Americans spend about $60 billion annually on weight loss products, according to the American Council on Exercise. But despite advertising and weight loss gimmicks, about one in three people in the United States is overweight. The current economic uncertainty is causing people to seek out new, inexpensive ways to lose weight and keep it off. You can eat a healthy diet and lose weight without spending a lot of money.
Cost
The Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, or CNPP, is a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that regularly calculates the cost of preparing meals and snacks at home. The plans represent four different cost levels, ranging from thrifty to liberal. A man between the ages of 19 and 50 could have spent as little as $169.10 to eat completely nutritious meals and snacks at home during the entire month of December 2010. This thrifty diet plan includes healthy portions of whole grains, fruits and vegetables as well as inexpensive cuts of lean meats and fish.
Weight Loss
No matter which diet program you choose, weight loss comes down to expending more calories with physical activity than you consume in food and beverages. The average man needs to consume between 2,000 and 3,000 calories each day to maintain his weight, depending on his activity level. A woman should get between 1,600 and 2,400 calories daily, depending on how much exercise she gets. One pound of fat represents 3,500 calories. This means you can lose one pound in a week by consuming 500 fewer calories than you use each day. You gain a pound in a week by eating 500 more calories than you need each day.
Nutrition
An effective poor man's diet delivers all the nutrients your body needs to function and leaves you feeling satisfied without excess calories. Nutritionally incomplete diets do not deliver long-term results because your body craves vitamins and minerals. A successful, inexpensive diet includes small portions of low-calorie foods like vegetables, fruit, whole grains, lean meats and low-fat dairy products. Dietary fiber, found in many foods like oatmeal, whole-grain bread, legumes and citrus fruits, adds volume to food, which leaves you feeling more satisfied. The fibrous parts of food are calorie-free, so you feel full without having consumed excess calories.
Sample Plan
A sample 2,000 calorie diet includes three meals and two snacks each day. Breakfast features two poached eggs, two slices of whole wheat toast topped with 2 tsp. of butter and 1 cup of mixed berries. Mid-morning snack ideas include an apple and 1/2 oz. of cheese. For lunch, have a tuna sandwich using whole-wheat bread, 3 oz. of tuna and 1 tbsp. of light mayonnaise, 1 cup of orange juice and 1 cup of carrot sticks. This menu includes an afternoon snack of six wheat square crackers dipped in 2 tbsp. of hummus. You can have grilled shrimp for dinner, over 1 cup of brown rice, alongside 1 cup of steamed broccoli.
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