Should Weight Loss Cost Money?

I agree 100%.

It isn't hard to go to the market and buy a week's worth of fruit for $25.

Dieting isn't expensive - excuse making is.

RT

if you can spend hundreds of dollars a week on junk food to stay obese, why would it be different to spend hundreds of dollars a week on healthy food to better your body?

I have the feeling that this e-mail was referring to programs such as Jenny Craig, which indeed are quite expensive. But cry me a river. We shouldn't even NEED such programs, for goodness's sake! If we have e-mail access, we have internet access, and therefore access to plenty of resources to gather material and learn what's good for us--yes, even if it means putting it on an USB drive at the cyber-café, then reading it at home or printing it in some copy-shop. But experience has unfortunately proved to me that most people are lazy and just want someone to take them by the hand along the whole way, not only in the beginning to help them start and understand the ropes. (Yeah, I'm in a bad mood today, so I have very little patience for pity-parties and woe-is-me thinking, sorry!)

"When there's a will, there's a way": that's exactly it.

If money were the key to being thin, we wouldn't ever see heavy celebs, heavy execs with big paychecks, and other overweight people with a lot of disposable income. Plus, many things that contribute to weight loss ARE free...like going for a 45 minute walk every day. How many people take advantage of that?

I take it that all the of the responses so far are from ppl that have never had to battle with their weight. It is very easy to throw stones if you have never had to experience it yourself. Buying healthy food is the easy part i agree with that but if you have been accustomed to eating what you want when you want those cravings don't go away overnight. That is where programs like Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig come in. They provide a group setting where people and motivate each other to not give in the cravings that made them gain weight to begin with. Losing the weight is the goal who cares how much it costs. Life is priceless. And Celebs do use their money to make sure they stay in shape the A-list ones at least have nutrionist, trainers, private chefs...

If anything, a healthier diet should save someone money, if they are eating less prepared and processed foods. Restaurants and frozen meals generally cost more than buying the raw ingredients of meals. You aren't then paying for the labor and processing by others, but instead doing that for yourself.

The for-profit diets don't work in the long-term for very many people anyway. Along with the support groups, the money spent is another motivating factor for some people. Take away the cost and I'll bet even fewer people succeed on these programs. Try asking Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig about their weight loss and maintenance statistics and you'll hit a brick wall. If I were a conspiracy theorist I would think that part of their strategy is to keep people coming back over and over again - blaming themselves, not the program for lack of long-term results.

In my experience, losing weight and keeping it off requires a deep understanding about how your individual body reacts to the food you eat and the exercise you do. A one-size-fits-all approach very seldom results in long-term weight loss.

..... "if all these people are so truly concerned about the weight of the American people, why don't some of them offer their program free to those who truly want to lose the weight but can't afford the programs? Some of us really don't have the finances to afford all the meals, Equipment, and etc. [...]"

That was my thinking for a long time - and you're right, I wanted the miracle and I wanted someone else to take charge and tell me what to do.

I recently was looking into a free medical trial to lose weight by low calorie diet, behavior mod, and exercise. Some of the guinnea pigs would also be given meds. If they accept you it is 3 year commitment. I was pumped to be a part of it, but found out I had to wait 5 weeks before being tested, to see if you qualify. I was already at the lowest acceptable weight for my height, that they allowed.

I went home bummed that I had to wait 5 weeks to start, but then I said why wait. The next day I got on my treadmill in the morning, and walked outside in the park during my son's baseball practice that night. I stopped eating all the junk and have started focusing on lean meats, veggies and whole grains plus lots of water. I had some ice cream the other day - but I didn't see it as a reason to stop what I was doing. The world didn't end because I had ice cream. I was craving it, so I had some, and kept my focus on the goal.

Today would have been the day I had to go to be tested for eligibility for the program. I have 'dieted ' my way out of the program. After 5 weeks I am now 15 lbs thinner and I feel great. I haven't paid anyone a dime. But I have invested in myself!

I think alot of our success has to do with our frame of mind. I was ready to do this, I wanted it bad, for me - no one else. I love how I feel when I am eating healthy and exercising. I plan on seeing this thru to my goal, which includes 90more pounds to lose. I CAN do this. But it takes desire and commitment. I am not paying anyone to do this for me. I am not even following someones book. I am eating what I know is healthy for my body. There are TONS of great people - like you all - who encourage me thru their stories and successes and even pitfalls on blogs and websites.

If you really want it bad enough - the free help is out there. You just need to find it and look within yourself to keep motivated.

I had tried VLCD before, it was being sold via direct selling (kind like milk shake), it was much more costly than normal food, at least in my country. I did lost > 90lbs in less than 6 months, but regained all the weight plus a few more pounds in less than 3 years.

After a few years of setback, I am currently embark on a new weight loss journey again. This time I do it with the most basic way which is also the principle of weight loss -- eat less and exercise more. Basically this costs me nothing, I am currently in 6th week, and I feel good.

Go to the nutrition section of any bodybuilding forum for FREE information.

I agree with doriscbwong. "Eat less and exercise more" seems to work for anyone who can stick to it long enough. The only thing I pay for is my $25 a month gym membership, but I honestly wouldn't pay for that except that my neighborhood isn't safe enough to go running in. I pay less for food than before, even, because I don't eat out more than once a week.

I measured myself last Christmas and found out that I was almost overweight (which was a shock). I was never thin, and I always told people I wanted to lose weights. I tried Atkins in 2004, and I lost 6-7 pounds until someone stopped me. (it was also difficult for me because i am a vegetarian)
Then I gained all those back also 5 pounds more! So I decided to try a healthier diet, which is like everyone said "eat less and exercise more".

Exercise is not difficult. Eating less is trickier. I never felt I overate. How can I gain weights when I don't even eat a lot? So since last Christmas I started to log my food just on a spreadsheets, along with the weights and exercise everyday. I started to lose weights because I paid more attention to what I ate. However after I lost that extra 5 pounds, I started to hit the plateau.

I googled and found out several food logs websites that are FREE. I chose myself thedailyplate.com which appears simple and easy to use. After I log my food with CALORIES counted, I realized the difference between how much you think you eat and how much you actually eat. Since then I "gradually" lost another 7 pounds which is quite something to me. Now I am at the new lows since I finished the college. When people gained weights after certain age, it's easier to think it's only natural because we are older than we were. We really should NOT think this way!

Now I hit another plateau since I haven't been this "thin"(relative terms) for almost 8 years! I am ok with my weights now, but I'll work on losing another 5 pounds slowly. I am pretty sure if I am patient and persistent, it'll be gone sooner or later.

In short, I did lose weights without spending money. Actually I did save some money. Gym is free for me since I am in graduate school. I ate less and went out less(I liked to dine out a lot). I actually saved more money by losing weights. It feels really good that I am in control of my body.

If the only thing between the American people and great body was a $500 price tag, we'd all have one. The real price is a physical lifestyle change. And change is one of the hardest things for people to do.

When I was on my weight-loss journey, it was an investment of time that I needed, and that worked for me. I knew there was no easy quick-fix so I educated myself and read as much as I could about living a healthy lifestyle. Once i mentally prepared myself, it took a change in eating habits and including exercise into my day before the weight started coming off. Change definitely is hard, but when you invest the time and energy into changing, it's absolutely possible as I learned.

I have mixed feelings about this issue. On the one hand I agree that are plenty of free/cheap ways to lose weight. I signed up for PhysEd classes at the local community college, salsa dancing and yoga. Started dropping the pounds right away. I walk home from my work at least three evenings a week.

On the other had, there's a weight loss program at a local gym that I'd love to participate in for the professional instruction, psychology, dietary and fitness. I could even use my flex plan money to pay part of the fees. You CAN use Flex funds to pay certain health related/diet costs such as Weight Watcher's fees(not food) with a dr. diagnosis and rx.

So yes, I'm self-motivated (well my doc said get moving or else), but does a little outside professional help have to be sooooo expensive.

I lost weight when I was a poor college student with no money. I definitely didn't pay any money to do it, that's for sure. I took advantage of the internet and looked up calorie contents of all the foods I ate, I started doing exercise tapes in my dorm's gym, and I stopped buying snacks and junk.

I think a lot of people think that if they pay money to be in a program like LAWL, Jenny Craig, etc., it will somehow be easier or something. I guess it sort of takes any thought out of it, but I think that having to consciously make the decisions to learn to eat right makes it easier to maintain the weight loss in the long run. My mom has done lots of those "prepackaged foods" diets and yeah, it's mindless while you're on it...just eat a lunch entree for lunch or a dinner entree for dinner. But what do you do when you want to eat real food? For my mom, it was always "I'm going back to eating real food and screw these prepackaged entrees". And the weight always came back. I think it's that sort of mentality that the diet industry preys on.

i found my lifestyle change to be much more expensive than my lazy-eat-whatever-i-want life. i try to stay away from junk foods, which are CHEAP and eat more fresh produce which gets very expensive. i even bargain at the farmer's market but fresh = pricy. the chips and packaged foods can stay on the shelves and cost little to make so they are cheap and convenient. maybe i'm the only one on this board but a brief discussion with some close friends on changing my diet showed that everyone agreed: healthy = expensive.
i also agree that a lot of these weight loss companies are exactly that: companie$ that are out there to make profit$. and yes eat less, exercise more is the cheapest (albeit not the cheapest) way to lose and maintain weight loss. let's just keep each otehr motivated! :)

Redantz,
people who have never had issues with their weight have no need to post on a diet blog. This community is our support, source for info, inspiration, and sometimes just a sympathetic ear. We also have cravings for foods that are not part of our culinary lifestyle. There are people here who are incredibly dedicated to losing fat and building muscle. We are not fans of these diet plans due to the fact that they do a much better job of slimming peoples wallets than their waistlines.

From what I've seen, as Spectra alluded to, it's better to diet with food one prepares for themselves. The prepackaged diet plans work, but if you don't acquire the skills to transition off of the plan it becomes common to lose everything you gained while on it :-(

I lost weight when I was a poor college student with no money. I definitely didn't pay any money to do it, that's for sure. I took advantage of the internet and looked up calorie contents of all the foods I ate, I started doing exercise tapes in my dorm's gym, and I stopped buying snacks and junk.

I think a lot of people think that if they pay money to be in a program like LAWL, Jenny Craig, etc., it will somehow be easier or something. I guess it sort of takes any thought out of it, but I think that having to consciously make the decisions to learn to eat right makes it easier to maintain the weight loss in the long run. My mom has done lots of those "prepackaged foods" diets and yeah, it's mindless while you're on it...just eat a lunch entree for lunch or a dinner entree for dinner. But what do you do when you want to eat real food? For my mom, it was always "I'm going back to eating real food and screw these prepackaged entrees". And the weight always came back. I think it's that sort of mentality that the diet industry preys on.

Fun thing is I spent a fortune to get FAT and unhealthy.
No One or company gave their food to me for free.
I paid to get fat.
people who cry the programs are expensive havn't paid for a heart attack yet. you got to pay for anything of value. you're going to spend it to be fat or be healthy.

I enjoy preparing food for myself and my partner. I'm lucky i love to cook and he loves to eat so its more an exploration of flavour than thinking about cooking for a diet. Our diet is very healthy, lots of fruit and vege, and i find it's so much easier to grab a piece of fruit from the fuit bowl before i duck out to work in the mornings, than it is to line up at McDonalds to get a bacon and egg McMuffin or a toasted sandwich. Occasionally i'll get a fruit salad with muesli and yogurt if theres no fruit at home.

It's so easy to spend alot of money on junk food, and junkfood doesnt seem to last very long, so you run out faster and spend more money replenishing stocks in your pantry.

I spend less on groceries when i buy healthy things, I live near the fish markets in Sydney and thats where i get all my produce, meats, chicken, fish (obviously) and fruit and vege, deli bits and pieces, it's all nice and fresh.
I'd rather spend money on good quality olive oil than a packet of chocolate biscuits, for example. Its also a bit of a treat every pay day (or once a fortnight) to have a nice seafood grilled lunch down there, complete with chips/fries and maybe lobster mornay with salad.

:)

Redantz,

i think you may find, that once you start eating better foods you tend to crave them after a while. Thats what i noticed personally.

If you do a bit of research you'll find you can tweak recipes you like into something healthier, like a chicken burito. Grilled chicken breast, fresh tomato salsa, lowfat sour cream, salad, low fat cheese, on a flour tortilla. Still has loads of flavour and not alot of fat. Its also quite satisfying when you still get your carbs, meat, and salad. Then with the left over sour cream, mix it with french onion soup mix, and you have french onion dip you can jab your vegetables into!

E-diets is a really good weightloss tool and so is calorieking.com, i've used both and you get good results. E-diets will give you great tasting recipes and Calorieking.com has a whopping list of foods and their nutrional values, so you can list everything you've eaten for the day and see just what damage (if any) is being done.

I have a thing called Fat Friday, which is a reward for eating well for the whole week, and something i look forward to, i dont go stupid and eat a whole pizza for lunch but I might have a hamburger or fish and chips at lunch and a nice dinner at a restaurant, some nice wine and its one day where you dont need to feel guilty. the next day you wake up (probably hungover) and then you kick your ass back into gear.

It is definately 100% lifestyle change. But it needs to be something you enjoy so just do what ever works for you.

staci said:
f you can spend hundreds of dollars a week on junk food to stay obese, why would it be different to s[...]

People aren't educated enough about buying healthier foods with a smaller budget. The internet doesn't hide this information either. There's plenty out there.

It is one big monopoly. Those programs will always be expensive until people stop paying for them. They always feature people who get fast results.

That's the problem with our culture. We want fast results. Some people would probably lose quite a bit of weight just by replacing their daily intake of soda
with ice cold water. It might take a year to see the results.

Some people do need to look over the grocery receipt and total the costs of habitual junk food purchases. Then make it a rule that you won't purchase them until they reach a certain price.
I won't buy Oreo cookies unless they are under $2 bag. It's rare for that to happen since they push close to $4 a bag. When that sale comes along I don't buy them because I've gotten use to not having them.

Kat @ The Weigh We Were said:
If money were the key to being thin, we wouldn't ever see heavy celebs, heavy execs with big paychecks, and other overweight people with a lot of disposable income. Plus, many things that contribute to weight loss ARE free...like going for a 45 minute walk every day. How many people take advantage of that?[...]

Obese celebs and execs are a minority. Even in the music biz if you are fat they tell you to lose the weight.
These people do it because there is more pressure on them to do so and they do spend the $$$.

Ren said:
Redantz,[...]

E-Diets is great. Their newsletter is free. I prefer it more for the exercises.

My brother has gotten some great recipes from Men's Health Magazine. Even magazine websites offer free info.

I love Robert J's comment that he paid to get fat! Oh yeah, been there, done that, got the plus-size T-shirt.

It's funny, I was just checking my credit card statement. Gym fees, workout DVDs, protein powder, new running shoes, a foam roller... it all adds up. But the cost is far less, both money-wise and health-wise, than all the restaurant meals I used to eat.

Those who can afford to pay for weight loss when they can get access to free weight loss tools, are my guests to continue that way. As for myself, I prefer free weight loss sites.

redantz00 said:
I take it that all the of the responses so far are from ppl that have never had to battle with their weight. It is very easy to throw stones if you have never had to experience it yourself. Buying healthy food is the easy part i agree with that but if you have been accustomed to eating what you want when you want those cravings don't go away overni[...]

I totally agree that it's not easy, it's not easy to start and change things; we stumble and fall, sometimes we relapse real bad and have to start all over again, and cravings don't go away overnight (but they likely won't go away on an expensive diet program either). That still doesn't make it okay to whine and demand when we DO have information around us to try to better things by ourselves first. And that's precisely what the e-mail excerpt sounded like--although I can't react to the whole e-mail, of course, which maybe contained very other different things as well.

A program like WW can be very inspiring. Last time I went, I saw a woman give up her heart medication--her doctor said she no longer needed it because she'd lost so much weight. One row of four people had lost more than 300 lbs: a man who'd lost 40 lbs, a woman who'd lost 53, another woman who'd lost 60, and a man who'd lost an unbelievable 190 lbs! I see what drives people to gain weight--usually not laziness, but stress and too much caring for others before onesself--and I see how people change.That social element can be very helpful.

I haven't commented on this blog for a while and mostly because I find that the people while very nice do not seem to have a weight problem.

The issue of paying for weight loss is a hard one. I did weight watchers and didn't find it too costly and lost about 60 lbs. However when I went off it I gained it all back plus some. I had been running and hurt my knee so stopped so I'm sure that was contributory to the gain back.

I, like many people, can't cook without being dangerous. I can do simple things. Also I hate cooking so I need to make a plan where I don't have to cook much because hating to cook and being on a plan requiring it, just asks to go off the plan.

Those of you that espoused exercise are on the mark of course. The only permanent weight loss can be with exercise. This is sometimes costly too if you are in an area where outside walking is tough due to weather or potential danger. We've had joggers shot here and this is a relatively good neighborhood.

I think as in all things compromise is the thing. Pay for what is worth it like the gym. Advice is free on the net for the most part, just note who is giving it. My husband follows the Atkins Diet whenever he wants to lose weight and it works well for him. I'm not that fond of meat so I don't do that one. Nothing is totally free, but pay for the important things and don't pay for things you can do yourself.

Weight Watchers isn't terribly expensive, but if you want to maintain your weight, WW-style, you have to keep paying for maintainance. That feels expensive.

Sparkpeople.com, IMO, has everything WW (the online program) has and more, and it's totally free. I love the founders' attitude. He wants it to be free, because he wants to help people, and he wants people to maintain their loss. He is also careful about what ads he accepts. To me, the ads at WW are even more troublesome than paying for it. They seem to be pushing junk food and fast food. Sparkpeople is a much better weight-loss environment in my opinion, because it's free.

It's sad that people think they need the expensive things to be healthy-- and that there is a goliath fitness/nutrition industry to perpetuate that myth.

Fitness/nutrition is where I sink my money, because I LOVE it, and I am entering the fitness industry, but all to the basics, it can be cheap (once you factor in health costs) to eat right-- and it is absolutely cheap to exercise~

Deirdre said:
Weight Watchers isn't terribly expensive, but if you want to maintain your weight, WW-style, you have to keep paying for maintainance. That feels expensive.

There's a lot of resources online that help weightloss and health and it's free.

www.sparkpeople.com is something I've used and has worked for me.

There's no reason to pay for a weightloss program.....half if not ALL of the challenge...is in your mind.

I've found that the price not a factor when people want to lose weight, the investment is in the determination to stick with it.

My understanding is that you can pretty much find your body on your family tree. What is the point, then, of spending money or energy (and in many cases self-esteem) to mold that body into something it genetically resists? The so-called obesity epidemic, that supposedly threatens the lives of millions of Americans, is more of a fitness epidemic, really. Eat healthy food, get moderate exercise, talk with a therapist or counselor about your resistance to both of these things, and learn to love the body that results. Health and beauty are more than a size.

I disagree that you can find your body on a family tree. Americans are provably drastically fatter in general than they were a generation ago. That means that genetics cannot be the cause of this severe obesity epidemic. We are eating too much, and the rest of the world is rapidly following in our footsteps. Being too overweight causes people pain and disease. It doesn't make you a better person to lose weight, but it can make you healthier and live longer--and we need the valuable resource of our beloved overweight friends, family members, and neighbors to be with us for long, healthy lives. So yes, I think the struggle is worth it.

Here's the deal with WW: Once you reach your goal weight and maintain it for six weeks, you become a lifetime member. After that, it is FREE. You can go as many times as you want--you can go every day of the week if you want, as long as you don't go more than 2 pounds above your goal week. If you slip up and go over that two pound limit, you have to pay again--but only until you're back at your goal weight. So, if you are able to maintain your weight, it costs nothing. (Not always easy, but it's definitely an incentive.)

I agree. People who are really determined to lose weigh can achieve the same results as those people who are paying to join a fitness program.

I think that the money problem is only an excuse. I know some people who works our at their homes and it didn't cost them much. We certainly have a lot of options if we keep a positive thought.