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Skipping Meals to Save Money

When I was young child I used to be a bit fat. As I grew up I started eating less and doing very physical activities such as working out. I did not skimp on my meals which were mainly composed of rice, meat, fish and vegetables. I never stayed away from what people consider junk food and they were also a regular part of my diet.

I continued what I was doing during my teenage years. During these years I had a slim physique with a bit of muscle. I hardly ever got sick. These continued during my college years but with a change. I started smoking and from time to time drank alcohol. Nevertheless my physique continued to be slim and my health was excellent.

Things changed when I started to go to work. My life grew busier and more hectic. I started to skip breakfast and would just have coffee instead. Due to my improved financial situation I tended to eat out more often and I ate more than usual maybe to account for the fact that my cigarette habit is training my mind to always have something in my mouth.

My weight started to fluctuate. I will grow fat and then I would counteract this by dieting and working out. It became a seesaw cycle with me changing clothes occasionally to account for my changing dress size which was extra large to small. This continued throughout my working career.

When I grew to my fattest level I finally decided that I need a change in strategy. I stopped working out and instead walked one hour a day from work to home. I also stopped eating breakfast and drinking coffee at home but instead just drank a bottle of water. I still drank coffee at work but only ate breakfast at home very rarely.

I would eat as little but as healthy as I can during lunch and dinner. I even fasted on occasions. I did this for 6 months. Even before this date ended I was already losing weight fast and by the end of 6 months I was back to my teenage body size and even wearing extra small clothes. I did not notice any changes to my health and mental abilities.

I stopped travelling to work for a company and now almost stays completely at home. I do not exercise by walking 1 hour a day anymore. I however still drink a lot of water a day. I also skip breakfast often as I am used to doing this already. I still eat a normal lunch. What changed is that I now am starting to skip dinner and just have about 3 biscuits instead or something with similar proportion.

With this practice of mine even when I was young skipping meals especially breakfast has saved me a lot of money. Of course the main savings would be the food but you also get to save on the cost of washing dishes including soap and water and the cleaning materials.

I was also saving money because I do not have to go to the gym and lose weight nor buy exercise equipment. I also never have to buy expensive slimming powders and medicines which did not work because I was not addressing the main problem which is the quantity of my food intake.

I realise this as a delicate heath matter and not everyone’s health situation is similar. I tried to be as detailed as I can with explaining my physical activity and eating patterns so you could determine if your situation is similar to mine.

I have Googled “do you skip breakfast” and the results showed articles that support and contradict skipping breakfast. There are however scientific studies that prove that eating less increases your life. Google “scientific study eating less extends life” and you would find plenty of articles with scientific data relating to this.

There are also plenty of famous people who do intermittent fasting like Terry Crews, Hugh Jackman, Jennifer Lopez, Nicole Kidman and many others. They do not do this just to continue to have excellent physiques but to also control their eating habits.

Food is one of our basic expenses and could be very expensive especially if we eat a lot, eat out a lot and get unhealthy that one requires also daily medicine to supplement our food habits. If one can change their eating habits such that their diet is just enough to keep them healthy then they stand to save a lot of money from eating food they do not need.

It is very easy to overlook our food budget when we try to make money. One can make money also by saving. I have a food budget. I have a set amount of budget for my every meal. Even if I eat out or eat something special I have a budget. This has enabled me to save money. This does not mean I do not enjoy healthy delicious food. I still do with my budget.

Let me offer a simplistic explanation. If I skip a meal like breakfast that would normally cost me about $5.00 daily that would be about $140.00 per month savings. Now imagine a family of four doing the same thing. This would result in $560.00 a month savings. For less than this amount you could already rent an apartment. This would be $6,720.00 in 1 year.

One may not skip a meal but can find ways to save $5.00 like eating smaller portions, using cheaper ingredients, eating out less or just avoiding expensive food.


Conclusion

There are a lot of things you could do to save on your food budget. It is about time you study your food habits more intently. It could mean you saving extra money, have a better physique and have improved health. But take care to consult an expert like a doctor or dietician to see if this suits you or even your family.


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