Managing your Eating Budget

Imagine if you were given a budget of $160.00 a day to spend at the mall. This might seem like a generous arrangement, but if you go to an expensive clothing store and begin picking up blouses and skirts without looking at the price tags, you will probably blow your budget very quickly. Now imagine that you disregard the cost, because you are so driven by want, that you paid no attention to the total price of the items you selected. When you get to the register, you tell the clerk to put the amount you owe on credit. You don’t bother to ask how much you went over your budget.

As you go deeper into debt, you notice that your finances are in serious trouble. You are now addicted to this lifestyle, shopping at fine stores and wearing expensive clothes that you cannot afford. You feel entitled to do this, because you see others spending the same way, and they don’t question it, either. Sometimes they moan about having to “cut back”, but they still shop at the finest stores and don’t compare prices, or question if they really need the things they are buying. What does this have to do with eating, you ask?

Many Americans behave the same way with food as I have described in the example above. We each have a unique number of calories that our body requires each day to keep us at our present weight. If we eat fewer calories than we need, we lose weight. If we exceed our calorie budget, we gain weight. The effects are cumulative, just like spending money. Instead of accumulating debt, we get fat. Fat is excess caloric intake, manifested on our bodies.

But just as you can learn to be financially responsible, you can also learn to manage your eating. To obtain your personal daily calorie budget, click here.

Once you know your calorie budget, you should familiarize yourself with the caloric cost of various foods. For a surprising list of good and bad calorie bargains, click here. In general, convenience foods and fast foods tend to be very high in calories. The more “flavor” they tout- cheese, sauces, breading, seasonings, dressings- the higher the calories, fat, and salt. Learn to enjoy and appreciate simple foods, like steamed vegetables, fresh fruit, salads, baked or broiled meats and seafood. Try seasoning foods with lemon, pepper, wine, vinegar, mustard, and herbs. Begin making different choices in where you eat, and more importantly, eat at home, where you can control how the food is prepared!

Most desserts are high in calories, but there are exceptions. Popsickles are small and tend to be lower in calories than ice cream. Fruit ice, sherbet, and frozen yogurt are also alternatives to ice cream, if less than 90 calories per half cup. For an almost calorie-free dessert, try sugar free Jello with Cool Whip topping. Sugar free pudding is another low calorie option. Watch out for sugar free cookies and snack cakes because the calorie content is usually high in these items.