this post was submitted on 09 Jun 2024
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No Stupid Questions

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 5 months ago (1 children)

It's a scientific fact that you are what you eat. So following that logic, you would become a cottage cheese slime.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

New idea for a Stardew Valley mod :))))

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Since the comments indicate this is really a food budget challenge, let's talk about that. What is your monthly budget for food? Do you have any dietary restrictions you want to target?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

My budget at the moment is CAD$250 per month. 750g of cottage cheese a month would run me $225 at $7.49 a package. As others have indicated, it's an unhealthily low amount of calories despite it meeting my protein requirements. The only dietary restriction that I need to target is getting enough protein for maintenance of muscle mass. The reasons are twofold: firstly, as I've indicated elsewhere, I have had issues with ED in the past. I fear that losing muscle mass would cause a relapse and I can't afford that at present. More importantly, however, is that my current employment is fairly physical, so I can't afford to get weaker either.

So, to summarize: $250/month, maximizing protein per dollar.

Issues with cottage cheese idea:

  • Unfulfilling psychologically
  • Potential for malnutrition/health complications
  • Extremely low-calorie

Ideas to remedy the situation:

  • Cheap carbs (potatoes, flour, pasta/ramen)
  • Making things from raw (e.g. milk -> cottage cheese, flour -> bread)
  • Cheap meat

I think animal protein needs to be a part of the solution. Tried vegetarianism in the past and I couldn't function well on it. But all animal protein in Canada is expensive, either due to supply management (eggs and dairy), price gouging, supply and demand (e.g. price of chicken breast is ludicrous), or some other unknown factor(s). So plant based protein should also be part of the solution in spite of its lower quality. Others have suggested dried beans/lentils.

It would be worthwhile to make things from raw. I can save roughly a dollar per kg of cottage cheese if I make the cottage cheese myself from milk. I can also use the byproducts in the making of bread, furthering the value and capturing all protein. There will be a significant time cost in doing this.

At the moment we're looking at a diet of homemade cottage cheese, bread, and beans. If I can save enough doing this then I could incorporate vegetables as well, but it might be better to just take a multivitamin and eat the psychological cost. This will only be for a month, potentially two, and hopefully not more. I think I can go that long without becoming too miserable. I'd love to hear some feedback if you have any.

(Bonus solution: find a better paying job.)

[–] [email protected] 0 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

I can't tell if you're over-thinking, under-thinking, or just plain havent invested time into grocery planning.

  1. an 8kg bag of basmati or jasmine rice can be found for $15 (freshco), if you have one cup (dry, 200g) of rice that will last you 40 meals. It's about 200 calories per serving and has vitamin B as well as a handful of minerals.

  2. Chicken can be found for $3/lb (food basics) or less if you are patient and shop around and is ~120g protein per lb of meat

  3. Add in some beans $2.97 at walmart for a 900g bag of dry kidney beans, each serving gets you fiber and protein, also 25 servings.

$110 per month and you have staples and 60+g of protein per day. That leaves $35 per week to shop sales/flash food/etc for fruit, veg, and other meat.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I have neither of those stores in my area. At Walmart, chicken is $20/kg like every other store.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 5 months ago

Do you have any Asian/Indian/other ethnic grocers? Stores with a butcher counter? Are there farms nearby? you can troll whatever grocery stores you do have near you for last day of sale meats/produce and as long as you cook or freeze them the same day or the next day, they're perfectly fine. From some of your comments, you live out west, maybe try to find a few friends to split a pig, that can get the price per pound way down.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

I target about $400/month for two big kids and two preschool aged kids, and largely manage to hit my target. I shop almost exclusively at Aldi, and our diets are very heavy in dairy, crackers, frozen veggies and involve a weekly taco night and pizza night. Oh and about a dozen or two sandwiches a week.

I often have toast or vanilla yogurt for breakfast and a sandwich for lunch. I've been trying to reduce sugars over the last couple of years (I'm not actually tracking it, but just watching for high values in any processed foods I eat, and making buying decisions partly based on the sugar content)

[–] [email protected] 28 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (4 children)

That's basically the Atkins diet (Keto) without enough nutrition. It'll function like a very short, very uncomfortable, malnourished crash diet.

You'll spend the first two weeks craving carbs and sugars like your life depends on it. It's awful. After that "break in" period, the cravings mostly go away.

But that's not all. So much as lick a piece of candy or chew on some bread, and you'll get a large dopamine rush followed by carb-craving mode again. If sheer willpower and deferred rewards are at all a problem for you, this might feel like one of the hardest things you've ever tried to do.

Edit: now that I remember, my grandma tried a "cottage cheese and grapefruit" fad/crash diet back in the 80's. Turns out that one has been doing the rounds for almost a century. IIRC, it doesn't work since it's easy to underestimate how insanely difficult this is to do.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I actually tried keto some years ago on a lark. I quickly learned to avoid supermarkets since I could smell all the sugar in the baking aisle halfway across the store. Before posting this, I didn't think such a high-protein, low-fat dirt could result in ketosis but I was educated by another user on how the process actually works.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

I forgot about the smells. My sense of smell shifted to be way more sensitive to sugars and starches too - it was tough.

I didn't bother trying to track fat intake and wound up losing 2+ lbs a month that way; not bragging, but my goal wasn't all that big. I probably could have done things faster by cutting more fat, but it was already hard enough.

I was educated by another user on how the process actually works.

Fascinating, isn't it? It's like each of us is just full of survival mechanisms.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Been on keto for a decade with breaks here and there. Currently two pounds below goal weight. Feel great and blood numbers are excellent. Changed my life.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

That's awesome. Glad that's working for you! If you have any tips on building willpower for the rest of us, please share, and thank you.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

I thought I posted a reply but apparently I did not. Generally, my advice is that you need to treat everything like a really long journey and let yourself take breaks for birthdays or trips as appropriate, but get right back on track Monday morning.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Did keto for a while preparing for some on-camera work. I've never looked more cut and never been so miserable. 9/10 doctors do not recommend. The 10th one has an eating disorder.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

I agree on those stats. Don't forget: Atkins himself died from heart disease. But hey, at least you have the pics to prove it.

Were it me, the potential for humor would be impossible to ignore:

Me: "This diet is miserable, don't do this."

Also me: shows pics looking more shredded that a bowl of mini-wheats

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago

I lost 40lbs on keto and after the first week of keto flu, I felt great. No sugar crashes, no energy level drops and overall, more energy than usual. I stopped after six weeks as I couldn’t deal with the lack of flavour and texture in the food I was eating. I reached a good weight that I've maintained, 7 years later.

One thing it taught me, was to reduce the amount I eat and to balance things out if I eat more carbs than usual.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago (1 children)

For real, back when I did keto, cottage cheese with hot sauce was half of my diet.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago

I feel you. Hard cheese, bacon, and pickled eggs were my go-to. Anything with strong flavors. I did that for about a year and then stopped once I hit my weight goal.

In the middle of all that, I noticed that vegetables started to taste sweet as they do contain small amounts of sugar. Especially cabbage. I kind of miss that.

A workaround I employed was to eat lots of kimchi. Fermented foods like that contain sugar alcohols which taste sweet(ish), but are not digestible as such.

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