Healthy lifestyle on a low budget, help!

[Deleted]

Right, here it goes.

I'm 19, i've been student for a few years and I find time and money slowly being drained away from me.

I don't have time to cook decent meals anymore, between sessions of study and whats left of my social life Microwaveable snacks fill me up quickly and for cheap, I don't have the time nor the money to join a Gym or buy any exercise equipment and over the past 2 years i've slowly been putting on more weight and finding myself less fit.

Has anyone got any tips to trying to get healthy again? I'm not talking about getting buff or even being super slim, the belly doesn't bother me, the fact that i know i'm becoming increasingly uhealthy does.

I've started my first few steps, I walk 20 minutes there and back to get my bus to college every morning rather than getting another one to the main station, and my diet has gotten slightly better, IE brown bread, low-fat alternatives to the quick and easy junk food, but not much at all.

Any helpful advice is appreciated, I don't imagine it would be easy with little money and little time but hey, every little helps, right?

Desp x

[Callace]

Right, here it goes.

I'm 19, i've been student for a few years and I find time and money slowly being drained away from me.

I don't have time to cook decent meals anymore, between sessions of study and whats left of my social life Microwaveable snacks fill me up quickly and for cheap, I don't have the time nor the money to join a Gym or buy any exercise equipment and over the past 2 years i've slowly been putting on more weight and finding myself less fit.

Has anyone got any tips to trying to get healthy again? I'm not talking about getting buff or even being super slim, the belly doesn't bother me, the fact that i know i'm becoming increasingly uhealthy does.

I've started my first few steps, I walk 20 minutes there and back to get my bus to college every morning rather than getting another one to the main station, and my diet has gotten slightly better, IE brown bread, low-fat alternatives to the quick and easy junk food, but not much at all.

Any helpful advice is appreciated, I don't imagine it would be easy with little money and little time but hey, every little helps, right?

Desp x

Jog.
Oatmeal.
Calisthenics.
Profit.

[cherb]

Oatmeal, pasta, and avoid eating things that you cook in the microwave for the most part. Try to shop around and find things you like to eat, and don't be afraid to 'cheat' once in a while, it's perfectly normal to eat a little bit of junk food every now and again, just not all the time.

[chimeraruin]

Right, here it goes.

I'm 19, i've been student for a few years and I find time and money slowly being drained away from me.

I don't have time to cook decent meals anymore, between sessions of study and whats left of my social life Microwaveable snacks fill me up quickly and for cheap, I don't have the time nor the money to join a Gym or buy any exercise equipment and over the past 2 years i've slowly been putting on more weight and finding myself less fit.

Has anyone got any tips to trying to get healthy again? I'm not talking about getting buff or even being super slim, the belly doesn't bother me, the fact that i know i'm becoming increasingly uhealthy does.

I've started my first few steps, I walk 20 minutes there and back to get my bus to college every morning rather than getting another one to the main station, and my diet has gotten slightly better, IE brown bread, low-fat alternatives to the quick and easy junk food, but not much at all.

Any helpful advice is appreciated, I don't imagine it would be easy with little money and little time but hey, every little helps, right?

Desp x

I would say replace any juices/sodas in your diet with water. Water sucks to drink sometimes, but if you do what the guy above me says and do a little light jogging, and some Calisthenics, you will want water more than any other drink anyway. Just go outside sometimes, walk on a clear sky day with some buddies, and bring along some water. In fact, just always have a bottle of water handy. Don't waste your money on bottled water, rather purchase a bottle and fill it with tap water (bottled water and tap water in most cases are the same thing). If your water tastes funny, it's just the natural minerals or whatever the city puts into the water to make it "sanitary".

Simply by eliminating juice/soda from your diet and adding lots of water, you will see some results fairly soon. Just remember to be somewhat patient. Don't "reward" yourself either, it sets you back

EDIT: On second though, you can "reward" yourself once in a while, like the guy above says, but make it light.

Oatmeal, Nutri-grain bars are a nice start to your morning. Nice with an apple, orange, or a single box of raisins. Raisins are good for a quick boost energy now and some sustained energy later.

Also, avoid pastas unless you plan on actually USING the carbs it provides.

[Illuminance]

Running has a 0 time and money barrier to entry. You could do it whenever you wanted, wherever, to whatever fitness level you wanted (more or less).

As far as cheap eating goes, that depends on to what extent you want to save money vs. ruin your health. I believe there's a real trade-off between health-nutitude and costs: for example, you can live off of rice or dollar menu items and get almost no nutrients like vast portions of the world, or you could blow your money buying organic, locally grown, fresh produce and try to create an extremely well-rounded diet -- and everything in-between. If your goal is simply to lose weight, you can do that by monitoring your microwavable snack intake (although this isn't a balanced meal).

My $.02

[Deleted]

I would say replace any juices/sodas in your diet with water. Water sucks to drink sometimes, but if you do what the guy above me says and do a little light jogging, and some Calisthenics, you will want water more than any other drink anyway. Just go outside sometimes, walk on a clear sky day with some buddies, and bring along some water. In fact, just always have a bottle of water handy. Don't waste your money on bottled water, rather purchase a bottle and fill it with tap water (bottled water and tap water in most cases are the same thing). If you water tastes funny, it's just the natural minerals or whatever the city puts into the water to make it "sanitary".

Simply by eliminating juice/soda from your diet and adding lots of water, you will see some results fairly soon. Just remember to be somewhat patient. Don't "reward" yourself either, it sets you back

Ahh okay, thanks. I think Stephen fry recently owed his loss of weight to long walks listening to audiobooks, might give that a go.

[cywang86]

If you can stand eating the same stuff for 2 days straight, yes.

Pasta is a great choice as it can be healthy given the right ingredients, and you can easily cook up amounts that can last for days in 30 minutes.

Also, consider getting water filter pitcher/bottles. Much cheaper than bottled water or soft drinks.

[chimeraruin]

if you like plain celery, they are actually negative calories. There are zero calories in celery, and you will burn calories by chewing and digesting, while at the same time feeling "full", so they are absolutely PERFECT for a snack.

Eat less food, but more often, can help your metabolism.

[Envisionist]

Pasta is really not that healthy of a choice. It's almost all carbs, avoid if possible.

[Callace]

Pasta is really not that healthy of a choice. It's almost all carbs, avoid if possible.

Whole wheat pasta is very healthy and very inexpensive. Carbs => Energy.

[Garnier Fructis]

If you can afford it, get a pair of decent running shoes and start running. Strengthen your heart and lose weight all at once. If not, get a pair of shoes that will support your feet well enough to take long walks. Alternatively, you can start biking if you can get a bike for cheap.

You mentioned the gym in your opening post, but don't worry about that. If your concerned with the weight piling on, go with walking/running/biking. Getting a gym membership just for the cardio equipment is a huge waste of money, and weight training machines won't help you lose weight.

Aside from that, do as others have already suggested for nutritional choices.

[Zakat]

What's probably most important for people who have a general idea or hope of getting 'in shape,' is making sure what their goal is. If you're still checking this thread, people have given some somewhat valid answers, but your goal is very vague at this point. You cannot afford a gym and do not seek to gain anything, and you probably don't wish to simply reduce to low levels of body fat.

If neither of these are your goal, your path to success is extremely simple. Fight the temptation to purchase quick/potentially unhealthy microwavable snacks, (there ARE healthy things in the frozen section such as vegetables or certain meals). This is only coupled with buying raw, unprocessed foods such as produce or meat. It's very easy to just be facetiously 'healthy,' by only eating pasta and oats as people are saying. If your main objective however is to loose wight(?) You will have to exert more energy to burn the stored glycogen from eating carbohydrates.

As far as exercise is concerned, it will be difficult for you to identify what your body is actually doing seriously without some sort of heart-rate zone identifying or schedule. I guarantee that doing a same walk of 20 minutes or for whatever duration will quickly loose it's effect after 2 if not 3 weeks. It is best to be continuously changing the cardiovascular exercise so your body does not ADAPT to a pattern (which is what every human's body attempts to do).

Everything is also tied into your willpower. If you don't keep your goal and your routine of improvement in mind, starting this thread or thinking about this at all was completely pointless.

You mentioned the gym in your opening post, but don't worry about that. If your concerned with the weight piling on, go with walking/running/biking. Getting a gym membership just for the cardio equipment is a huge waste of money, and weight training machines won't help you lose weight.

Sorry, but this really isn't correct. Weight training is anaerobic exercise, and therefore burns calories, hence WILL help anyone loose weight. The difference is how the exercise is preformed, and as a very large majority of people do, toning the muscle mass of the body can be done. The more lean muscle tissue a person has on their body, the higher amount of calories the body demands from nutrition to sustain itself. There are hundreds of exercise rountines using various amounts of weight and mainly BODY WEIGHT that give a person an essential 'in shape,' body.

[Derkenne]

Hey mate, Try to Eat you main Carbs and energy before or at lunchtime as you have more chance of burning of the intake throughout you day. Instead of just going all "low-fat" look for the low sugar/calories.
Cardio is the best for weight loss and the cheapest, like all of the above posts, walking and running don't require a membership .
If you can afford a Cheap punching bag and a pair of boxing gloves working a bag for 20-30 mins a day is terrific for cardio too.
Last piece of advice I could give is try and drink as much water as you can.
All of the above is only advice champ and it worked for me so far and may not suit your lifestyle, I was 100.3kg and I am now down to 86.4kg and it has only been about 5 weeks since making slight changes to diet and increasing my activity. Good Luck.

[Deleted]

This advice is so helpful, honestly, I had no clue what to do. Everything I've ever been told has seemed so vague, my school was erm "Lacking" in the fitness education dept.

So, thanks to everyone that has replied and given some advice, it's greatly appreciated!

[Deleted]

Whole wheat pasta is very healthy and very inexpensive. Carbs => Energy.

If you dont use your energy

Energy => Fat

[Derpdederp]

You know those green giant veges in the freezer section you microwave for like 3 minutes? I eat those every day, its alot of food (read: it fills you up for half the calories of what you mightve had) and its healthy. Its also cheap.

[pootisbird]

Beans, cheapest form of protein

[Nephthes]

You know those green giant veges in the freezer section you microwave for like 3 minutes? I eat those every day, its alot of food (read: it fills you up for half the calories of what you mightve had) and its healthy. Its also cheap.

Frozen veggies are not all that healthy. Just cause its a vegtable doesnt always been its the best nutrition for you in any form. Fresh ALL the way. More goodness for your body and you typically get more for your money than canned and frozen!

To the OP: I have quite a few recipies that are healthy and low budget if you want them. What kind of foods do you like?

[Radux]

As far as nutrition goes, take what people say with a grain of salt (pun intended) -- myself included. You need to find reputable sources for your information and make the best decisions based on that information so long as it can stay within your budget.

That said, I can't say carbs are your friend. Carbs come in 2 categories: complex and simple. Simple carbs = sugar. It's like eating a table spoon of the stuff. Unfortunately, fruit and many other things (like candy) fall under this category. Use sparingly. Complex carbs are basically plants that your body takes long periods of time to digest, like vegetables, beans or pasta (note: whole wheat kinda stuff). I personally limit my carb intake to mostly vegetables and the occasional bread for sandwiches (I just couldn't give up sandwiches). Get some frozen veggies from your local super market, as they're only 1-2 dollars per bag and last a long time. Each bag will give you 2 or even 3 servings. Just steam it in the microwave really quickly.

Fats: Fat isn't necessarily bad for you, despite what many will tell you. Your body can get its fuel from 3 places (and in this order): carbs >> fats >> protein. If you don't have a lot of carbs in your diet, your body will have to get its energy from your stored fat. This is a good thing. Not only does your body have to work harder for that energy (yay burning calories), but fatty things taste so good. I'm not saying it's ok to live off of southern comfort food -- it's not. I'm saying things like oils you use to cook in your food or omega-6 found in corn/grains or omega-3 found in some fish and nuts and such. They're all good for you. Your body actually needs and is composed of a lot of fat, even within cell membranes. You shouldn't avoid it. You can go cheap this way by snacking on things like almonds or cooking your meats (next part) in various oils.

Proteins: Ah yes. Meat. The primary staple (assuming you don't have dietary restrictions) of your meals. If you can get a Costco/Sams Club kind of deal (go in on it with your friends -- that's what I did in college), you can get a several pound bag of chicken breasts for like... 5 dollars (has over a dozen in the bag). It's fantastic. Protein is awesome because it keeps you going. Not like sugar keeps you awake, but it helps repair your body after it breaks down; which is exactly what exercise (yes, even walking) will do. You can also get protein in the form of beans.

Exercise: A very large portion of weight loss will come from diet. Remember that. Exercise will help, as well, but it won't play as big of a role. Walking is a good start if you're over weight. Body weight exercises (like pushups/crunches/pullups/wall squats/etc) are also very cheap ($0) and can be a fantastic workout.

There are plenty of places online to find information about both nutrition and exercise. Just make sure to be careful to judge credentials for both places and make a proper, informed decision that can keep you safe, as well as help keep your expenses down.

[Callace]

If you dont use your energy

Energy => Fat

It's implied that he exercises. People are too eager to suggest avenues for healthy living that don't involve exercise. Those people are morons.

My roommate is very thin and eats very healthy but meager servings. She's also in very poor health.