This is
something I should’ve known before considering I’ve worked for not just one,
but TWO – hunger organizations! But as a middle class New Yorker, I never
thought to examine why my weekly trip to Whole Foods added up to $175 or more.
I don’t have
expensive tastes. I don’t buy fancy cheeses or smoked salmon but even a couple apples
sets me back a few dollars. A shocking fact when you consider that these things
literally fall off trees!
Yes I’m
shocked but it doesn’t really change things. It’s food after all and I’ve got
to eat. Ok, I’ll make a few trips to Costco to save some coin here and there
but since I don’t have a plot of land to grow my own this is my lot and I must
accept that eating is an expensive endeavor.
But what doesn’t
make sense to me is how much it costs not
to eat food.
One of the
other changes I’ve made in my glorious unemployment phase is to get back in
shape. Once I made this decision my eyes opened to all the options I had out
there to whittle me back down to my “fighting weight” while separating me from
my funds.
Before: Rollo helps me avoid exercise
Every day my
inbox is flooded with offers from gyms, yoga classes, Pilates studios and the
like. As I stroll down the aisles of Whole Body I can choose from a variety of “all
natural” supplements designed to burn my fat like so many draft cards at a peace
rally (geez, did I date myself there or what?!) And then there’s the food meant
to get you to lose weight (is it just me or is that highly ironic?). There are
shakes, diet fiber bars, diet “ice cream” treats and frozen complete meals. And
let’s not forget the delivery plans from The Zone, Jenny Craig and others which
can cost more that dinner and a show these days. And don’t get me started on
liposuction or other medical interventions.
Even if you
decide to go old school solo and pick up one of the thousands of diet books and
exercise DVDs you’re out anywhere from $29.95 to a couple of hundred dollars
and they are just going to tell you what you already know: eat less and move
more.
I tell you “they”
have got you coming and going. You want to eat, then you must pay. You want to
eat less, then you must pay even more. And we buy into it with billions and
billions of our hard earned dollars every year. All because we think we can’t
do something very simple – albeit painstaking – alone. Or we are looking for
the easier, softer, way which unfortunately has never, nor will ever exist.
Losing weight
is a numbers game: you must expend more calories than you take in. You want to
lose a pound a week, then you must
have a negative balance of 500 calories a
day. It’s that simple. Just cut out 250 calories of cookies or soda or that
much-missed latte and walk briskly for an hour or so. And in a few weeks (or
months in my case) you’ll arrive at your goal…hopefully. It’s tedious and often
frustrating and you’ll get some gentle well-meaning sabotaging from your
friends and mothers (“come on, just one piece of candy won’t kill you…”) but it’s
free and it will last if you keep it up.
That being
said, I would like to report that I have rejected all the costly schemes and
products and I am slimming down all on my own, but that isn’t totally true. I –
just like those mere mortals targeted by Madison Avenue – felt like I need to
buy a kick start or two to accomplish something that shouldn’t cost a dime. So,
I ordered a Zumba DVD and downloaded the “My Fitness Pal” app (www.myfitnesspal.com.) Total cost?
About $80. I work up a sweat about 45 extra minutes a day whenever I want to in
the relative privacy of my own home (my husband likes to critique/support me
now and then) and I count my calories (keeping an eye on my nutrition as well –
more on that in a future blog post.)
On a "free" hike with Rollo. Dogs can also be good exercise partners
It’s not high
tech or glamorous or trendy but I’ve lost about nine pounds in two months and I
feel a lot better. I’m aware of my body, my strength and my life force. But
perhaps more importantly, I have realized – not for the first time – that change
can’t be bought, it’s an inside job. And if that realization saves me a few
bucks, well then all the better!
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