Healthier vs. Affordable

Jay went to Sam’s Club the other day for a few things on our shopping list, and he told me if I thought of anything else to give him a call.  Well, after showering I decided to weigh myself – no way!! I saw a number on the scale larger than any other number I have ever witnessed (when weighing myself).  WHY?? WHY??

For over a month I have been trying to watch what I eat – no not everything that goes into my mouth.  Seriously, I have increased my water intake (still not what it was 4 years ago when I lost 35#), trying not to snack on bad things, portioning my meals, and even started doing about 30 minutes a day of exercise - Wii Fit or walking. 

Here have been my setbacks – injury and food!  I hurt my lower back, which halted any exercising attempts & now I have been going to the chiropractor for over two weeks.  I have come to the conclusion the food we consume isn’t the healthiest regardless of my portion control. 

Okay, so what does all this have to do with Jay’s trip to Sam’s club . . . well, being a little distraught about the weight gain over the last four weeks, I called him and told him we needed to stock the house with more fresh fruits and vegetables.  So he brought home watermelon, clementines, cherries, blueberries, pineapple, peppers, and onions. 

Can I just say the stuff that is good for you – lean red meats, fish, fresh fruits, and vegetables are EXPENSIVE!!  No wonder why America has the most obese population because what we can afford to eat is horrifically bad for us!! 

For example, we don’t eat sausage all the time, but when a pound of sausage cost $3.86 or $1.98 of course my bank account is only big enough for the $1.98 sausage.  BUT the other day I looked at the labels – you know that wonderful thing the government requires food to have so people can see what they are consuming -

Let’s compare sausages:

sausage      $ 3.86               $ 1.98

Calories:        180                   250

Total Fat:        16                     23

Cholesterol:     40                     60

So those of us that are on a tight budget are destined to be fat because the food we can afford is hampering our well being.  Plus, we can’t afford expensive exercise equipment or fancy gym memberships – the Y is even pretty expensive for a family membership!!

I guess my gripe here is why are the good things too expensive?  Maybe if they made the good things more affordable then more people could eat better and take advantage of healthier choices.