In the last few weeks I have been practicing what I like to refer to as a “frugal diet.” It really isn’t a diet at all, at least not in the traditional sense. No, this is much more informal. I still eat what I want to for the most part, but do have a couple rules such as not eating anything processed, watching my sodium intake and limiting myself to only a couple “treats” each week. I also stop eating when I have had enough – something that is hard to retrain when you are accustomed to eating until you’re stuffed.

During these last few weeks of experimenting with new eating habits we have also been working to pay off debt at a fever pitch. I quickly discovered something – it is hard to focus on both goals, at least it is for me.

While the correlation between weight gain and the accumulation of debt is fairly obvious (it’s all about excesses) doing battle on both fronts is downright hard to do! Heck, working towards any two large goals simultaneously is difficult, but for some reason losing weight and paying off debt are particularly difficult because they involve changing habits.

Unfortunately, the two goals of weight loss and debt repayment also compete with each other in many ways. For instance, imagine a scale with weight loss on one side and debt repayment on the other. As we begin to do things that are healthy, such as eat more nutritious foods, join a gym, buy walking/running shoes, etc. we tend to increase spending, which lessens the amount of money to use towards debt repayment.

On the other hand, if we focus our attention on debt repayment and start eating cheap, unhealthy food, canceling gym memberships and working extra hours to increase income, our health starts to suffer. You see the dilemma.

So how does one work on losing weight and paying off debt at the same time? There are three basic approaches I have found that work well. One of these might work more for me than for you, or you may find some combination of the three to be most successful. As individuals, we each have a different tolerance for change, various amounts of willpower, resources, etc. So go with the plan that generates the most results for you with the least amount of pain.

The Cold Turkey Approach

Those who go “cold turkey” immediately toss everything bad from their pantry, their refrigerator, and their wallet. They cut up credit cards, immediately convert to a cash envelope budget system, and cancel all forms of entertainment from their spending plan.

Similarly, these same people immediately eliminate everything “bad” from their diets – including all their favorites foods. Rather than practicing moderation, they practice elimination – as in getting rid of anything they believe is off limits.

The problem with this approach is that the new habits are most difficult to maintain. Suddenly removing all fun from your diet and your wallet often creates a feeling of resentment as your body tends to turn on itself with increased cravings for all those things you eliminated.

One or the Other

If you are like me and it seems impossible to pull off successfully losing weight while paying down debts, pick one or the other and stick with it. If you can, simply “tread water” with one plan while focusing your energy on the other. If you decide to try to lose weight, debt repayment may slow as you invest in your health for a period to get a jumpstart on weight loss.

If you decide to pay off your debt first, it may mean that you won’t be ready for the pool by summer, but at least your budget will be lean and mean. At a minimum, try to avoid gaining weight, something many people do when their health is not a top priority – believe me, I am the perfect example of this phenomenon.

Moderation

This is the approach that works best for me. I have found that by simply reducing the bad things I eat, and amount that I spend, I can lose weight and pay down debt balances. Both goals tend to take longer with this approach, but because they are running concurrently I should arrive at my goal weight and debt freedom at just about the same time!

Rather than going cold turkey, or giving preference to one goal over the other, I simply reduce the frequency of one or two bad habits keeping me from achieving both goals. Here are two revised bad habits I had for each goal:

Revised Eating Habits

• Limit myself to one soda per day (diet). I used to drink two or three sodas a day – sometimes more. By limiting myself to one soda, a diet soda, I am reducing the number of liquid calories while still enjoying a soda with dinner.
• Late-night snacks must include a protein, and be less than 200 calories. I am a bit of a night owl. The problem with staying up too late is that you get hungry. It wasn’t uncommon to find me parked in front of the computer sipping a cold Coca Cola and munching on a bag chips late at night. Instead, I now eat a small snack properly proportioned with protein and only a few carbs.

Revised Spending Habits

• Reduce magazine subscriptions/purchases. I have let all but two magazine subscriptions go, and I rarely purchase one at newsstand. Magazines used to be a weakness for me, but now I look forward to the two that arrive by mail, and occasionally I’ll pick up a third one while browsing the bookstore.
• One meal out per week. This one could really belong in both categories. Eating out less helps your waistline and your wallet, as restaurant food is often unhealthy and overly expensive. For the most part we eat in, but we do make it a point to venture out once a week for a meal out as a family.

The bad news is that there does in fact appear to be a correlation between weight gain and debt accumulation. The good news is that there is a correlation between weight loss and debt reduction. The same shift in habits for one goal also works for the other, but neither goal is necessarily easy to accomplish. However, with proper motivation and discipline, it is possible to make improvements to both your health and your wallet.

A month ago I shared with you my one-month water project.  The goal would be to drink nothing but water for one month.  I failed…miserably!  Along the way I did learn a few lessons and I’ll share them here.  Of course anything I report is merely anecdotal evidence, and beverages consumed may not affect everyone in the same way.  However, I do believe the results yielded some good information about how the things we drink may affect everything from our mood to our weight.  And of course there are financial implications of drinking too much soda.

Got Milk?

I figured out very quickly that I love few things in life more than a cold glass of milk.  I also figured out that it isn’t that bad if consumed in moderation (it does have some sugar content).  Milk is a great source of protein and other essential vitamins.  I mentioned in my original article that drinking milk elicits a sweet-tooth craving, and one of the benefits of this month-long exercise is that I seemed to have broken that habit.  Now I can simply enjoy milk alone, or have ice water with a sweet snack.

Stress and Soft Drinks

The last two weeks at my full time job have been the busiest of the year.  I worked on Sunday afternoons just to keep my head above water, and often resorted to grabbing something fast to eat because I didn’t have time to prepare a lunch.  Not only was June a busy month, it was stressful.  I discovered that when I’m stressed I like to grab a cold Coca Cola – it is my alcohol!  I’m actually quite annoyed with myself that this is the case.  I am proud of the fact that I don’t drink alcohol, and don’t have to have a morning cup of coffee to function, but I still have intense cravings for soft drinks.  I guess everyone has a weakness!

Weight Loss

For the first week or so in June I did only consume water, and occasionally added some flavoring such as Crystal Light.  Without changing much else about my diet I dropped a couple pounds.  I suspected some of this was water weight because I had probably been retaining water from the high-sodium drinks I had been consuming.  However, I lost another couple pounds the next week.  The reduced calorie intake from skipping sugary soft drinks was probably paying off.  Unfortunately, I gained back those few pounds by the end of the month to wind up with a net loss of only a half-pound or so.

Lessons Learned

The main lesson learned from this experience is that I am much more disciplined with my dollars than I am with my calories.   This hasn’t always been true.  In fact, I used to be in great shape, physically, but in terrible shape, financially.  It appears the pendulum has swung to far in the opposite direction, which brings me back to a question I asked here a few months ago:  Is it harder to lose weight or payoff debt?  I think they are equally difficult, and nearly impossible to do at the same time.  While there is a correlation between weight gain and the accumulation of debt, it is difficult to produce results in the opposite direction.  Not sure why that is.

In my case I just don’t seem to have the mental energy to devote to both plans – at least not enough to be successful at both.  Does this mean I should try to lose weight and tread water financially, or payoff debt and continue being out of shape? Neither, it means I need to work on my self-discipline.  I need to dig deep and find the will power to work on both aspects of improving my life.

Have you also struggled with getting your finances in order while trying to get into better shape?  Any nuggets of wisdom to share that would help me?

I’ve recently become a big fan of Strong Lifts since I read an article by founder, Mehdi. I need to drop a few pounds — OK, more than a few — and I’ve found the Strong Lifts program to be right up my alley because it focuses on simple nutrition, weightlifting, and the occasional cardio session. The weightlifting sessions are not overly complex and involve only a few core exercises. We are talking old-school free weight movements like squats, dead lifts, etc. I don’t think I’ve squatted for anything since high school other than snacks on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator! To aid in my efforts to get back to “fighting weight” I’ve decided to combine my frugal efforts and swear off all forms of liquids other than good old H2O for the next thirty days.

No Sodas

I wouldn’t call myself a Coca Cola addict, but over the years I’ve enjoyed them more than I should have. This has probably contributed to my need to drop a few pounds. Aside from the empty calories and sugar content, sodas have a negative psychological effect on me — they make me want to eat more. If I am sitting down to watch a game and grab a cold soft drink I automatically reach for a bag of chips, some left over pizza, or pretzels. I don’t know what it is about sodas that makes me want to snack, but I know it isn’t a healthy habit.  Diet sodas are loaded with sodium, and don’t make for a great alternative.  It seems those who are truly successful losing a lot of weight just quit the sodas altogether.

No Juice

My son drinks apple juice like it is going out of style, and my wife and I have recently started watering it down because we are a bit concerned with his own sugar intake. I occasionally pour myself a glass of apple or orange juice over some crushed ice. Just because it is a fruit juice doesn’t mean it is particularly good for me. After all, even 100% juice brands have up to 30 grams of sugar per serving!

No Alcohol

This is an easy one for me. I couldn’t tell you the last time I drank a beer. And my efforts to drink a glass of wine daily (for the cardiovascular benefits, of course) dropped off when I realized I was spending way too much per bottle, even on the cheap stuff. Down the road I may try a homemade recipe or two, but for now I’ll just pass. Beer and wine are loaded with calories and the alcohol content works against my training efforts.

Got Milk? Not Me

Of all the items listed this may be the toughest for me to give up. I could probably go through a gallon of milk every other day if not kept in check. I just love the stuff! While milk is loaded with nutrients it also has sugar, something I’m trying to avoid in liquid form for the next month. Similar to the habitual effects soft drinks have on me, milk makes me want to eat something sweet. There is nothing better to me than chasing a fudge brownie with an ice cold glass of milk.

H2O All the Way

So for the next 30 days I’ll give up all other liquid vices and stick to water. After all, water is probably the best thing we can drink for improved digestion, metabolism, and for proper hydration. There are no calories, no caffeine and no additives (except for the ones added by our water treatment facility to keep it clean). I may cheat a bit here and there by adding some sugar-free drink powder to the water I have with my evening meal, or maybe a squeeze of lemon, just for a little variety. I’ll keep tabs on how much I would have spent on soft drinks over this same period and will report back at the end of the experiment. Along the way I hope to lose some weight, save some money, and cure a few of these bad habits I’ve developed.

I’ve struggled with two things most of my adult life: my weight and my credit card balances. Most of the time I find myself focusing energy and resources on fighting both fronts, but have found it much harder to lose weight than pay off debt. Apparently, I am not alone. After reading a post by a fellow blogger I began to ponder reasons why this seems to the be the case for most overweight people struggling with debt.

Like anything worth doing, both weight loss and debt reduction require a lot of discipline and hard work. Some people are fortunate to have been born to parents with fast metabolisms, but others like me just look at a milkshake and gain three pounds. Some have benefited financially from a family inheritance, or simply from their parents sound financial advice. However, I wasn’t exposed to personal finance concepts growing up (not making excuses, I own my mistakes), and my parents have both struggled with their weight for as long as I can remember.

My wife and I have remarked that if we focus on one plan or the other we seem to have success, but we struggle when trying to work on them concurrently. This sort of reminds me of the old save vs. pay down debt argument – which one comes first, and which one takes a higher importance. The fact is they are both important, but by trying to accomplish them at the same time you divide your resources, making each half of the plan less effective.

I have been able to pay down debt, but I still struggle with weight loss. I think I have found the answer to this riddle. Paying down debt provides instantaneous, concrete results. If I pay $500 on a credit card, my account balance immediately drops by $500. However, if I eat clean for a week, drink lots of water, and get in three or four good workouts, I may or may not actually lose any scale weight (based on fluid retention, muscle growth, etc.). This is discouraging, and typically derails my nutrition and training plan. I immediately revert back to bad habits, stop working out and eat everything in sight.

The answer for successfully losing weight and paying down debts is to extend the timeframe for accomplishing your goals. My weight wasn’t put on overnight, and my credit card balances represent years of unintelligent spending. Why do I think I can clean them both up in a month or two? It is simply not logical. Common sense tells us that it takes time to pay off thousands of dollars in debt, or lose fifty pounds of fat, but we as human beings let our emotions get the best of us.

To combat these emotions I’ve decided the best approach is to very closely monitor my debt snowball plan, but very loosely monitor my weight loss plan. I will continue to update my total debt balance with each payment made throughout the month. However, I will avoid taking measurements or stepping foot on a scale until the end of the month. Some argue weekly intervals are better because you can make slight course corrections if what you are doing isn’t working, but for me weekly weigh-ins are discouraging. Besides, if I am heading in the right direction my clothes will fit better, I will sleep better, and I will have more energy. These measurements are more important success indicators than body fat percentage or scale weight.

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With the weather warming up I have been considering riding a bike to work. Well, initially I would be bicycling home from work, but my ultimate plan would be to ride both ways. I am so out of shape now that bicycling to work might literally take half a day, and result in my being lathered in sweat. Like all good frugal dads, I have to consider things like safety and the associated expenses to make an educated decision.

First, a look at the benefits of riding a bike to work.

Improve my current level of physical fitness. As I mentioned, I am grossly out of shape and the ride could help me lose some weight and improve my endurance. I am currently using up the remainder of my gym membership by driving to the gym after work and riding an exercise bike. It seems only logical that I could eliminate the gym membership, save on gas and ride the bicycle home for exercise – killing three birds with one stone, so to speak.

• Potential savings: $30/month gym membership

Less automobile usage costs. I drive an older model vehicle back and forth to work, and it doesn’t require much upkeep outside of general maintenance. In fact, it is driven so little that I have been able to avoid major repair expenses to this point (knocking on wood, emphatically). The only downside? It is a gass guzzler. By carpooling with my wife on the ride to work, and riding my bicycle home I could save quite a bit on gas.

• Potential savings: $70/month in gasoline

And now a look at some potential drawbacks.

Higher risk of being injured in an accident. I have never been much of a cyclist, but my friends who are tell me drivers are notoriously bad at yielding to bicycles. Obviously, the chances of injury are much higher if you tangle with a car while on a bike, as opposed to riding in a car. Fortunately, about half of my trek would be in low traffic or residential areas. Depending on how I map out my route, almost all of the journey home could be residential, though it may take longer.

• Potential Cost: Personal injury not easy to estimate.

Equipment upgrades. When I do ride a bike for leisure it is a Walmart bike I bought because of the sturdy frame and comfortable seat. The only upgrades I’ve made are a bicycle computer and small bag that attached to the seat post, just large enough to stow away my cell phone. When I ride around my neighborhood I opt not to wear a bicycle helmet, but if I decide to venture out in traffic I think a “brain bucket” is probably a good idea. Like most things, helmets can be as fancy or as simple as you are willing to spend. I think I’ll choose the safest, most economical helmet I can find that gets the job done.

• Potential Cost: $20 upfront cost for bicycle helmet. $20/month maintenance (tires, brakes, grease, etc.).

The elements. Summer usually means severe thunderstorms and downpours without much warning. I will need to keep an eye on the sky around quitting time to make sure bad weather isn’t approaching. If it is I’ll need to make other arrangements to get home – maybe grab a ride from a coworker. I could leave the bike in my office and ride it home the next day.  Or, I could lock it up somewhere safe (it’s a good idea to register your bike with the National Bike Registry in case it is stolen).

• Potential Cost: $20 upfront cost for rain gear (poncho, waterproof bag, etc.).

It seems like the idea of commuting to and/or from work by bike is a good one. With minimal up-front costs ($40) I could realize a net reduction in my monthly expenses of about $80. The physical benefits of daily riding could also improve my fitness levels, requiring less doctor visits and reduced life insurance premiums (assuming I don’t opt to ride in rush hour traffic). My next step will be to make some test rides over the weekend to plan the route, and make sure I can still ride that far without collapsing. I’ll report back with a final decision.

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Since getting on board with our new frugal lifestyle I’ve notice that my wallet is getting a little thicker, and my gut is getting a little thinner. It made me wonder if there is a correlation between frugal living and losing weight. After reflecting on my progress over the last few months a few ideas stood out as possible explanations for why my weight has dropped.

I started eating like a kid again. Sounds like weird advice doesn’t it? No, I am not advocating eating hot dogs and ice cream three times a day, as that would surely have an opposite effect on my waistline. What I am recommending is using smaller plates, smaller drinking cups and therefore smaller portions. When selecting a large dinner plate, or tall glass for our dinner beverage of choice, the natural inclination is to fill them up. If you are like me and enjoy a cold soft drink or sweet tea with dinner filling a large glass can add up to quite a few liquid calories. By using a smaller glass I am reducing the caloric intake with my evening meal and increasing the life of that 2-liter bottle of Sprite.

We scaled way back on television viewing. My wife and I recently agreed to drop our cable service down to the basic package only. We had already eliminated digital cable last year, but further reduced the channel offerings and our monthly bill. The $11 bare-bones service provides us access to local channels, the Fox affiliate and PBS. The benefits, other than the reduced cable bill, are that we have had to find other things to occupy our time. Back when I was a couch potato I frequently snacked while watching television. For some reason the two activities just seemed to go together. Big game on? Let’s get some buffalo wings. A good movie on tonight? Let’s order pizza. With the television turned off there are less opportunities to sit down and snack. Reading a copy of The Total Money Makeover just doesn’t produce the same cookie dough ice cream craving as watching the new episode of Lost.

We only see the inside of a restaurant once a week, and it is usually a Subway. Eating out is a sure-fire way to destroy a food budget. It is tough for a for a family of four to leave Outback Steakhouse spending less than $50 for meals, drinks and a tip. When you compare that to the frugal grocery choices available for $50 you realize you are trading several days worth of food for one evening out. Besides the obvious financial benefits to eating in, your health will improve as well. Fast food, and food served in typical restaurants is loaded with calories, saturated fats and sodium.

By preparing food at home you control the nutritional content. Our weekly splurge is a visit to a nearby Subway where on Sundays they offer a “two footlongs for $8″ special. Like any good frugal dad, I resist the temptation to eat the entire thing that night and take the other half for lunch the next day, spreading the cost over two meals.

Has anyone else experienced a slim down thanks to focusing on a frugal lifestyle?