The Cost of Low Carb May Be Too Expensive For Those Who Need it The Most

Published on: May 5, 2004

For close to a year, low carb diets, led by Atkins and South Beach has become the number one diet of choice. In fact, according to ACNielsen, 17.2% of Americans are currently on a low-carb diet. While much discussion has ensued about the nutritional benefits (and drawbacks) to this type of diet, little has been written about the actual cost of maintaining such a diet plan.

Conventional wisdom suggests that going on a diet means you would eat less and therefore the cost of your food would be less as well; but the truth is that adhering to either Atkins or South Beach meal plans, as detailed in their books, is way more expensive than the typical family currently eats. Bringing up the question whether or not the folks that need to lose those extra pounds can actually afford to do so.

The average one person household spends approximately $59 a week on their groceries according to the Food Marketing Institute's 2004 Trends report. We wanted to calculate just how much the two leading low carb diets would cost, so we broke down each recipe and meal plan (for one person) and found that strictly following the portion size and ingredients in a weeklong program on Atkins totaled $99.89 and on South Beach $91.28, almost double the norm.

Analyzing the obesity rates, according to the National Health Interview Study, reveals some shocking differences in the rates of our most correctable health dilemma: 26% of those whose income is less than $17,000 are obese compared to 18% for those individuals making over $67,000 per year. Obesity is defined as 30 pounds or more over overweight.

Sugar, fat and grains are our cheapest foods, and those are exactly the food types that these low carb diets want us to eliminate or reduce significantly. In fact the new recommendations from the Institutes of Medicine last December reinforce this thinking, as they dropped the current Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for carbohydrates from 300 grams a day to 130 grams a day, less than half. Protein, in particular fish, chicken and meats cost more than pasta and rice -- so what can an average person, who still wants to keep close to their budget of $59 a week do?

To start, read those labels and look for those hidden carbs in products you may not expect. Sugars, like high fructose corn syrup, have been added to some ketchup, pasta sauces, salad dressings, and other sauces. Also read the Nutritional Facts label and choose those products that have little or no carbohydrates.

Use the Atkins and South Beach diet plans as a guide, but replace the salmon and other more expensive fishes with a chicken breast or tofu. Always buy frozen fish, rather than fresh (most fresh fish has been previously frozen anyway) as well as frozen ground beef. There is little difference in choosing these items over their fresh counterparts, when properly frozen and maintained at the correct temperature there is no nutritional or taste difference; but you will see a price savings.

Same thing holds true for expensive fruits, like blueberries, strawberries and raspberries. Frozen at the peak of freshness, these packages will usually taste better (especially when these fruits are out of season and flown halfway across the world to your produce department) and almost always be less expensive.

Instead of Canadian or other bacons choose a lean boiled ham which could cost less than half.

Replace their mixed green salads with any dark leafy green that is lower in cost. Convenience adds to the cost and buying a bag of already mixed and wash greens could cost you up to 20% more.

Both Atkins and South Beach suggest using Extra Virgin Olive Oil on salads and in their recipes, replacing this expensive oil with canola oil can also save. Many of the spices that are ingredients in their recipes are designed to increase flavor and satisfaction; but some like basil and red miso can be expensive, use your taste buds and season to taste using common spices like salt and pepper.

And for those who want to eat healthy and save money and don't have a particular diet in mind, you may want to check out the Thrifty Food Plan developed by the USDA. On this plan, an individual spends just $43.54 a week. You can download the USDA diet at no cost at www. Cnpp.usda.gov/Pubs/Cookbook/thriftym.pdf.

Keep in mind that there are also two other proven ways to help you lose weight. Burning those extra calories through additional exercise is one of the best ways to maintain a healthy weight. Simple changes to your routine, like walking and taking the steps rather than elevators will help. Keeping a fat diary, one in which you write down what you eat every day can also help. Research shows that those people who maintain a diary actually consume 15% less food than those who don't. Use a paper diary, or for the computer savvy, you may want to try our free on-line private diary at www.philsfatdiaries.com.

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