Eating healthy is expensive. Eating unhealthy is really expensive.
I choose to eat healthy. People often ask me how much I spend a month on healthy foods and supplements. By all appearances it seems eating healthy is expensive. However, if you do it correctly, it is not that expensive. And eating healthy can actually make you healthier, wealthier, and happier.
Number One ExcuseThe number one argument I hear from people about eating healthy is it can cost you economically. How often have you said things like:
-Fresh fruits and vegetables are expensive.
-Meat, especially grass fed organic meat, is expensive.
-Supplements are super expensive.
I agree with those statements. But in the long run, eating junk food is much more expensive.
True Cost of Not Eating RightThe quality of fuel I put in my car affects the life of the car. The same is true with the “fuel” I put in my body.
Have you recently priced a cardiac bypass surgery? Plan on spending about $100,000 for it.
Do you know how much you’ll spend in your lifetime to treat diabetes? You’ll spend certainly into six figures. Of course that doesn't take into account the true costs of the lifestyle changes you will have to adapt to.
Eating Healthy on a BudgetSo how can you afford to eat healthy on a reasonable budget? All you need to do is make a few changes and you can live like a king, eat well, stay healthy, and get rich.
In my book The Green Beret Doctor's Health Plan for Life , I outline the importance of using food for fuel. It really is easy to do. Here are a few of the highlights:
Fruits and Vegetables:Fresh fruits and vegetables are your friend. There is no argument about the health results you obtain from getting plenty of fresh fruits and veggies. One way to save money in this area is to buy frozen. Frozen fruits and veggies are frozen almost as soon as they are picked. To that degree, they are probably fresher than the fruits and veggies found in the produce section.
You can also buy fresh fruits and vegetables from local farmers. Buying directly can usually get you better deals and cheaper prices.
Meat:I like nothing better than a good steak. The quality of the steak is directly proportional to how it is grown and aged. Grass land fed beef is much healthier than the typical beef you buy in a store. Store beef is typically raised at the stock yards and fed grain. Grass land fed beef is free of hormones, antibiotics, steroids, and the plain nastiness of stockyard life. In addition, grass land fed beef is high in omega 3 fatty acids, not the bad omega 6s you find in regular beef.
I am blessed to live on a ranch where I raise my own grassland fed beef and know exactly what they have had. If you do not have that luxury, there are web sites like www.grasslandfedbeef.com where you can find ways to purchase this type of beef. The same is true for free range chicken.
Yes, this type of meat is a little more expensive. To offset the cost, cut back on eating out one or two times a month. The savings there will more than make up for the higher priced beef.
Beverages:Your body needs water. The good news is, water is essentially free. The obsession we have developed for drinking 8-10 glasses of water a day has more to do with marketing of bottled water than it does with science. A good filter on your tap at your house or your refrigerator is the perfect solution to fresh clean water. It can save you money too.
Think about it. We stomp our feet about paying $4 for a gallon of gas, but we willingly shell out $1 to $2 for a small bottle of water. If you calculate it out, you are paying about $16/gallon for that water.
Supplements:
Supplements can be confusing and expensive. I tried to help that with Dr. Tim's Active Life Vitamins
. For a buck a day ( less than the bottle of water you take them with
) you can provide your body with the daily necessary vitamins and minerals it needs.
It’s important to understand supplements do not take the place of eating right. Like their name implies, they supplement what you are already doing, allowing you to live an active lifestyle.
Other supplements you take really should be individualized to your situation and what you are doing. Web sites like www.bodybuilding.com make finding supplements much more affordable.
Junk Food:
Junk food is called that for a reason. It is full of preservatives, colorings, sodium, corn syrup and more. Eating junk food is expensive today and in the long run. My recommendation is take some of the money you are currently spending eating out and eating junk food and use it to buy some healthy alternatives. Cook them at home. Enjoy them with your family
. You will not only be healthier and wealthier, but you will also enjoy life more.
[ Ed. Note:Dr. Tim Reynolds is the founder of Living Every Minute . He believes in teaching people how to live healthy lives. Want to hear more from Dr. Tim on living healthier? Check out his new audio cd program that will change your life.]
Dr. Tim Reynolds is the managing parter for HealthCare Express. He is also the president and CEO of Dr. Tim, International, a company he founded in 2009 to allow him to share his passion for Living Every Minute with others. He dedicates countless hours each week to helping other people change their lives through mentoring, life building, giving inspirational talks and writing for his motivational newsletter, Adventures with Dr. Tim.
Dr. Tim was the first member of his family to graduate high school. He joined the military shortly after graduation. Dr Tim was a graduate of the Special Forces Q-course in July of 1982. He served as a Green Beret medic on an A-Team, as the Battalion medic and eventually as a Special Forces Battalion Surgeon for the 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne). He served both enlisted and as an officer for 17 years.
After getting out of the military, Dr. Tim was the first in his family to graduate college with honors. His passion for helping people inspired him to become a medical doctor, and in 1993 he graduated Summa Cum Laude with an MD degree from the University of Utah. He completed his Emergency Medicine residency at Texas A&M Scott and White in 1996 and is board certified in emergency medicine. Dr. Tim is the managing partner for HealthCARE Express, a group of urgent care clinics rapidly expanding across the United States.
Prior to starting HealthCARE Express in 2006, Dr. Tim held numerous positions across the medical field, including: medical director of the Wadley Regional Medical Center Emergency Department and level II trauma center; director, Texas College of Emergency Physicians Board of Directors; president of E-Med Services, LLP and of E-Med Billing Solutions, LLP; associate clinical professor for the Area Health Education Center at the University of Arkansas; founding member of the Greater People’s Clinic of Texarkana Board of Directors.
Dr. Tim speaks fluent Spanish, having lived in Guatemala and traveled throughout Central America.
In addition to his medical experience, Dr. Tim is also an entrepreneur and successful businessman. He is currently the chief executive officer of TL Reynolds Properties, LLP, a real estate investment company; and he is a managing partner of JJET Developments Ltd., a real estate development company.
Dr. Tim has served on numerous other committees and boards throughout both the medical and business communities and is published in various journals and publications. He is sought after as a presenter at many national conferences.
In his leisure time, Dr. Tim enjoys spending time on his Ranch in Atlanta, Texas, where he lives with his beautiful wife, Pam, and their five amazing children. He holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, is a SCUBA rescue diver, and a pilot. He also enjoys body building, golf, and hiking.
Dr. Tim is a world traveler, having visited six of the seven continents. He is a firm believer in living every minute of life and teaching others to do the same. His online website www.livingeveryminute.com allows him to reach thousands of people around the world as they subscribe to his weekly self-help and life improvement adventure newsletters.