Earlier this week I kicked off The Game On Diet with some co-workers. Developed by a personal trainer and his client, a former writer for the hit drama Grey’s Anatomy, the diet aims to motivate players who have a competitive side. You get points for activities including:
* Drinking three liters of water a day.
* Eating five small, balanced meals a day.
* Working out for at least 20 minutes a day.
* Starting a good habit.
* Ending a bad habit.
* Communicating with at least one of your teammates or competitors each day.
You aren’t allowed to have any sugar or white flour. You can have one meal off a week and one day off a week from everything. I’m on day five and so far it’s going pretty well. My bad habit I’m trying to cut out is staying in bed past 7am on work days. So far I failed once. I also lost points because last night I took my meal off, but I only ate a total of four meals. So I will lose six points for not eating my fifth meal, but to be honest I really wasn’t hungry! Since I’m really focused more on what I’m eating than I usually am it’s made me think about the longstanding debate about whether or not eating healthy is more expensive.
I will say that I spent about $30 more at the grocery store this week than I normally do. However, I purchased a lot of chicken that I haven’t even eaten yet so I think my shop next week will be much lower. I’m eating a lot of really affordable foods like brown rice and beans. The meals I do eat are smaller so I suppose if I’m eating less food that means I’m spending less, too. I’m also pretty much ONLY drinking water, which is free. I normally would drink about one 2-liter of soda a week and several coffee shop drinks. So in that sense it’s probably all balancing out. My husband is eating the healthier food, too.
In addition to saving money on coffee drinks and soda, I’m also not eating out. We don’t eat out much any way, but we haven’t eaten out at all this week. So while healthy foods may cost more I think if you are able to cut other expenses then it will balance itself out. What do you think?