NOT BUYING IT! 2015 - A consumer holiday

greenbee

katkin wrote: »

? Does anyone weigh out their food ingredients /portions? When I look at the packet suggestions they say things per person - like 40g for porridge, 80-100g for rice etc. I'm weighing now and finding we need half suggested. Not only are we getting lighter and fitter but its saving a fortune.

New me rule:

• Pay no attention to the manufactures recommended portion sizes. Adjust to suit.
• Keep the scales out on the work top and measure everything.

I've being doing this with cleaning products, washing power etc for a while but didn't quite realise how much was going past me elsewhere. I've started using a pea sized amount of toothpaste and brushing for longer too.

Less is more! :T

I do this. And I get my portion size guidelines from a nutrition guide, not the manufacturer's guide! I then adjust from there to what suits me and can also use the data for calorie counting.

Portion control is important for both dieting and budgeting... most people are surprised to find out that a small tin of beans is TWO portions, not one :cool: But they why would the manufacturers want to tell you that?

7_week_wonder

katkin wrote: »

? Does anyone weigh out their food ingredients /portions? When I look at the packet suggestions they say things per person - like 40g for porridge, 80-100g for rice etc. I'm weighing now and finding we need half suggested. Not only are we getting lighter and fitter but its saving a fortune.

Yes - I weigh pretty much everything, rice, porridge, pasta etc. It always looks less that I was expecting but we never go hungry. Also, when I was quite young my dad taught me that you should have about 100g (or 4 oz in his currency ) of protein in your meal. So if I get a 800 g gammon joint, say, I know it should last about 8 meal portions. I'm sure it does help me get more meals out of things - and it keeps us a healthy weight.

With all this talk of Lush shampoos I remember one time my father was staying with my brother. My SiL loves Lush and had some of the shampoo on a plate on the side of the bath. Dad was convinced they had a lump of mouldy cheese on the side of the bath and was quite worried about it :rotfl:

purpleshoes_2

I dont weigh even though I have kitchen scales, however, as someone who has gone from 15 stones 10 to 11 stones 10 in 18 months, Ive clearly tweaked my diet a lot.

My food bill went up in the beginning as I was like, I'll have this and that, but its gone way down now.

I wasnt always 15 stones 10, I broke my tailbone and ended up massive but pain aside it was the best thing that ever happened to me as when I ended up that size I thought I need to sort out my eating once and for all.

emslovesmickey

tori.k wrote: »

emslovesmickey I used to work for Asda despite my discount I actually saved more doing the bulk of my shopping at Aldi I agree some of Newquay independents like The Pantry are more geared to the tourist price wise, im out in the clays and have a similar issue I use a local fruit and veg wholesaler already but St Austell nearest town is pretty much just chain stores & charity shops. I like Liskeard for shopping and it's quirky little shops but it make little sense to tie up half a day and the fuel to able to shop there regular

I do tend to flit between Aldi and Asda, depending on what I want of course. Tbh it's not the food side of things I want to concentrate on with this challenge but the buying of unnecessary things. I fell into the trap of buying things to cheer myself up (which, as someone with depression, happened too often). It's given me positives, such as the discovery of crafting, but I have enough craft stuff to keep me occupied for a while so I don't need to spend there. I did have a few different subscription boxes over the last couple of years, as I liked receiving a monthly treat, but then I realised I gave half the stuff in them to other people so cancelled them all. Now I subscribe to one craft mag (will not give that up as it's my one indulgence that I have) and will be earning treats.

It's my birthday next month and I have hinted to people about cinema gift cards, as that will mean I still get to go to the cinema but without the cost to me.

purpleshoes_2

I do a Paleo diet btw. Im not a meat eater and its possible to be veggie/vegan and do Paleo even though people associate it with a lot of meat.

I do a few bootcamps a year and we have to follow Paleo. Its not for everyone but its worked well with me, basically just nothing processed and a lot of fresh food. I like my food and I havent starved.

lobbyludd

Just been out for a walk - only around where I live, which is urban and only a couple of miles but felt so great to be able to stride out in the fresh air - My eldest is 11 my youngest 6, so the fastest I have been able to walk for 11 years is the pace of a 6 year old, and for much of the time it has been much slower than that.

I am going to try and walk more - when it isn't raining (which is fairly rare unfortunately) and - in a change to my usual modus operandi, I am not going to buy anything to enable me to do this. But even the odd 10 mins here and there will be a bonus. Free, enjoyable, good for me and no consuming required .

katkin

greenbee wrote: »

I do this. And I get my portion size guidelines from a nutrition guide, not the manufacturer's guide! I then adjust from there to what suits me and can also use the data for calorie counting.

Portion control is important for both dieting and budgeting... most people are surprised to find out that a small tin of beans is TWO portions, not one :cool: But they why would the manufacturers want to tell you that?

7_week_wonder wrote: »

Yes - I weigh pretty much everything, rice, porridge, pasta etc. It always looks less that I was expecting but we never go hungry. Also, when I was quite young my dad taught me that you should have about 100g (or 4 oz in his currency ) of protein in your meal. So if I get a 800 g gammon joint, say, I know it should last about 8 meal portions. I'm sure it does help me get more meals out of things - and it keeps us a healthy weight.

I'm glad its not just me who's went a bit mad on the measuring everything front - though I am learning to use my eye better. It has amazed me how much extra the manufacturers expect you to eat / use. No wonder we run out so fast!

The last thing I measured out was cous-cous - the pack said 50g per person. My *!!!! = 60g between the 2 of us (hubs eats 2/3 more than me too) with extra veggies was plenty. And not a bit of waste.

Finding a smaller plate has helped me too - even though I still dish up in servers, because we still eat a lot of veg and it does look nice all set out on the dining table, I'm finding myself more satisfied with my meals....never mind stretching my budget!


lobbyludd - I know this is going to sound weird but even walking in the rain can feel therapeutic. You can pick up some cheap Regatta waterproof trousers / jacket in a CS or for around £14 in ebay. Worth the investment and not only is it good exercise in all weathers it feels rather brave and all Scott challenging the elements of the Antartic n' like I spotted 2 rainbows today out walking that if I'd been driving I'd have been too busy to notice. The fresh smell was wonderful, seen loads of wildlife too. You come indoors, de-cover and its all warm and cosy - then you realise the heating's not on much :cool: Win win.

oceandreamer

Evening everyone. I was going to post about more decluttering and decided that it was a bit off topic really. Then I got to thinking how clutter/stuff/spending/overspending and stress about all of these are inextricably linked. Went to the tip today and threw loads of rubbish out mostly beyond rehousing (think collander with no handles which was unused in cupboard alongside perfectly good replacement!). What an endless cycle there seems to be of buying 'stuff' throwing away the packaging, tring to find somewhere to put it, eventually decluttering it and deciding whether to sell/cs/tip it. It's such a relief to finally say I am stopping and getting off this consumerist roundabout. I am sick of spening money and accumulating stuff because I have been brainwashed into thinking this is the only way. Slowly the mound of clutter is disappearing and with each bag that goes I feel a bit calmer. I am filling the empty cupboards with things that are normally surfaces, only leaving essential or really beautiful items out. The house is already looking bigger and I am appreciating the things around me now that I can actually see them!

lobbyludd

thanks Katkin you are of course right! - I do have a kagoul thing that over a jumper would be fine - I have to take my opportunities where I can find them for getting out and about without the monsters bickering and dragging feet - it does feel so great to really stride out - which sounds so bonkers but since changing to a sedentary job at the same time as having kids and being for a single parent for the last 6 years I feel like I've been so constrained physically.

Honey_Bear

I had to get some more sunflower hearts for the goldfinches today (greedy little things are raiding the feeder as soon as I refill it) so I ventured down to the market and picked up all the veg, eggs and cheese we need for the next five or six days and then dropped off all the library books.

I stopped buying books years ago after I realised I was spending a fortune on them and then had to spend a fortune buying shelves (or building them) when, in actual fact, other than text books, I don't find most fiction needs to be kept. So I Amazoned everything I could, gave a whole load to a really lovely secondhand book dealer and CSed the rest. I love going to the library, borrowing biographies of ordinary people who have extraordinary lives, cookery books, how-to-fix-things books, why things are the way they are books, and a few novels thrown in for a bit of light relief, together with a DVD occasionally. And it's free!

Then, and only then, I went to Sainsbobs to buy the flour, tea and pasta the market doesn't have.

The whole thing took less time than a normal shopping trip, largely because the marketstall holders don't actually want people to wait and queue. I wonder how much extra money the supermarkets get out of customers who stand by racks of stuff for several minutes, just waiting to give them some money. I loathe having to queue, it's such a waste of my time but it pays the supermarkets to keep us there, herded and penned like sheep.

Not buying it any more!