Losing weight and frugality

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Slim-Fast. All opinions are 100% mine.

Losing weight and being frugal are often considered to be complete opposites.  People say that inexpensive food is not healthy food, and that you need a large food budget to get the kinds of food you need to lose weight.

I completely disagree.  In fact, I lost 28 pounds from January through August of this year AND stayed on a $80 food budget!  Here are some of the strategies I used to lose weight while staying on a budget:

• Keep away from crackers, cookies, sugared cereals, and sweets.  Even if they're free after using buying on sale and using coupons, they're not worth it!
• Look for a produce store in your area that has deals on produce.  Form your meals around the fresh, in-season vegetables that you find there.
• Shop at two stores: one with higher regular prices but excellent sales, and one low priced store that rarely has sales.  Stock up on items you need at the high-priced store when they go on sale and there are coupons available.  Otherwise, buy the items at the low-priced store. 
• Keep treats to one day a week - Saturday is my "treat day."
• Come up with a handful good meals and stick to them.  Yes, it's boring, but it works.
• Concentrate on eating cheap but filling vegetables, eggs, and legumes, as well as good cuts of meat bought on sale.  Two of my new favorite foods are spicy roasted chickpeas (great to snack on!) and garlic-Parmesan white bean mash.

Here's another good yet economical way to lose weight: through the Slim-Fast new 3•2•1 Plan.

What? Slim-Fast is economical?  Yes, if bought on sale and with coupons.  Coupon Network recently had online printable coupons for Slim-Fast, and I'd bet that many stores will have products on sale at the beginning of the New Year, when many folks are looking to lose some holiday weight.  The new Slim-Fast shakes are available in the pharmacy sections of grocers and retailers nationwide, including Wal-Mart, Target, Safeway and Kroger and online at Amazon.com and the Slim-Fast 3-2-1 Store on Facebook.

Here's what the new Slim-Fast 3•2•1 Plan is all about:

• 3 snacks a day such as fruit, nuts, vegetables, or Slim-Fast 100 calorie snack bars.
• 2 Slim-Fast Shakes or Meal Bars per day
• 1 balanced 500-calorie meal per day. As recommended by the new dietary standards, you should fill half your plate with veggies, a quarter with protein, and a quarter with whole grains.

This plan will keep you eating often and fill you up, so you won't be tempted to buy other snack foods to munch on.  That will help you save money, too!

The new Slim-Fast shakes will provide up to four hours of hunger control and offer 10 grams of protein, five grams of fiber and 24 essential vitamins and minerals, making it easier for you to stick to your plan and achieve your weight loss goals. Flavors available in the new Slim-Fast bottle include Creamy Milk Chocolate, French Vanilla, Rich Chocolate Royale, Cappuccino Delight, and Strawberries N’ Cream.  As a chocoholic, I can't wait to try the Rich Chocolate Royale!

You can "like" Slim-Fast on Facebook to learn more about the new plan.

So you can definitely combine health and economics this year as you try to lose weight after the holidays.  Good luck in meeting your goals!