OS and weight loss?

Joopin

Thankyou to everyone who replied. Defo a warm welcome to this site.
I get the feeling that the best thing I can do to save money is meal plan. Had a quick go last night before shopping today. But because Ive not done it before I went a bit over board and bought a bit too much. Old habbits and all that. But the too much was things that wont perish or meat I can shove in the freezer so I think that next week all Ill need to get is fruit and veg.

Im also going to look at local farmers markets. I think there is one near here and I remember having a look in ages ago. Its a once a month thing. Just remember that the farmers didnt seem too friendly (well one of them wasnt) and it was expensive. I live in a semi rural place so there must be more to explore locally.

Ive tried for the last few days to cook from scratch and have more fruit and veg. So far the meals Ive made have been fab. Home made pizza was so much more nicer than the ones I had in Italy even! And I just feel better eating good food rather than rubbish microwave stuff.

Thanks again and I look forward to getting to know you all.

frosty

shopping at lidl has really helped my budget,their fruit and veg is so cheap,we like those little salad potatoes,in lidl they were 34p a bag(1kg)in asda they were72p a bag.We make our own yogurt,while sorting out my kitchen cupboards a few days ago I found 3 tins of tesco meal replacement drinks (its a powder) 2 choc flavour and one strawberry flavour,I decided to add a couple of teaspoons to our homemade yogurt and it tasted fab,my sons cant get enough of them.My budget is £50.00 a week for 5 adults,3 dogs and the cat.I have lost a stone,I dont buy crisp or snacks anymore,everyone eats 3 meals a day and if anyone is still hungry there is a fruitbowl full of fruit in the fridge,(lasts longer),I would be lost without my slowcooker,I prepare everything the night before and then put it in the fridge,then in the morning its ready to switch on,I think if your evening meal is ready when you have been working all day you are less likely to snack on grab food or takeaways,so you will be saving lots of money :T .Our diet is a lot healthier OS.

Faith_2

You also have to take into consideration why you are overweight. I started a healthy eating plan (I refuse to call it a diet lol!) on 1/1/06. Over the past 5 years I've put too much weight on, so decided it was time to do something about it. My problem is that I drink wine and eat chocolate. A bottle of wine is at least £3. If you take even only 1 bottle of wine out of the equation per week, that's a saving of £12 a month already.

I try to do it os style. I use Aldi - still have to investigate my local Lidl!- I use my slow cooker, buy in bulk whenever I can - eat veg, fruit and white meats, use up as many leftovers as possible (DD is a little fussy over leftovers so I have to be creative lol).

Often frozen veg is cheaper and apparently it's better because it's frozen soon after picking and therefore keeps nutrients better than fresh veg which has been sitting in the shop - or indeed the fridge - for a while. Can anyone confirm this for me, or is this another myth?

So far I'm actually finding that because I eat less, and eat less junk, and DD is not having any junk food either - she is 13 I told her it's better for her skin to have lots of fresh fruit and veg! - I'm actually spending less. I'm also becoming the bogof queen! And I never go shopping without a shopping list.