Does Frugality Make You Fat?

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For a while now, my backside has been getting bigger and bigger. Not helped by all of this frugal food – pastry is cheap, muffins are cheap, pasta is cheap, homemade bread is cheap – but it is all wheat based. I need help! I did consider Slimming World – it has worked for me in the past. £5 a week for meetings is a lot – but I could just about afford it. However, over the cost of a year, that is £260.

 

Once upon a time, I used to run – a lot. I have done four half marathons in my time, and each time I have lost at least half a stone – sometimes more, just by virtue of the training involved. Of course, I could always just run for the fun of it – but this is not as much of an incentive as having a race to train for. Even more of an incentive if that race is in my hometown, and my competitors are the people I went to school with.

So, I decided that the entry fee of £20 would be a good investment, and much cheaper than paying to join Slimming World. As I had the space in my budget, I decided to go for it. And I can feel the motivation working already.

 

 

Last night, I went out for my first run in months, and just managed 3 miles, thundering around the woods like a T-Rex. It was HARD! But, I came back in an excellent mood, skin glowing and happy, if tired. I slept like a log too, for the first time in months.

Best of all though, my run was FREE! I train using the Nike+ App on my iphone which you can download for free. I find it great for running training, the GPS is excellent, as is the ability to upload stats. I need to shave at least a minute off my time to beat my PB, but I have three months to do it, so that's fine.

 

 

I do need to shift some weight too, to speed myself up - a stone and a half should do it. A weight-loss conducive diet (which is basically high-protein, less wheat) is difficult to do frugally, as meat and fish is relatively expensive. However, I have plenty of fish in the freezer, so on no-run days I can jazz up cheap fish like Basa and Coley with herbs and spices (such as thai red curry paste and pesto) and eat it with vegetables.

 

 On run days when I need extra fuel, I can have my sourdough or quinoa porridge for breakfast, a vegetarian risotto or a pasta salad for my lunch. My meal plan allowed for meat or fish every other day, so some days I can eat chops, sausages or minced beef meatballs with some nice sauce and 'vegetable spaghetti' (courgettes julienned).

 

I will keep you posted with the results! But as frugal hobbies go, I think it's a winner.