The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.
10 Affordable Food Products To Buy for Weight Loss
There are many people who claim they are overweight and eat fast food because it is cheap and make it seems as eating healthy food is for the rich only. It is true that you can go buy a fast food restaurant and get a hamburger for about $1 and some change. You could also go to the grocery store and buy a bag of lettuce and some salad dressing for about two dollars more, and while you may not think of it as exciting as some sodium-ridden cheap hamburger, it is healthier for your body to buy that head of lettuce and mix it with some salad dressing.
Vegetarians and many people who are already on the weight loss path understand the difference between a hamburger and a salad. The difference is in your mind. If you are making excuses that the hamburger is more filling, than it is not the fact that it is actually satisfying, but somehow, you got the idea in your head that the hamburger was more satisfying. The Billions of Dollars that went into Food Marketing will do that to you.
To the vegetarian or the one on the weight loss path, they know the salad is actually more fulfilling than the hamburger. Their bodies tell them that they are not hungry for a few more hours, whereas the hamburger already has you thinking about two hamburgers. One hamburger is not going to be enough so you buy two of them. Why not? It’s only an extra dollar.
I used to think this way too. In fact, two hamburgers was not even enough. When I was younger, two was perfect. As I got older, three seemed to be the magic number, and what happened after three? There were fries and a soda and maybe even some type of dessert. That would fill me up for a while and then I would be thinking about food all over again just a few hours later. Somewhere along the line, this became normal behavior for everyone, and then something happened.
We all got fat and wondered why we were getting fat, blaming ourselves, uneducated about what was going on. How could we be getting fat? We don’t eat candy or chips all the time. “We are just eating dinner” … yes, that’s exactly it: fast food as dinner. We got fat from eating it. The food we were eating made us think we were satisfied, though we ended up eating more of it and psychologically not really being satisfied with it, so we kept ordering more, and eating more, and the calories easily entered into our mouths, with just a few bites and in one sitting, a thousand or more calories are easily being consumed, and yet it never felt like a thousand calories were actually consumed. Why was this?
The food you eat was scientifically engineered, loaded with sodium and additives, to make your body think it was receiving proper nutrition and made you feel like you were actually eating something that satisfied you at first, but in reality, your body was being fooled and knew it lacked proper nutrition causing you to feel hungry again later or wanting to order more than you should have because your body was trying to tell you something: YOU ARE NOT FEEDING ME ANYTHING AT ALL. YOU ARE BEING TRICKED INTO THINKING THAT WE ARE EATING.
Sure, you can fool your taste buds and even your brain for a while, but you cannot fool your body. If you want to argue with me, go ahead and step on that scale. You happy? If so, than continue what you are doing because its obviously working for you. If not, I have a list of 10 foods for you to eat that can help you curb your appetite, lose weight, and get skinny.
I am going to skip salad on this list because I know you already hate salad and it’s going to make you turn away from this list. I used to hate salad, but salad is quite pleasant if you know how to make the right mixture! For that, you will definitely have to go get some healthy great recipes from other websites and all your vegetarian friends. What’s that? All your friends are meat eaters? You should get a vegetarian friend. If you like salad, great, you should be eating salad and I highly recommend it, but for now, we will stay away from salad on this list.
I will also not include water, as this is not really considered food, but you should be drinking it at every meal. Pure water.
Avocados – Price Range: $.50 – $1.50 per avocado. Eat an entire avocado for lunch. This fruit will fill you up and your heart will love you for it. It may not seem like a lot, but stop thinking about food and enjoy the taste of the avocado. There is enough fat in that avocado to keep your heart busy for the rest of the afternoon. Average amount of calories in an average Avocado: 250.
Almonds – $7.99 to $8.99 per pound. Learn to love the nut. This is recommended by Dr. Oz and every doctor out there. Almonds are some of the heart-healthiest nuts you can eat. Make sure you get the ones that are without sodium. Love pure almonds without anything added to them. These are how you are going to be dealing with your extra hunger cravings when you feel like snacking and munching. This is the nut you want to have by your side. Average amount of calories in about 20 almonds: 100.
Almond Butter or Peanut Butter – $2.99 to $3.99 for Peanut Butter, $5.99 to $7.99 for Almond Butter Almond Butter is a very healthy alternative to peanut butter and is as healthy as Almonds. If you cannot afford Almond Butter, you can opt for peanut butter, preferably organic – which will appear more as a liquid than all solid. A food favorite for every kid and adult. Stick to it but do not overeat it: 1 tablespoon is plenty, 2 if you are really hungry. Average amount of calories in a tablespoon of Almond Butter / Peanut Butter: 90 – 100.
Bananas – Price Range: $.39 – $.79 per pound. Have a sweet tooth? A banana is the way to go if you are craving some sugar. Plenty of natural sugar in a banana and where you can acquire your carbs from. Average amount of calories in an average Banana: 105.
Blackberries – $3.99 per package. One of the most delicious fruits you will ever eat, loaded with antioxidants that will help your skin, as water secretly composes much of what is inside of this fruit, it is the healthiest of them all. Consume it, love it, eat a cup or two or more. Not really sure if I have ever heard of anyone getting fat off of this fruit, any fruit, or anything on this list. Average amount of calories in a cup of Blackberries: 50.
Broccoli – Price Range: $3 – $5 per bag. Buy frozen and boil them when you are ready to eat. Did your mom make you eat this too when you were younger? Did she have an excuse for you to be eating it or did she just let you know it was good for you? Because it is great for you! This complex carb packs a nice punch and goes great when mixed with an Avocado. The benefits are that is has antioxidants, reduces inflammation, helps with brain function, and is low in calories, but provides good energy to your body. Average amount of calories in an average cup of broccoli: 30.
Chicken Breast – Price Range: $1.99 – $2.99 per pound. Best when baked in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Feel free to coat it with Extra Virgin Olive Oil along with any other spices or seasonings you want to put on it. If you must use a pan and fry it, use Extra Virgin Olive Oil and make sure you cook it long enough. Avoid butter, margarine, and all the oils that are not good for you. This is supposed to be a healthy chicken breast that helps your heart. This is the greatest muscle food used by many body builders who consume massive amounts of chicken breast all at once. For you, take just a chicken breast to lunch. Don’t worry, it will be enough for you. Average amount of calories in an average sized chicken breast: 150 – 250.
Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese – Price Range: $3.99 This comes in a full piece that you will have to cut. Goes good with the broccoli and will help curb your appetite is good dairy fat for your heart. Average amount of calories in 1 ounce: 60.
Pink Salmon (Canned or Fresh) – $1 to $2 for 2 ounces or about $4 for a bigger can. Another good fatty food for your heart, loaded with protein, and sent off straight to the brain for energy! This can be eaten by itself, on 12 grain oat bread, or in a salad. In place of mayo, if that is your thing, use the Avacado. Average amount of calories per can / per loaf: 60 / 200.
Strawberry – $3.99 per package. The lovely strawberry. This delicious sweetness goes great with bananas and only adds to your sweet tooth. Eat them up, eat as many as you want. Average amount of calories in a cup of strawberries: 46.
As an added bonus that I did not put on the list, you can actually have Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate – no – you cannot eat the entire bar in one day. Dark Chocolate usually comes in block pieces, so it would be safe for you to eat up to three or four blocks in one day. Put the rest away and save it for tomorrow. To reduce your pieces, have two blocks with a banana or strawberries. Dark Chocolate has benefits for both men and women – the chocolate is good for the heart and supposedly plays a role in reducing the risk of breast cancer for women. The average price of a Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Bar is $1.50 to $2.00.
An additional food item, if you are feeling a taste for salt, is to buy some Seaweed. This food product is very popular in Asian countries. It is provides an abundance of nutrition and is considered the salad of the sea. There are different varieties and flavors of seaweed. Your co-worker may hate you snacking on these, but they are delicious. They look like dark thin paper, so you could even take salmon or tuna, roll it in one of these, and really pack yourself a nutritious snack. Average price of seaweed is about $1 to $2 per package.
These foods are relatively inexpensive and if you are looking to lose weight fast and in a hurry, you will want to incorporate them into your diet, especially if you work in a corporate setting, where you are sitting at a desk all day.
Do these foods not seem satisfying? Do you think you will still be hungry? They are meant to be used as snacks or dinner for work. You are not eating for two. You are eating for one person, and you need to learn to stop eating so much. These foods will make you feel fuller and more satisfied so you can curb your appetite.
The whole reason you are gaining weight is because you are eating too much of the wrong foods for your sedentary inactive lifestyle. It would be great if you could make it to the gym, but even in getting to the gym, you probably still find you cannot lose weight. By incorporating these foods, sticking to a strict diet surrounding these foods along with several other types of foods similar to these, you will be amazed at how fast you will lose weight, and it can all be done without stepping foot inside of a gym.
