Hi!

I'm looking to start Alli and I really want to do this right. I'm getting married in February and I have a lot to lose (195 5'3"). My soon-to-be hubby is also wanting to lose weight (I think he's around 215 5'7").

I looked at the shopping list and I was scared by how long it was! I'm in college (and will be for a while) and my fiance is getting his RN license next year. This makes for a small food budget!

I would love to know if you are using the shopping list, how much it costs you, and if you aren't, what are you eating and how much is that.

Thanks!

The first week we spent $200 and the second week we spent $150.  We bought enough food for my husband and I for 7 days worth of food.  I am looking at next week's shopping list and it looks like it will be even less.  There are a lot of things that we already have.

Remember your health is worth more than ant shopping bill!!

 I don't use the shopping list, mainly because I have to tailor the menus to my own unusual requirements: I keep Kosher (no pork, no shellfish, no dairy with meat); I'm allergic to dairy, so I substitute soy products; and I'm hypoglycemic, so I have to eat 5 -6 times a day.  I love the nutritional log, which allows me to enter my own products and create my own menus.

When I shop, I shop the perimeter of the store, and mostly ignore the center aisles. I buy lots of produce, including lots of fruit and melons. Bananas. Tons of bananas.  The meat is also around the edge, and I tend to buy chicken and fish much more than red meat. On Tuesdays at Krogers you can sometimes find some really good buys.  I stay away from the deli section, for the most part. Those meats are full of salt and preservatives.

Down the aisles for rice, couscous, and spaghetti products, cereal and of course, peanut butter.

I'm not spending any more than I used to when buying lots of junk food.

Good luck to you on your upcoming marriage!

Leslye

sd July 1, 2008 SW 202 Ht 5'3" CW 189 GW 150

 I was a little overwhelmed by the shopping list too at first.  I learned quickly to use meal substitutions, especially for the protien part.  If you're buying chicken, use the menu substitution function to find other ways to use that throughout the week.  If you aren't careful, you'll end up with all kinds of tid bits of things and you surely don't want to waste or overspend.

Breakfast is another area you can budget well.  I don't mind having a WW english muffin every morning for breakfast.  Some days I use the PB&J, some days I make a little egg substitute sandwich.  By no means do I do a different breakfast with all kinds of different things in it every day.

Very soon, you'll get the hang of what your portion size needs to be.  Buy it, cut it up, package it up, and freeze it.  It'll be ready for you any time you want to make that particular meal.  I do the same thing with things like green and red pepper.  Chop it, measure it, bag it, freeze it.

You don't really need a zillion dollars worth of food to get going.  Just staples like WW bread, veggies, lean meat, egg substitute, low fat items you want to use that week like cheese for example.

Be creative with the meal plan and substitute to fit what you have on hand.

Mary

 I agree with Mary! I substitute like crazy. It takes me a little time, yes, but I also go through the sale flyers and see what's on sale. Even if a complete meal requires me to have an apple with it, I'll have a pear for example (because pears have been on sale for the last 3 weeks :) ) I spent roughly $150 my first week for a family of 6. But I really did my research and used alot of what I had on hand. And if a recipe called for a tsp of some weird spice I had never heard of or couldn't even find...I just eliminated it. You can have cheap items such as peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, it is all about making healthier choices. Buying wheat bread, and using correct portions as opposed to gobs of peanut butter for example :)

 I am one that also does not use the shopping list. I know that if I am not eating foods that are normal to me then I will not stick with this. Instead, I eat almost everything that I always have (occasionally tweeking a recipe here or there and def. cut out certain foods like chips and cookies) and just make sure that I am eating better portion sizes in the past and I track to make sure that I am staying within my calorie/fat limits for the day. I have been on alli for about 4 weeks now and my grocery bill has slowly been declining. Partially the decline is because I am eating less therefore spending less. Partially the decline is from wasting less by making more food then I need and throwing out the rest or by buying guilty foods (like chips) and then tossing most of it out once I come to my senses about what I should and shouldn't be eating.

I have to agree with the previous statement though that this is for your health and the primary concern needs to be getting healthy and not the cost of the grocery bill.

 I am SO proud of the people on this board.  You are all just a wealth of healthy information.  It's true, you will find your groove in the food area, and it's also true your grocery bill will go down, not up, because you're cutting out junk food and fast food.  I think Dr. Oz would be so proud of all of us!

Judy

 I was a little worried about this myself when I started but after I figured out how much I was saving from not eating out 3-4 times a week and my daily trips to Starbucks I figured out that it is not quiet so expensive after all.