Guess what? He hasn't lost a pound in all this time. Can't admit I'm right.

My grocery bill HAS risen a bit...HOWEVER...I am SAVING money by cooking at home. Ther are just my DH and I in our home and it was always easier for us to go out or order in. Now that I am making our meals at home it is much more cost effective!
We also used to stop at our local watering hole for a couple of afterwork beers or drinks...and I more than he has even lost the desire to do that!!! I would much rather go home and fix a nice meal and SOMETIMES enjoy a glass of wine. Not a 6 pack!!!

This WOE is awesome!!!