frugal & Fit
Hacks for Living Healthy and Living Affordably
$2 Per Box
Myth
Buying store brand/generic cereal is more affordable.
Fact
Kelloggs, Post, Quaker and General Mills often have sales on cereal and provide coupons to amplify savings.
Myth
Buying bulk or family size cereal is most affordable.
Fact
Smaller boxes (12 oz-ish) of cereal often go on sale and combined with a coupon - you could easily walk away from the grocery spending $5.00 for 5 boxes or .08/oz of cereal versus spending $16.00 on 5 Family Size boxes or .16/oz. You are spending less on the grocery trip and smaller boxes of cereal stay fresher. Besides - I like the variety.
Josh’s Rule
Never spend more than $2.00 on a box of cereal. They have seasonal sales and the price will always drop to $2.00 or below. (If it doesn’t, then that cereal better be worth it.) Use store coupons and manufacturer coupons to amplify the sale price. It is not uncommon to pay less than $1 per box. When it’s on sale for under a $1 - then stock up! When I pay .59 per box - then I am fine buying 10-15 boxes.
Runnin’ Fool
I love running. I never imagined I could run more than a mile or two. Since I love supporting charitable causes - it became easier to run 5Ks for charity and soon my ability to run longer distances increased. Eventually I was running 5 miles a few times per week.
In September 2017, I set a goal to run 100 miles in the month. On my birthday, the 25th, I reached my goal and continued to run the following week, surpassing my goal and running a total of 125 miles that month.
Although I don’t consistently run 5 miles daily every month - I use running as a free way to keep fit (no gym fees), as a motivator to eat healthy (running 5 miles gives you plenty of time to reflect on how poorly you ate the day before), to set and achieve goals (it’s incredibly exhilarating to cross finish lines) and to continue to support charitable causes.
COKE ZERO
Myth
Drinking soda makes you gain weight.
Fact
Calories and lack of exercise lead to weight gain. Soda itself does not make you gain weight - I drink Diet Soda (Coke Zero is my fav) and there aren’t any calories in Diet Soda. In fact, I sometimes drink 100 ounces of Coke Zero daily - I lose weight and gain weight based on other foods I eat with calories or based on how much exercise I engage in each day.
Myth
Drinking soda makes you crave unhealthy food.
Fact
Cravings are complex feelings that can come from your environment (eating birthday cake because everyone else around you is eating birthday cake or eating movie theatre popcorn because you smell it in a movie theatre) or from your psychological situation (feeling lonely sometimes drives us to fill our stomachs with food to appease that loneliness) or from legitimate hunger and all of the complexities that come from taste, smell and presentation of foods. Soda and diet soda alone do not make you crave unhealthy food - it is more complex. I drink diet soda for the sweet satisfaction to complement a salty snack or to finish off a meal instead of having a dessert.
Josh’s Rule
Drinking regular soda is one of the fastest ways to consume too many calories in a day. When I started drinking Coke Zero and diet sodas, combined with regular exercise and lowering my caloric intake, I lost weight (about 50 pounds). I kept the weight off for about a decade. For a period of about three months, I switched to just drinking water instead of any diet soda - for me I sought sweet sugary foods to complement my salty snacks at the theatre and also began to expect dessert after every meal (instead of just another diet coke). I started to gain unhealthy weight again. Drinking water is still good - but I am back to drinking large amounts of Coke Zero again to keep from eating other unhealthy sweets.
Recent Races
Religious Coalition Run to End Homelessness
KEY 103 Radiothon for American Cancer Society
Ogden City Marathon
Frederick Half Marathon
American Odyssey Relay
Mission 10 Miler
Across the Bay 10K
Summer Solstice 8K for Blessings in a Backpack
paSTA PASS
Olive Garden (pre-COVID) used to sell the Never-Ending Pasta Pass. This pass, sold online for $100, entitled the holder to Olive Garden’s all-you-can-eat pasta menu with breadsticks and soup or salad for EIGHT weeks. I acquired a pass for three consecutive years and enjoyed a lot of pasta.
I feel like this pass was an ideal intersection of frugality and healthy eating. Who can beat the affordability of 8 weeks of all you can eat dining for just $100? But healthy, really?
The first year I used the pasta pass, I lost 10 pounds over those eight weeks. Required a bit of discipline but I enjoyed a light lunch each day like a salad and then would enjoy Olive Garden for an early evening dinner. Dinner was salad with their light Olive Garden dressing (30 calories for 2 TBSP), whole grain pasta with marinara sauce and grilled chicken (about 350 calories) and then a couple of breadsticks (100 calories each).
Next time these go on sale - they usually promote them in August - then be sure to sign on and try to get one. They sell out in about ONE second.
Josh’s Rules for Eating Out
Saving Calories
Savor a salad without it drenched in Ranch. Stop using salad dressing. Add some lemon juice or just vinegar and a ton of vegetables to bring out the salad flavors. You’ll save at least 100 calories.
Use mustard or vinegar on your sandwich instead of mayo. You’ll easily cut back 100 calories.
Ask for a side (or two sides) of vegetables instead of a side of fries or a baked potato. Hold the butter on those veggies and you’ll be saving about 400 calories.
Water or Diet Soda only - stay away from drinking 1000 calories during meal time.
I often refer to “Eat This Not That” when I go out to dinner.
Saving Pennies
Go on lunch dates instead of dinner dates. Lunch menus are more affordable and provide the same great food if you want to try a new restaurant or frequent a favorite.
Use reward/loyalty points and apps for your favorite locations. I don’t let these gimmicks control my life - but I use them to my advantage and can usually a few free meals every month.
Take advantage of mid-week specials and/or Kids Eat Free nights. Weekends are always full price but usually there is a 50% off deal or BOGO deal on Tuesdays at your local restaurants.
As much as I love appetizers, fancy drinks and dessert - these things double the price of your check and fill you up beyond reason. Enjoy your meal without all the extras and if you insist on trying their fried zucchini apps and decadent chocolate cake - go back another night and just order those items without a meal and savor them without gorging yourself.
Use coupons. Come on, don’t be shy. Business owners provide coupons to lure you into their location and monitor effectiveness of their advertising campaigns based on coupon usage. Take advantage of those 10% deals, free meals, or extras that coupons offer and help business owners feel good about spending money on advertising.