THRIFTY POLLS – #3 GET HEALTHY/LOSE WEIGHT!

Alright, I am already feeling guilty. This happens to be the next Thrifty Polls post on a Friday night when we are having “date night in” and indulging on take out and sweet treats (thriftily of course)!

If this was your resolution, many of you are a week into it! Keep going – yay! For us, our main goal is a healthier lifestyle as a family (with hopes of weight loss!).

We have made a goal to do the following in our diets (as a family):

• Healthier snacking by choosing fresh produce first
• Use Turkey options (like ground turkey, turkey bacon, etc.) in at least 1 meal a week to replace a beef, pork meal (Thrifty Al was raving on the turkey bacon last week!!  That’s a huge step!)
• Use more brown and wild rice
• Replacing sugar/butter in our cooking with applesauce and honey (where the recipe allows)
• Cut out sodas
• Drink lots of water
• Be more committed to taking our vitamins
• Replacing everyday staples with the low fat or no fat versions (i.e. sour cream, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc.)
• Incorporating natural and organic in our diets even more!

One thing that I would like to mention is that we have had these goals in mind and have been slowly incorporating them into our diets over the past couple of years.  There is always room for improvement and more incorporation of the above. We will be posting more about couponing and saving money with the natural and organic in mind (and we have in the past) – we don’t want to make this post a book, but a glimpse!

We want to also stay within our budget.  We have a weekly grocery, household, toiletry and diaper budget of about $60 = $240 a month.  We hardly went shopping the last couple of months in 2009 and so it was nice to be able to save even that much more! But as we have already been buying organic and healthier alternatives, we hope that taking that step a little further may change our budget slightly.  We will see what happens (and so will you as you keep following us!)

Also, exercise and activity is important to us. We want to do more physical activities as a family, like bike riding, hiking, walks, outdoor sports, etc.  We also love swimming! Thrifty Al loves to run in the free outdoor air and I work out at home to try to get more exercise incorporated into our lives for general health and well being. This is definitely a more practical option for me as I am a busy, homeschooling, deal seeking, coupon shopping, blogging mom! I have found great resources cheap (like equipment, videos, etc) from deals and sales (watch for them here or let us know if you find one!) and Amazon.com always being a good resource for affordable options!

So……we shared a little with you about our goals for this resolution.  We want to hear your thoughts, plans and ideas.

We have been collecting and saving some fun information to help you get to your goals the “thrifty” way!

First, keep checking our blog regularly to find out the current latest deals and coupons for the grocery, household, personal care and baby items and those deals as they relate to diet and health (like the healthier options, diet foods, vitamins, etc.) as there are soooo many and they rotate constantly, that this post isn’t the place for them.

Second, we will be giving tips, ideas and sharing any ideas that you send us on this topic.  We want to help you save money in EVERY area of life, including this one.

Third, figure out a plan, discuss it with your family and get going!

Fourth, here are some FREEBIES and DEALS to get you started, going, and continuing on this process:

For research, information and encouragement

Amazon.com has a deal on Fitness Magazines for only $5!! This is good through tomorrow, January 9th! – go HERE to see our previous post for the details!

This is a Diet Sample Pack and this is what they say about it! “Finally a diet system that fits into your life! Lose up to 30 pounds in 30 days starting with three easy steps! Finally a diet system that fits into your life!” Go HERE for more information. Worth looking into!

To get you movin’ – Music and Workout DVDs

Go HERE to get 1-hour FREE Workout mp3 music downloads sponosored by the Biggest Loser and Subway

TO GET THE WHOLE BIGGEST LOSER CREW IN THERE:

FREE DVD and Fat Loss program from former biggest loser trainer Kim Lyons. This is a great FREEBIE as it is totally free for a DVD and Silver membership into her program which gives you FREE workout plans, tips, tricks, weight loss information, etc .  You can pick to watch the DVD online for FREE or have the FREE hard copy mailed to you buy paying for the shipping at $5.77.  This is a good way to go, especially since it is FREE! For more information go HERE.

Of course Amazon.com is a good place to go to find everyday deals. Again, we will let you know when we find a hot deal or a FREEBIE somewhere out there.

Go HERE to see Workout DVD’s and resources from Amazon!

To give you the works: Gym FREEBIES

This offer is now expired!

Curves is a great place to go for a less intimidating, but great work out for women.  We actually posted previously on this deal, go HERE to get a FREE consultation fitness plan and 30-days of working out!

Bally is offering a FREE 7-Day Pass. We don’t live near a Bally, but for those of you that do – check it out for 7 days and see if it is what you need! Go HERE and fill out a quick form and request your 7-Day pass.

Keep up the good work, share with us and have fun!