Can't afford to eat healthy - what do we all think of this?

strawberry

Gold Member
Saw this in the newspaper and thought I'd post to get other people's opinions on this, we all know healthy eating can be an expense, but there are ways to do it on a budget as plenty of us are doing right now. This lady gets £20,000 a year and says she still can't afford to buy healthy food/go the gym.
She wants to be paid by the government to lose weight as she thinks it will motivate her more. She also would like to receive £1 for every pound she loses, or food vouchers. What do you think? This lady is on This Morning today too with the delightful Katie Hopkins! :rolleyes:
It's not easy being overweight and on benefits, says 25 stone mother-of-two who wants MORE money from the government to help her diet | Daily Mail Online
 
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One word....... shocking!! She gets more money in Benefits than I get paid wokring full time and I manage to follow a healthy eating plan and join a gym.
 
Total rubbish, if you plan right you can make healthy food reasonable. The first couple of weeks I was on SW I spent a fair bit but it was mostly on herbs and spices etc. Once you have the bulk of that in it's not too bad.

That story is a load of rubbish anyway, she had to give up swimming because she missed her takeaways, please. Nobody with half a brain would say that with a straight face, she'll be trying to get famous just like that other one who got the boob job on the NHS. :rolleyes:
 
Eating healthily is not expensive. I've just made soup with a bag of carrots, onion and spices with red lentils, very cheap. It's about having the inclination to look for cheap recipes and using seasonal stuff and being bothered to cook from scratch.
Things like this drive me barmy!!!

walkers crisis!!! I rest my case. She's not skint, bone idle more like.
 
She isn't on her side at all, just trying to be controversial as usual. Yawn...
 
At the risk of sounding controversial she could always try to get a job if she cant afford things on benefits. Having to cut back on pizza & takeaways because of what swimming cost well I'm sorry but thats life. We all have to cut back on things we want if we cant afford something. As for eating healthily costing more well I suppose it all depends on the choices you make doesnt it. It is possible to do it on a budget if you plan & are sensible & on the flip side if you dont think or plan it could be more expensive. sadly a lot of offers are on more unhealthy options but as I say its all about being sensible & planning.
 
One word....... shocking!! She gets more money in Benefits than I get paid wokring full time and I manage to follow a healthy eating plan and join a gym.

Exactly what my daughter said, she is on minimum wage, lives on her own so has to pay for everything herself & she manages to eat healthly.

As others have said she is just being lazy.

In case anyone missed it and wants to watch it. :)

[YOUTUBE]FdcvWdlmYtU[/YOUTUBE]

Thanks for that, I was going to download it later when I get home.
 
I found this appalling, however for a lot of people eating healthily isn't an option. A friend (not on benefits) has recently stopped going to SW because they can't afford to eat healthily. I tried to help with cheap recipes etc but my idea of a cheap shop is different to hers. She feeds a family of 4 for £15 per week. When 6 apples cost £2.50 (this is what I paid yesterday in tesco who didn't have any on offer this week) and a big bag of frozen chips cost 0.75. You can guess which wins.
 
I found this appalling, however for a lot of people eating healthily isn't an option. A friend (not on benefits) has recently stopped going to SW because they can't afford to eat healthily. I tried to help with cheap recipes etc but my idea of a cheap shop is different to hers. She feeds a family of 4 for £15 per week. When 6 apples cost £2.50 (this is what I paid yesterday in tesco who didn't have any on offer this week) and a big bag of frozen chips cost 0.75. You can guess which wins.


Whilst I do understand this, and it harder for some than others, frozen fruit and veg are quite cheap. Not related to your friend but that woman has 3 boxes of pop tarts in her cupboard, I don't know about her supermarket, but there about £4 a box down here and you can buy enough frozen veg to make soup for a while at our local for that, and it would be more filling.

I know we all have problems with portions and healthy food, and it is hard but you need a little bit of effort, it is not the governments responsibility to make sure you aren't stuffing your face - hell you could even eat the same things just less, budget 1200 calories of pure rubbish and you'd probably lose a few lbs. I hope for her children's sake she learns to budget and feed them properly. You can get a second hand exercise DVD from Ebay for £2 and watch it on your TV or laptop (which I'm 99% certain she probably has despite being strapped for cash) - also a lot of gyms do free memberships (or doctors referrals) for those on benefits. There's the free wide open spaces known as parks, or you can do something for free in your living room, if you have stairs, use them!

I understand people need help, and I'm really grateful we have a benefit system in this country to help people in need, it's an asset to us, but people like this take the p*ss.
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Blimey £4 for a box of pop tarts. I'm grateful we don't like them now lol
I agree where there's a will there's a way :)

Ironically for us (unfortunately we live in a stupidly expensive area!) it's cheaper to ship them from America in a USA grocery shop than buy them here! :p

It might not be the healthiest way to lose, but just lowering calories and walking a bit helps, it needn't be expensive.

I'm fortunate now to be in a well off position, but I grew up dirt poor so have learnt how to budget well, I always find it odd when I see people online complaining about not having money to lose weight when internet, phone, TV etc costs at least £20 a month - if some people were really in dire need of money, they'd cut their spending. Obviously this doesn't go for everyone as some scrimp as much as physically possible and struggle, it's an awful situation.
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That winds me up too. Our friends on low incomes laugh that we don't have sky tv. We don't watch a lot of tv so even though we can easily afford to have it, it would be a waste of money for us. Yet, the same friends complain about food being expensive. I think a lot of society has their priorities wrong.
 
Im on 14000 a year after tax and ive been on slimming world for 6 months now and lost 2 stone. I agree with everyone else, for the price she paid for those pop tarts she could have had a weeks worth of frut and veg in aldi.
 
Hmmm £20k a year and I only earn £9k. I've been doing SW for almost 5 years now. Ok, I don't go to class, but follow the principles and stuff.
To me eating healthily IS expensive, maybe down to my choice of vegetables and fruit, but like someone else said if you can buy a frozen pizza, bag of chips, or multipack of chocolate for £1 but a pack of fruit is over £2 then it is expensive. It's all about choice though and making decisions on what you want and need to do. There are plenty of "free" ways to exercise out there.

Basically, there's no excuse really!! I feel for this ladies kids because she isn't setting a good example for a healthy way of life. I don't understand why she feels the need for the government to buy her healthy food or pay for exercise. Do without the takeaways!!! That statement of giving up swimming because she couldn't afford that and takeaways is just ridiculous.
This is all for attention!!

I'm very sympathetic towards people on benefits as I have been there myself and unable to work through ill health for 8 years. i also work for a charity who are there solely for people on benefits.
This woman is just making excuses and attention seeking!!!
Grrrr......
 
Katie Hopkins is only there to promote herself. As for her "friend", she gives those of us on benefits a bad name. It`s hardly surprising that there`s a lot of folk who see benefit recipients as scroungers (although I feel some are!). Since my OH had his brain op 5 years ago, I`ve had to give up work to care for him. The amount we get in benefits is paltry. We couldn`t afford the contents of her cupboard. We manage by buying in season where possible. Scouring the reduced shelves and frozen fruit and veggies. Not everyone`s idea of fun, but needs must!!

It`s been mentioned here earlier, a walk in the park is free. If she cut down on the goodies in her cupboard she`d be able to afford to go swimming or join SW or any other slimming club.
She`s never really tried. I`m not at target yet so I`m still paying for classes. Wouldn`t be without them!! I budget for them. Budgeting for everything down to the last pound isn`t easy but it can be done. :)
 
Katie Hopkins is only there to promote herself. As for her "friend", she gives those of us on benefits a bad name. It`s hardly surprising that there`s a lot of folk who see benefit recipients as scroungers (although I feel some are!). Since my OH had his brain op 5 years ago, I`ve had to give up work to care for him. The amount we get in benefits is paltry. We couldn`t afford the contents of her cupboard. We manage by buying in season where possible. Scouring the reduced shelves and frozen fruit and veggies. Not everyone`s idea of fun, but needs must!!

This is what annoys me, people who are genuinely, desperately in need seem to get pittance but we hear so many stories in the news of people who have the newest gadgets, 3 holidays a year and live like kings because they work the system. I've said above that I'm glad we have the benefit system and your case is a reason I am, there should be help, but I can totally understand how people feel bitter about it when stories like this crop up.

I'm so glad you've been able to budget for something you feel so beneficial for you, and you're so close to target too!! :)
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