When I started The Grocery Game Challenge last year we were stocking up on lots of food and soon realized that we were buying too much food. If you stare at the food in your house and know that it’s been there for ages, you’re likely buying too much.
If you are a regular reader of my blog you know that I quit smoking as well last year and since then we’ve learned lots about our eating habits. Different people require different foods depending on their personal circumstances.
We can easily see grocery budgets go up in expenses but with time we can also see that if we stop eating too much food we can further reduce those costs. Purchasing groceries on a budget means you will plan what you are purchasing and learn how to effectively use the foods you buy to create meals to fit your lifestyle.
Just recently with the wife going on a low GI diet we both noticed that it wasn’t so much what we were eating as we generally eat very healthy. The problem was more so in the fact we were eating too much food. In a conversation with our friend who is also a doctor he explained that many people tend to more than their bodies need.
He also went on to say that people who go on low-fat or fat-free diets may eat too many carbohydrates that the body struggles to process. He’s been helping my wife by answering questions she may have as well as offering suggestions such as not using EVOO to cook but if we do to add a knob of butter.
He suggested using coconut oil which we already do and find the Grace Coconut oil to be the best brand so far. We picked that up at the Bulk Barn using the Spend $10 save $3.00 coupon which makes it a great deal.
He has suggested to eat portioned amounts of butter, bacon and sausage as the body processes proteins but limit the carbohydrate intake as we simply don’t need to eat that much food. Portion sizes are critical to eating the right amounts of food and if you don’t believe me you would be shocked to see what a portion size really is. You know those lean cuisine meals? Although I’d never buy TV dinners or prepared meals the nutrition label tells is like it is.
We started to find that when we would eat too much food we would feel bloated and just not an overall sense of happiness even though I would work out every day. It’s easy to get caught up in good food when it’s all around us but we have since learned we can eat it, just not too much of it.
Some other effects of eating too much food for me was acid reflux especially if I ate too much spicy food. I find that I am not taking my medication much now since we have changed how much we eat and what we eat.
If you remember our friend Bonnie who got fit on a budget and has lost a significant amount of weight by including walking every day as well as portioning her food while making healthy food choices. Her results speak volumes for anyone who wants to lose some weight or simply stick to a healthy eating regime for life.
What are Good Foods To Eat?
Good Question and for us it’s anything that is not processed. I found a great photo the other day on Pinterest. I found it on Tracey Bregmans Pinterest (yes the lovely Tracey from The Young and The Restless) who is also a vegetarian. It ranks te top 20 fruits and vegetables by nutrition which I thought was lovely. We certainly enjoy many of these foods in our cooking.
Eating Too Much Food
When you read the calorie count, fat count and other nutritional information and then look at what you get for all that you likely sink in your chair. You already feel like you will be starving and that you won’t even feel like you’ve eaten anything at all. The reality is that we should be consuming enough food in accordance to what our nutritionist and doctor recommends for our body type, activity level, health and Body Mass Index (BMI).
We have started to weigh and measure our food so we get a better understanding of portions and how much we should be having. I found out some of my meals contained enough food for 3 people to eat. I’m a healthy eater but I’m also very active. I can stand to eat more calories with the amount of daily heavy lifting I do and exercise but that doesn’t mean I have to eat enough to feed 3 people.
If you are not sure where to begin, talk to your doctor which I highly recommend. The more carbs we eat the more work we have to do. We also see a spike in our insulin levels as well when we eat too many carbohydrates. Eating has been a challenge since we quit smoking but we vow to get back on track to healthy eating because eating too much food is simply not good enough for us.
What food challenges do you face in your diet?
Grocery Game Weeks for May
If you missed grocery game posts for this month just click on the links below and post your shops in the comment section.
- Grocery Game Challenge #1 May 6-12 Getting Back On Track With Food Budgeting
- Grocery Game Challenge #2 May 13-19,2013 Discount Days And Rewards Programs
Grocery Saving Tips
Free Money Saving Downloads just for YOU!!! Get organized with a freezer inventory, meal plan, shopping list, price comparison list and much more!!! Click, Save and Print.. It’s that easy~
- Let Your Coupons Expire And Save Money
- Knowing Your Prices Is The Key To Saving Money In The Grocery Budget
- Product Price Adjustments Don’t Miss The Savings
- Scanning Code of Practice In Canada (SCOP)
- How To Start Saving Money On Groceries In Canada?
- How Much Should My Grocery Budget Be?
- Top Ten Ways To Cut Your Grocery Budget
- Meal Planning For The Budget
- The Grocery Game Challenge and Our Grocery Budget
- Grocery Budget Saving Tips
- Food Shopping On A Budget
Food Basics
- Head of Lettuce Reduced $0.69
- Irresistible Bio Quinoa $2.67 (first time buying or trying it)
- Red Seedless Grapes Sale $0.88lb $1.96
- Astro Yogurt x 2 Sale $1.88 Organic Plain and Vanilla
- 1 Whole wheat Pita Sale $1.00
- Premium Bananas $0.57lb $ 1.29
- Radishes $1.50
- 2x Seedless Cucumber Sale $0.88 each
- 4x Glad White Garbage Bags reduced $0.99 each
Total Out Of Pocket $18.85
Yearly Grocery Budget For 2 : $2819.38
- Total Grocery Budget for the Month: $235.00 or $78.33 week with one no-shop week per month or $58.75 for 4 weeks per month. (During the months with 5 weeks we just make it work)
- Total Budget For May: $72.26
- Total Coupons Used this Week : $0
- Total Discounts this Week: $0
- Total Gift Cards Given Used this Week: $0
- Total Rewards Points Used: $0
- Stockpile Budget: $20.00 Used: $0
- Total Spent This Week:$18.85
- Total Spent So Far for (May): ($162.74)+($42.23)=$204.97
- Total Over/Under spend this shop: $ N/A
- Total Over/Under spend for the month of (May): $N/A
- Total Left to Spend for the Month: $11.18
- Total Coupons Used This Month :$6.00+$0+$0
- Total to Carry Over Next Month : ($ 162.74 has been carried over to May from April 2013)
- Total Spent To Date This Year: $206.95 (Jan)+ $160.77 (Feb) + (March)$169.62 + (April)$397.74=$935.08
- Rendezvous Account: $65.38 (this will be used for a date night or a summer holiday)
Weekly Overview:Well it seems we only needed vegetables and fruits this week so it helped keep the budget down. We are really working on eating what we have in the house to help the overspend from last month.
Canadian Coupons Found This Week
We didn’t find any manufacturer coupons this week although we only went to one store. I’ll keep my eyes peeled though.
Frequently Asked Questions
Grocery Game Challenge RULES….. Read the rules first and if you have any questions email me or comment on this post with your question and someone will answer you as soon as possible.
- Do I have to be Canadian to post my Grocery Shop? No, you don’t have to be Canadian to post your shops only to win a monthly prize. We have a few players from around the world.
- When does the Grocery Game Close each month? The Grocery Game Challenge Closes at Midnight of the last Sunday of the last post for the month. You can post your shops all month-long.
- Does Your Grocery Budget Include Health and Beauty and Laundry? Yes our Grocery Budget includes such items as shampoo, conditioner, laundry soap, fabric softener, dish soap etc. We don’t mind stockpiling items that won’t be effected by expiry dates or have long expiry dates but not so much food any more. It’s just one way to help cut your budget to save money.
- Where can I find Canadian Coupons? Here are your latest Coupon Match-ups of the week including Checkout 51 from 25 Newspaper Inserts around Canada compliments of Save Big Live Better that you can use to help you save money in the Grocery Game Challenge.
- How Do I Know what stores accept coupons? You can find all your store coupon policies here. If you are not sure it’s always best to call the store and ask.
- How Do I Grocery Shop?- I can tell you about grocery shopping and what we do in terms of shopping to save money and how it works for us. There are no wrong or right answers, just smart choices. Over time you will gradually learn where you should and shouldn’t go in the grocery store or at least how to say no, I’m on a budget I don’t need to buy this or that. You may also substitute items in order to stick to your budget to make it work.
