In this week’s group meeting, Dr. Tro and health coaches Amy Eiges and Brian Wiley discussed the myth about how low carb is expensive and tips on how to eat low carb on a budget. This week’s discussion was sparked by a social media post on how keto and low carb are not affordable to people on a budget. At the same time, health coach Brian Wiley posted a blog on how to do low carb on a budget, the team decided it was perfect timing to discuss the topic.
Discussion:
- Brian talked about money being tight when he started low carb over a decade ago, but after eating this way for a little while he quickly saw his grocery bill declining from not buying processed foods, junk food and soda. Buying real food and cooking at home saved quite a bit of money.
- One mistake people make is getting caught up in thinking that you have to buy all premium foods to be successful — you do not need to buy organic, wild-caught, grass-fed, pastured anything to be successful on low carb. Buy what you can afford.
- Fast food, gas stations, corner stores, and dining out is completely doable on low carb: you can buy 1/4 pound burgers, chicken patties, cheese, bacon, etc. from just about every fast food restaurant for a dollar or so. At gas stations and corner convenience stores you can grab nuts, cheese sticks, meat sticks, pork rinds in a pinch.
- Buying in bulk and taking advantage of sales is a great way to stock up and save money. Some upfront costs that pay for themselves are deep freezers, vacuum sealers, freezer bags, and freezer safe containers to organize and customize to your family’s serving sizes. These end up being huge money and time savers.
- Warehouse clubs are great ways to stock up! They sell everything in bulk at decent prices that can fill your fridge and freezer fast. They often also run sales like the grocery stores. They also sell household items and give you discounts on gas so these savings can easily help offset the membership costs.
- Taking advantage of sales during the holidays are great ways to stock your freezer. Holidays like Memorial Day, the 4th of July, Easter, Christmas, and Thanksgiving are the best sales for meats and dairy.
- If browsing the grocery and you notice something you want and it’s within 5 days of expiration, ask the department manager if they will mark it down. You can score premium meat and dairy for cheap if you just ask, the worse case is they say no.
