Saving to Lose & Losing to Save

For years, I have struggled with my weight. It's not a big secret and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I look back and remember times in high school in which I thought I was "fat" - Ha! I'd kill to go back to the high school body days today! But, I did begin to gain more weight in college - more so than just the notable Freshman 15. So, in my last semester of nursing school, I joined a weight loss support group in my church at the time that met weekly. In the group, you could follow any plan you wanted; it was primarily for the support, lesson, and a weigh-in. At the time, I chose to follow the Weight Watchers plan with some things (Points calculator, books, recipes, etc.) that my aunt had passed down to me. I ate a lot of processed, pre-packaged things because that was easiest for me being on campus so much and working in my nursing preceptorship, but nonetheless I was very successful - in my first real attempt at dieting, I lost about 30 pounds!

I did pretty good for a couple of years but eventually began to lose control again and my weight crept up and up. I officially joined Weight Watchers a few times, but was only really successful with it once for a few months. Currently, I am close to my record high weight-wise and am just sick and tired of always feeling sick and tired. Fortunately, I work for a fantastic company that promotes health and wellness, and when they ran a deal to pay for half of my Weight Watchers membership, I decided to give it a go again. A real go. Like, for real. 

I've been so surprised with how much discipline that I've had with my budget and finances over the last 6 months, and I realized... if I applied even half of that same discipline to my diet, I really think I can do it. 

But, speaking of, what about the budget? Doesn't it really cost a lot to eat healthy? Well, even though I've been told otherwise, I do think that it does cost more to fill your body with good things than it does to fill it with junk. Hence, part of the reason that our county is in an obesity epidemic. That being said, I also think it's possible to eat well on a budget - and it's my goal to accomplish that! And I plan on sharing that on here with you...

First up: Frugal (& Healthy) Freezer Meals. I used this plan, that I found on Pinterest, as my guide. There are 7 meals that sound pretty delicious and seem simple, simple, simple - especially once they are assembled. The biggest bonus - they are all done in the crock pot. (Because, who doesn't love a crock pot?!) I got almost all of my ingredients at my local Aldi. Guys, I am in love with that store! If you have one near you, you really need to go check it out. They have almost everything you get from any other grocery store, including lots of organic and gluten-free items, but the prices are SO much better (check out why here). I love supporting a good company. So, minus the fresh cilantro, which my store did not currently have, everything on my list came from Aldi and was less than $70. I did some things that I needed that weren't required for my Frugal Freezer meals, so after subtracting all of that, I've calculated each freezer meal that has at least 3-4 servings each, is about $7.84 - or $1.96-$2.61 per serving and about 7-10 Points Plus. Not too shabby!! 

Here's to saving & losing!