Eating Healthily for $3 a Day • Hacker News Board

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#201

Post by shareme » Thu, Apr 28, 2011, 12:02 PM UTC

jrockway wrote: post #36

jhuni wrote: post #30

The real problem with this diet is it doesn't contain any fruits (Avocados, Cucumbers, Olives, Bananas, Grapes, Berries, etc). Our ancestors lived primarily on raw fruits so they are definitely the healthiest natural/uncooked foods for humans.

Fruits cost more than $3. I think the real problem, though, is that the whole "sugar is poison" has gone to everyone's head, and it's now socially unacceptable to recommend anything containing sugar. The problem is that fruits have a lot of fiber wrapped around that sugar, while soda does not. Have a cup of blueberries with breakfast, an avacado and some tomatoes at lunch, and strawberries for desert. A few servings…

It only works if thin, if slightly overweight or overweight one has to reduce all sugar intake and carbohydrates to re-adjust the body's insulin trigger levels.

Simple test ..consume some carbohydrates..if one-half to one hour later you get sleepy to the point of napping you should have your health checked..

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#202

Post by jasonlotito » Thu, Apr 28, 2011, 12:12 PM UTC

yummyfajitas wrote: post #194

zach wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

His premise is simply that for the vast majority of people who are obese, the culprit is located within the high-carbohydrate aspect of their diet. Good Calories, Bad Calories is about why the "garbage" people eat has caused them to get fat, and why it's not the saturated fat like experts have been telling the public for a generation. It's not a book about the best way for everyone to eat like Michael Pollan's books…

So how come we were thinner back when we had a high carb, low fat diet? https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnpp.usd...

Different types of carbs, man, different types of carbs. =)

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#203

Post by bartl » Thu, Apr 28, 2011, 12:13 PM UTC

georgieporgie wrote: post #116

orenmazor wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

if you want to save on coffee, buy green beans and roast. I pay around $30 for 5lbs of green beans that are extremely high quality. you can do far cheaper than that though.

I save money on coffee by not buying it. ;-) Instead, I found Jet Alert 200mg caffeine tablets. They're about $3.70 for 90 tablets. Each tablet is equivalent to two cups of coffee, which really means one cup of coffee, the way we tend to serve it. I usually take one around 10am, and another around 3pm. The good: no, uh, 'intestinal distress', whiter teeth, better breath, no buzzy feeling like I get with coffee, and I…

Sheesh, I drink coffee for the taste, not for the caffeine. So caffeine pills is something I would never consider using in my life.

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#204

Post by riffraff » Thu, Apr 28, 2011, 12:18 PM UTC

mmaunder wrote: post #22

My wife and I tried to do this recently on $1.70 per person per day. We didn't last our intended 28 days. A few observations we found: Meat and organic food was too expensive. Fruit is crazy expensive so we bought OJ from concentrate with no additives as a cheap source of Vitamin C. Eggs were are very expensive, but we needed the protein and nutrients, so rationed ourselves to 3 each per week. We had to remove all su…

why do you need additional vitamin C from orange juice? IIRC the RDA for vitamin C is easily achieved by eating plenty of vegetables, which you must have been doing since you shod meat.

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#205

Post by b3b0p » Thu, Apr 28, 2011, 12:20 PM UTC

I'm sorry, but I really disagree with any sort of dieting advice articles appearing on Hacker News for multiple reasons. Reading this thread only backs up my own thoughts and reasons why I dislike these articles.

First of all, everyone has their own idea of healthy.

Second, there are so many different diets, fads, foods, etc to eat or follow that's it ridiculous to even argue one way or another. Some eat lots of protein, some eat lots of fat, some eat low fat and high carbohydrates and everyone believes their method or means of eating is healthy. I'm sure no matter which way anyone argues there is a book, article, pubmed article to back up your ways. Making statements such as that can't be healthy, or you need to eat vegetables, fats, a certain amount of calories, and other similar statements is only someone else's opinion or belief and everyone is different.

Go with what makes you feel good. The best diet is the one you can follow. Listen to your body.

I would down vote this, but I can't down vote yet.

I'll probably get down voted for all this text, but I feel that strongly about this.

Frankly, what else bothers me is that almost any time someone expresses disagreement, they get down voted. Thus, people who disagree often times probably end up never posting.

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#206

Post by GFischer » Thu, Apr 28, 2011, 12:21 PM UTC

mmaunder wrote: post #22

My wife and I tried to do this recently on $1.70 per person per day. We didn't last our intended 28 days. A few observations we found: Meat and organic food was too expensive. Fruit is crazy expensive so we bought OJ from concentrate with no additives as a cheap source of Vitamin C. Eggs were are very expensive, but we needed the protein and nutrients, so rationed ourselves to 3 each per week. We had to remove all su…

Why did you set your target that low? (50 dollars / month)

The expected standard here in Uruguay is 100 dollars / month in food (and that with a 150 dollar minimum monthly wage)

I probably spend about 300 dollars per month in food (I do buy and/or eat out half the time), with a salary of 1200 dollars / month after tax. I'm pretty sure you make at least twice that.

(see also an Australian commenting the same thing: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2492511 )

To add to the conversation, some prices here:

Eggs - 2 dollars for 15 eggs

Apples - 2 dollars per kg (about 6 apples)

Rice - 1.5 dollar per kg

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#207

Post by goldmab » Thu, Apr 28, 2011, 12:35 PM UTC

henryw wrote: post #153

Wow, the amount of protein in this diet is really low. And all those carbs may not be for everyone. This diet may be cheap, but not healthy. If you are the type of person who puts on weight easily (like me), than I would suggest doing 50% to 60%+ of your calories from protein and 20% or less from carbs. The easiest source of protein are white eggs (in a carton), chicken (pre-cooked), beans (get low sodium), and prote…

I think the daily changes in how "in shape" you are reflect how much water you have in your body from eating carbohydrate. Nobody loses a noticeable amount of fat in one day.

You lost weight by decreasing the amount of energy you were eating. Low-carb diets are an effective way to do this, because they are generally restrictive (less variety means less overeating) and because protein is very satiating. But there are other ways, and yes, some of them involve eating a lot of carbohydrates. The best thing is to choose something you can stick with. In that sense, your advice is not good, since 50-60% protein would make a lot of people want to barf.

I would go so far as to say there is no such thing as a diet that is "healthy" absent particular health goals. If you are overweight, one way to become healthier is to lose weight. In that sense, a low-energy diet is effective, independent of what foods it contains.

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#208

Post by ramchip » Thu, Apr 28, 2011, 12:36 PM UTC

mmaunder wrote: post #59

r0s wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> we found a few "living on a dollar a day" blogs, but every single one bought in bulk and then calculated the cost of each scoop they took out of the bin. What's wrong with that? It's by far the cheapest way to cook. Bulk makes buying organic cheap too, as long as you don't shop at supermarkets. They have a habit of avoiding organic brands that are price-competitive with existing products.

I guess it's not a train smash, but most people don't buy flour by the bin. The main problem I had with their approach was not eating a balanced diet and it being unsustainable.

train smash n South African informal a disaster or serious setback (esp in the phrase it's not a train smash)

That's an interesting phrase.

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#209

Post by lwhi » Thu, Apr 28, 2011, 12:37 PM UTC

lsc wrote: post #195

drivebyacct2 wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's quite an addiction you have. Have you considered kicking it?

I find it amusing that the guy who has two double-shot lattes a day just likes coffee, but the guy who takes the same amount of caffeine in pill form has 'quite an addiction' when they are both consuming the same amount of the drug in question.

If you're not drinking coffee for the taste and experience - stop drinking it.

In my opinion, there's no point in sustaining an addiction without any of the main benefits.

Re: Eating Healthily for $3 a Day

#210

Post by corin_ » Thu, Apr 28, 2011, 12:38 PM UTC

lsc wrote: post #195

drivebyacct2 wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's quite an addiction you have. Have you considered kicking it?

I find it amusing that the guy who has two double-shot lattes a day just likes coffee, but the guy who takes the same amount of caffeine in pill form has 'quite an addiction' when they are both consuming the same amount of the drug in question.

Amusing, yes, but not illogical. If I'm away for work chances are I'll be at a starbucks 4 times a day, sometimes same at home. I love it. But I've never had a caffeine pill, and if I don't drink coffee I don't notice any difference. (Exception being that if I'm massively underslept one morning a coffee does have a really good impact on getting me to feel less shit.)