Packratona!
9-13-12, 1:57pm
One Year Challenge: anyone want to join me? Lose weight gradually (over a year's time), declutter your kitchen, have more money saved up in your food category in your budget.
THE WEIGHT LOSS PART:
1) Weigh yourself on starting date (to be posted) for starting weight; we all weigh the same morning on getting up, before breakfast. Then weigh each week a week later, same day each week. If you forget, just weigh the next morning. Write down your starting date on first page of a notebook and post on this thread.
2) Weigh the food you normally eat each day, on a food scale. Write down your daily intake in weight. Without making any changes in your eating habits, do this for a week and calculate the average weight of each meal that first week.
3) The goal is to eat less. The way to measure this is by weighing your food. Your stomach will adjust slowly over time if you gradually cut down. So, make a goal that second week to eat a few ounces less each meal/day for that week. For instance, if you normally eat an average of a pound a meal, try to cut that down to 15 ounces per meal (or the average of 45 ounces per day), for one week.
4) Repeat each week; gradually cutting down by an ounce or two as your stomach adjusts. Don't try to make sudden changes.
THE DECLUTTERING YOUR KITCHEN PART:
1) Make it a goal to use up the things you have in your cupboard already, when planning your food menus for each week.
2) Look in your pantry to see what you have on hand already and can use up, before you buy more.
3) Organize your cupboards: Consider labeling (with a small superstick sticky note) the items which have the oldest expiration dates, and moving them to the front of your cupboard as priority items to use up.
THE SAVING MONEY PART:
1) Only purchase foods that you need to purchase, to go with something you can use that is already in your fridge or pantry.
2) Try to purchase mostly food ingredients which are around $1 or less a pound. For ideas, look at the $1 a pound list I posted earlier in the forums. You may purchase higher cost ingredients occasionally for special occasions, but purchase and use them sparingly. See if there is a lower cost alternative that be substituted.
3) Look for recipes which use up foods you already have on hand, and which only require purchase of any additional ingredients that cost around a dollar a pound or less. The forum members can help with this: post an ingredient you have, and we will post recipe ideas. Also look at the $1 a pound recipe forum I posted earlier.
4) Although you are not restricted to non-processed foods, in order to meet the goal of $1 a pound, you will automatically be purchasing mostly raw fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, and flours. You will be purchasing chicken or turkey on sale, with the occasional frozen fish or canned tuna or salmon. You will be eating less meat and less processed foods. You will be learning to make your own salad dressings, baked goods, bread crumbs, etc. as that will enable you to eat for $1 a pound.
5) When you do see a good deal on something you normally have in your pantry that you are out of, by all means, purchase it in multiples as needed, to restock. But ONLY if you are getting a good deal at around a dollar a pound.
You will begin to see your food budget look better over time, as you eat less, use up food you have on hand, and purchase less expensive ingredients. In a year's time, things should be looking better!
THE WEIGHT LOSS PART:
1) Weigh yourself on starting date (to be posted) for starting weight; we all weigh the same morning on getting up, before breakfast. Then weigh each week a week later, same day each week. If you forget, just weigh the next morning. Write down your starting date on first page of a notebook and post on this thread.
2) Weigh the food you normally eat each day, on a food scale. Write down your daily intake in weight. Without making any changes in your eating habits, do this for a week and calculate the average weight of each meal that first week.
3) The goal is to eat less. The way to measure this is by weighing your food. Your stomach will adjust slowly over time if you gradually cut down. So, make a goal that second week to eat a few ounces less each meal/day for that week. For instance, if you normally eat an average of a pound a meal, try to cut that down to 15 ounces per meal (or the average of 45 ounces per day), for one week.
4) Repeat each week; gradually cutting down by an ounce or two as your stomach adjusts. Don't try to make sudden changes.
THE DECLUTTERING YOUR KITCHEN PART:
1) Make it a goal to use up the things you have in your cupboard already, when planning your food menus for each week.
2) Look in your pantry to see what you have on hand already and can use up, before you buy more.
3) Organize your cupboards: Consider labeling (with a small superstick sticky note) the items which have the oldest expiration dates, and moving them to the front of your cupboard as priority items to use up.
THE SAVING MONEY PART:
1) Only purchase foods that you need to purchase, to go with something you can use that is already in your fridge or pantry.
2) Try to purchase mostly food ingredients which are around $1 or less a pound. For ideas, look at the $1 a pound list I posted earlier in the forums. You may purchase higher cost ingredients occasionally for special occasions, but purchase and use them sparingly. See if there is a lower cost alternative that be substituted.
3) Look for recipes which use up foods you already have on hand, and which only require purchase of any additional ingredients that cost around a dollar a pound or less. The forum members can help with this: post an ingredient you have, and we will post recipe ideas. Also look at the $1 a pound recipe forum I posted earlier.
4) Although you are not restricted to non-processed foods, in order to meet the goal of $1 a pound, you will automatically be purchasing mostly raw fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, and flours. You will be purchasing chicken or turkey on sale, with the occasional frozen fish or canned tuna or salmon. You will be eating less meat and less processed foods. You will be learning to make your own salad dressings, baked goods, bread crumbs, etc. as that will enable you to eat for $1 a pound.
5) When you do see a good deal on something you normally have in your pantry that you are out of, by all means, purchase it in multiples as needed, to restock. But ONLY if you are getting a good deal at around a dollar a pound.
You will begin to see your food budget look better over time, as you eat less, use up food you have on hand, and purchase less expensive ingredients. In a year's time, things should be looking better!