How NOT to save money/eat "healthy"...oy...

[galliver]

https://www.vice.com/read/i-tried-to-save-money-and-eat-healthy-and-it-nearly-ruined-my-life

I'm pretty sure I clicked on it solely to figure out...how ridiculous could they make it. They...succeeded. Head, meet desk.

[I'm a red panda]

At least no one should read that article and think it is a reasonable approach to frugality or health. That was just bizarre.

[WildJager]

I was just about to post that.

"Woman eats better than most people in the world... Nearly dies." Is the other headline I'd use.

It's amazing to me that (what should have been but was probably not prepared so) rice and fish on a sauteed with olive oil bed of spinach was so hard for her to live on.  The frequent reference to "stress" might have had something to do with it.  Cooked well, that's a great meal.  Cooked poorly, I suppose it could become gruel that deprives someone of real food...

[11ducks]

Hahahaha, I've made sautéed cabbage, spinach and rice, added Beans or tuna and taken it for work lunch  heaps of times this year. It makes me sad for the writer that their diet is so processed that it doesn't seem edible.

[galliver]

I think a huge part of her problem was trying to find ONE food, that took basically zero time to prepare, to replace a varied takeout diet (which probably took more time to acquire)...

[meg_shannon]

This is ridiculous. And why I'm determined my daughter will have basic cooking skills by the time she's leaves home. She could have made scrambled eggs, a salad, and toast for dinner every night; a sandwich or big salad for lunch; and cereal/oatmeal plus a piece of fruit for breakfast. Cheap foods, healthy, and would require very little prep, grocery shop time, or clean up if you can adequately use a knife.

Whether she's eating take out, meal cubes, or her one meal concoction she's not treating her body with respect. She's obviously unhappy with what she's eating, but really seems to want a short cut to basic self care. Which is weird because she probably spends a significant amount of time on hair, makeup, and clothes, but can't find the time to feed herself well.

[Tamster]

The "gruel" sounded delicious.

I appreciate the search to streamline to something easy, but why the search didn't include the local grocery store and some smarts is beyond me.

Meg I agree, basic cooking skills are a must for young adults. I had no skills when I started my college and subsequent adult life - everything I learned I researched and would ask others. And produced many smoke alarm mistakes.

[TheGrimSqueaker]

Alternate headline: "Woman admits to having horrid cooking skills"

[I'm a red panda]

I think a huge part of her problem was trying to find ONE food, that took basically zero time to prepare, to replace a varied takeout diet (which probably took more time to acquire)...

I'm not sure I'd go with "huge part" as "entire problem".

Who the hell thinks it is a good idea to eat ONE thing, ever. (And based on the bar she originally went for- she wanted it to be a convenience food!)

[Gondolin]

the too-frequent packs of cigarettes. I don't think my case is unusual, just unfortunate.

I stopped reading after this line where she admits to having the most physically and financially damaging possible habit.

Also, her case IS "unusual" since by the last CDC numbers less than 18% of Americans smoke. 

[Ann]

She said she "tried to eat healthy" but she admits her nutrionist was AGAINST the diet she attempted!  It's like saying being a "healthy" weight is bunk because you tried to loose those extra 20 lbs by only eating 200 calories a day and by going from being sedentary to running 5 miles a day.  Of course you got sick and failed!  No one ever recommended you try that, and health professionals actively warned against it!

[bloomability]

She's a personal finance writer for VICE. That's her job. Writing about personal finance. I can't.

Her other articles are just as clueless.

[I'm a red panda]

She's a personal finance writer for VICE. That's her job. Writing about personal finance. I can't.

Her other articles are just as clueless.

It's like the entire premise behind the Confessions of a Shopaholic book series.

[GuitarStv]

Ummm.  400 calorie meals?  So three meals a day brings you up to 1200 calories?  That's going to be calorie deficient for most people.  If she's a 40 year old 140 lb woman who is moderately active, she needs about 2100 calories a day just to maintain her current weight.  She was getting half that amount.

[I'm a red panda]

Ummm.  400 calorie meals?  So three meals a day brings you up to 1200 calories?  That's going to be calorie deficient for most people.  If she's a 40 year old 140 lb woman who is moderately active, she needs about 2100 calories a day just to maintain her current weight.  She was getting half that amount.

If she's working with a nutritionist, that probably has some basis in something.
My nutritionist recommended 1200-1300 calories a day.  I'm moderately active and petite. 

[GuitarStv]

Do you weigh between 76 - 92 lbs?  If not, your diet is going to be calorie deficit (how significant a deficit will depend on how sedentary you are and how much over that weight level you are).

[I'm a red panda]

Do you weigh between 76 - 92 lbs?  If not, your diet is going to be calorie deficit (how significant a deficit will depend on how sedentary you are and how much over that weight level you are).

I weigh just over 100 pounds.
I'm going to trust the doctor on this one rather than an internet commenter.

You also don't know that the person in the article wasn't trying to lose weight. 

[Kitsunegari]

I have to admit that the idea of MealSquares is enticing for someone that wants to brownbag but is bad at organizing. I wonder how can I make these at home...

[MsPeacock]

Ummm.  400 calorie meals?  So three meals a day brings you up to 1200 calories?  That's going to be calorie deficient for most people.  If she's a 40 year old 140 lb woman who is moderately active, she needs about 2100 calories a day just to maintain her current weight.  She was getting half that amount.

If she's working with a nutritionist, that probably has some basis in something.
My nutritionist recommended 1200-1300 calories a day.  I'm moderately active and petite.

I have to wonder about the 2000+ calories per day recommendation. I am on the smaller side and my calories needs, even with regular exercise, fall pretty far south of 2000 calories per day to maintain my weight. If you are over 40 (slower metabolism, less muscle mass w/ age), as I am,  and smallish, 2000 is likely to be excessive.

The article is stupid - anyone could make up something as stupid and dramatic about eating "healthy" - target audience apparently people who complain that "healthy food tastes bad."

[etselec]

What gets me is that she calls the diet she attempted "healthy" and then goes on to describe in detail how a nutritionist told her multiple reasons it was a terrible idea and not at all recommended. Umm...

[BDWW]

Why didn't she just get Soylent?  Seems easier if all you want is one thing to sustain you and be healthy.

[galliver]

Why didn't she just get Soylent?  Seems easier if all you want is one thing to sustain you and be healthy.

She said she didn't want a liquid diet. Must be one of those people who enjoys masticating.

[GuitarStv]

Ummm.  400 calorie meals?  So three meals a day brings you up to 1200 calories?  That's going to be calorie deficient for most people.  If she's a 40 year old 140 lb woman who is moderately active, she needs about 2100 calories a day just to maintain her current weight.  She was getting half that amount.

If she's working with a nutritionist, that probably has some basis in something.
My nutritionist recommended 1200-1300 calories a day.  I'm moderately active and petite.

I have to wonder about the 2000+ calories per day recommendation. I am on the smaller side and my calories needs, even with regular exercise, fall pretty far south of 2000 calories per day to maintain my weight. If you are over 40 (slower metabolism, less muscle mass w/ age), as I am,  and smallish, 2000 is likely to be excessive.

The article is stupid - anyone could make up something as stupid and dramatic about eating "healthy" - target audience apparently people who complain that "healthy food tastes bad."

2000+ calories a day is recommended based on sex, weight, and activity level.  If you're 90 lbs, female and very sedentary your RDA is much lower than if you're a 200 lbs male and very active.

Metabolism doesn't necessarily slow as you age.  Metabolism slows when you carry less muscle mass on your frame and are more sedentary.  As people age they usually exercise less, and the exercises they do aren't very conducive to maintaining muscle . . . So metabolism slows down.  This isn't due to age, but lifestyle.  It's quite possible to stay strong and active well into your 70s, you have to approach training a little differently though.

[Tjat]

First, anyone who smokes has no business writing about personal finance. Second...wtf?

[MarciaB]

Seems to me this is a perfect opportunity to get a few friends together (who also can't cook and don't have a clue), find a mentor...and (wait for it) learn a few things, save money together and generate some community (which is a healthy part of eating I might add). But of course that wouldn't make a good article I suppose.

Some people are so dumb it's amazing they make it through the day.

[zephyr911]

She borders on sanity for a moment here: "But if I've learned one thing from writing about personal finance for the past few months, it's that the animal part of your brain is a selfish idiot who wants you to gorge yourself on $12 hamburgers and take cabs everywhere instead of paying off your loans."

[MrsPete]

Did I understand this article to say that stress (specifically caused by not eating a good variety of foods) makes bacteria leak from your intestines and go into other parts of your body?  Um, I have no medical training, but I don't believe that.

If she wanted to investigate how to cook cheap, healthy foods, WHY did she decide to eat cookie bricks and sauteed-spinach-with-canned-tuna?  I cook cheap, healthy food all the time, and it's delicious. 

[maco]

Did I understand this article to say that stress (specifically caused by not eating a good variety of foods) makes bacteria leak from your intestines and go into other parts of your body?  Um, I have no medical training, but I don't believe that.

I think it's a reference to leaky gut syndrome. I don't think it's saying that stuff leaks from the intestines into the abdominal cavity, but that when the villi in the small intestine move nutrients from food to the bloodstream, they move other things that aren't nutrients too.

[Marus]

Has anyone tried Mealsquares?  I'll admit I'm intrigued...

[Scandium]

The "gruel" sounded delicious.

I appreciate the search to streamline to something easy, but why the search didn't include the local grocery store and some smarts is beyond me.

I agree, it sounds pretty good. Better than the PB&J and ham+cheese sandwich I've had for lunch the last 5+ years. I don't understand these entitled people who can't eat the same thing two days in a row.

Actually I've had the same breakfast and lunch for years now. I didn't know this was a problem? I feel fine.. Tried salad with tuna for lunch but it was way too few calories. I have issues getting enough protein and calories. Apparently need lots of bread to feel full. Salad don't work.. Maybe I'll try that recipe.

edit: thinking about it, if starting from elementary school I've had some form of bread with something on it for lunch for over 25 years. I've gone out for lunch maybe 100 times in that time? But I know eating lunch out is much bigger in american culture than where I grew up. And we didn't have a school cafeteria either.

[Tamster]

Scandium, I am very routine with my lunch also. Wintertime I may kick it up a notch by having soup. Breakfast, woefully predictable too - oatmeal with fruit in the winter and fruit and granola in the summer.

My boys have the same thing for lunch each day too, unless we have the occasional pizza leftovers.

I am wondering what the trend is - to have different meals or the same thing every day?

Oh, forgot to add: in school, I either had pbj or bologna. My mother alternated, every other day. Once a week we got a little Debbie oatmeal creme with our lunch. My parents were very frugal --- it was a big deal to have that dessert once a week!

[StockBeard]

I love the onion article they link to: "Man Brings Lunch From Home To Cut Down On Small Joys". LOL