Part of the reason I decided to start to eat healthier was to beat inflation and keep more of my hard earned money by filling my stomach up with food I could buy in bulk, with less packaging, processing and mark up. Plus avoid sales tax!
A $113 Walmart bill later tonight and a full pantry I concede that’s not possible. The fact is I am going to the grocery store more often then I used to as I want to keep my pantry full a wide variety of fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables. Maintaining my fruit bowl at work is particularly difficult as you can only keep fresh fruit so long unrefrigerated or without nitrogen before it’s spoils. Plus I’m always discovering new healthy foods on the internet that I want to try and add to my diet.
Even if ultimately it works out that I’m spending $500-$1,000 more a year or $10-20 a week more on food it’s probably worth it if I avoid diabetes even with my good state health insurance. Insulin is expensive if you read the news. To say nothing of the mandatory doctor visits. Plus you can save all the money in the world but if you die of a heart attack from excess salt, the money is worthless.
But going from being mildly obese to just over weight or even a healthy BMI can pay increadible dividends. Weight discrimination is real, in part because being healthy isn’t easy and those who are often have had to work to get there. Heavier people get worse jobs, are paid less and advance less in their careers. Moreover, there is strong evidence that people who are heavier get much worse healthcare. A skinny, fit person who has a heart attack usually gets only the best care and plus because they’re healthier overall so they recover more quickly. Fat people get to back of the line.
I am still waiting to get in for my physical next month. I can’t say I’m super unhealthy or even pre diabetic but it is clear looking in the mirror that every day I am looking healthier and people are noticing. And not just because I’ve become obnoxious about refusing sugar or even empty carbohydrates like starchy white pasta and bread. But in the mean time, maybe paying more for groceries is well worth it.
