I’ve been thinking about my “Keto on the Cheap” series for a week or so now, and I think I’ve solidified the goals and ground rules. The rules may change over time, but I have to start somewhere since September 1 is less than three days away.
Goals
My goals for this project are simple. I want to:
- Re-establish the habit of eating low-carb foods all the time with no exceptions or excuses
- Reduce the amount of money that we spend on food without resorting to pasta, rice, and bread
- Provide resources and encouragement for folks who think they can’t get healthier because it’s “too expensive”
- Build community and accountability for folks who are sick and tired of being sick and tired
Rules
Deciding on some ground rules helped me develop some direction with this challenge. After all, how can I measure success if I don’t have metrics?
- Be honest — I realize that a rule like that might seem like it goes without saying, but I can’t meet my goals without integrity and transparency.
- Record data — This rule might seem too restrictive for some folks, but I’ve always been a data hoarder. Whether it’s weight, blood sugar, blood ketones, or the foods I eat with nutrition data and timing, I have always collected data so that I can analyze and tweak later if I need to do that. If things aren’t going the way I expected yet I don’t have data to look at, I can’t develop strategies to keep things moving forward.
- $150 per week grocery budget — That might seem like a lot of money to some folks, but as I look back at our grocery spending over the past few months, we’ve been spending about $275 per week on the five of us. That kind of spending will not help us meet our financial goals, and it certainly isn’t helping me meet my health goals either.
- No requirement for labels like organic, grass-fed, etc. — All too often, people allow the pursuit of perfection to be the enemy of “good enough”. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard folks in low-carb circles say things like, “You’ll spend less money on food in the long run, so you’ll be able to afford the higher quality foods.” While that may be true, in my experience, there are folks like me who need to do something now but there’s nothing to cut out to make room for that grass-fed ribeye that you’d love to have for dinner. That’s why I want to show folks that small changes can yield huge results, and money doesn’t have to be a barrier.
- Report daily — Whether it’s checking in on social media or making blog posts, I won’t be a stranger. Folks who’re interested in what I’m doing will probably get really tired of my sharing, but that sharing is what I require to keep me accountable.
As I said in a previous post, I’m really excited about this project, and it feels great to have direction and purpose. Nothing but good things will come from this experience, and I can’t wait to see how it all unfolds.