I got my band in October 2007, and DH and I had always said we'd notice a definite difference in our grocery bill... Well we haven't--- I've become a TOTAL FOODIE. I've gone from eating to fill my stomach to wanting great quality food that I can savor the flavors from, enjoy the textures, and change up the pairings in order to really make the meal something extraordinary.

In the process, our family has decided to stop eating processed junk (the kids miss their Cheerios!), and instead focusing on eating primarily organic foods, minimally processed, no artificial anything... we've ALL given up soda, chips, cookies, etc and instead relish the fresh organic local produce I buy on a weekly basis.

Our newest "favorite food" is this bread we've found called "Ezekial 4:9." OMG it is unlike ANY other bread we've tried... and it is truly something that makes my tastebuds rejoice...

Anyway, I just wanted to share one of the consequences of Lap-Band and wonder if others have experienced the same thing... In fact, if anything, our food bill has gone UP. It is funny, I am a total Target shopper and love checking out their organic food line every time I am in there... I went to Wal-mart for the first time in 3 months or so and walked through the food section... I was actually REPULSED. There was nothing in the food section that was remotely healthy... it was all processed junk full of additives... I've become a food snob... :thumbdown: And to think 7 months ago, I would have eaten anything that wasn't nailed down... :cool2:

I'm there with you. We eat better than before. It is really sad that it costs more to eat healthy than junk!

My bill has doubled because I eat 5-6 small healthy meals a day. I am also trying to minimize the processed foods especially those with HFCS. I eat fresh veggies, fruits, whole grains, and lean proteins. It sucks that it SOOOOO EXPENSIVE to eat/be healthy.

we havent noticed that we're spending less, if anything its gone up - for the same reasons, we buy better food.

Where we have really noticed the savings is on our restaurant bills. We used to go out to eat several times a week, and now it just isn't worth it. In fact, we don't really like eating out anymore because we don't feel we have the time to chew well and eat slowly, plus the atmosphere is noisy and rushed. If we do eat out, we order an appetizer or share an entree, plus we drink just water, so our restaurant bill is less than half of what it used to be.

We do have a drop in our regular food bill too, because we were eating healthy before--lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, not much prepared food. So it's not so much that we eat different things now, but we sure do eat a lot less!

Well, I wish I could say my household is the same! I keep trying to be organic and healthy... but my husband just doesn't want to come on board! :laugh: I buy organic stuff and local produce (Dallas has a great Farmer's Market) and he teases me for being "green". hee hee... Hey, I can keep trying, right?

Someday I'll report he's been converted... :biggrin:

It seems even if we are eating way smaller portions, that we have to buy healthier food. And in turn buying healthier foods is more expensive. So even if we're buying less, the food costs more so in turn we're probably spending more in the store than we did when we binged.

Plus these dang gas prices. Dag nabbit! lol

The overall feeling is that if you are buying for one the food bills go down. But if you've converted a household the bills go up.

Rock on though!

Eating well in America is costly. We do create plenty of cheap processed food for the masses...I wonder if that has some impact on this obesity epidemic????

I have had 1 fill 1.5, and I am wondering what is the right quantity of food I should be eating at a meal, is 1 or 1 1/2 cups too much?

I am single, and was spending around $150/month on grocery pre-band. Now, I spend around $30.00. I eat no breads, and very little meat (I eat a lot of beans with every meal,as well as a ridiculous amount of hummus, etc. for protein). It has worked for me-Tracey

I'm right there with most of you. I'm trying to get rid of processed and pre-made foods from our house. Lots of fresh and organic fruits and veggies, lean meats and whole grains. Even though we have some real nice healthy grocery stores here I'm still paying about the same. I feel like it's much better for all of us though. We're not all the way there but we've definately made a lot of changes for the better. I do crave those crappy snack items at times but now I also find myself craving a mango or roasted veggies or grilled seafood and chicken.

Our food bill fluctuates more with the season. We raise cattle, so always have our own beef, but with summer, we grow some veggies and can hit the local farmers market and our bills drop drastically!!!

Most nights for us, dinner will consist of a meat---grilled, and a side veggie or salad, and that's it. Winter time when I have to buy veggies at the store, and I cook in---I find myself doing crockpot stews etc----and my food bill goes back up!!

Our dining out costs have went way down too. We still go as frequently, but we always share....so it is much cheaper!

Julie, I would say the cost of the highly processed food, has a HUGE impact on the obesity rates especially in kids, and single moms! I know when I was in that position, some of the cheapest things you could buy to give a kid for lunch were Ramen noodles! Nothing of value in them----but good grief look at the carb count! And it is a lot cheaper to mix a box of hamburger helper than it is to buy a lean meat and all the fixings for a nice salad. I can do that now, but there were times I could not! I think you are right, there is a HUGE connection. Just in the last year, our local Farmers Market has been able to accept the EBT food stamp cards. It was pathetic, they could go to Walmart and fill a basket with soda pop and candy bars and pay for it with food stamps, but they could not go buy a bag of fresh apples or fresh corn on the cob.....now they can, and the results shocked the state, the amount spent on fresh produce was much higher than they expected!

Kat

This is an interesting topic and one that I was planning to blog about. Year over year our food bill has gone done about $400 - $600 a month!!!

We have always eaten organic fresh foods and try to avoid processed foods, so this might be why ours has gone down. You see an increase in cost since you have changed foods -- foods that are better for you cost more. Also the cost of food has increased in general, so that might be why.

In April 2007 we spent $481 on groceries and $578 on eating out in Restaurants. In April 2008 we spent $320 on groceries and $218 on eating out. We have saved a ton of money!

Our grocery bill has gone down 30%; our restaurant bill has gone down virtually 100%; what I'm saving on NOT buying buckets full of prescription medication is buying me a new truck!!!

On the other hand, my clothing bill went up for the first time in decades.

The prices I was getting as a life-time member of Omar the Tent Maker Clothing was pretty cheap....

then again, there ARE bargains at the Good Will....new as far as I could tell Pendleton in my (NEW) size for $15!!! Yikes!!!

My clothing bill has gone waaay down as I can now shop at regular stores and not the overpriced big and tall shops. I went into KMart to buy some hardware and saw the mens clothing section so I went over there. I was amazed that I could fit into XL shirts for just $7.99. The same shirts would cost me $29.99 at Casual Male.

My grocery bill is also way down but I do shop more often because the foods I am buying now can't be stored as long. My restaurant bill is less than 75% of what it was before.