Chapter 3. What do budget and diet have in common?

 

Neither budgeting nor dieting can provide you with a successful outcome unless they are balanced and sustainable for the long run. You can make all sort of comparisons between the two, but to map a successful approach to either one, you need to have a comprehensive plan, commit to a sustainable process, and take trusted actions to turn knowledge into a change of behavior that leads to wellness for the rest of your life.

 

How to

Some people refer to budgeting as creating a spending plan. Budgeting is much more than that. It is deciding how to maximize the benefit and reduce cost derived from making financial decisions. The same concept applies to adopting a nutritionally balanced diet that works for your health. Keep in mind that the original definition of a diet is an eating pattern to provide nutrition, not the common understanding that a diet is a temporary restriction in food intake towards the goal of weight management. Therefore, dieting is deciding how to maximize the health benefits derived from making food choices. This correct understanding of what budgeting and dieting really mean will change your perspective on how to apply these two concepts to your own life. You should consider changing your perception and way of thinking about budgeting and dieting before you consider changing your behavior.

 

 

Regardless of which comes first, create a budget that fits your eating plan or create an eating plan that fits your budget, it is crucial that you find a way to balance out money and nutrition in a sustainable plan.  In other words, you need to reach a happy medium so that neither your budget nor your food choices suffer on the account of the other. So, how do you reach that happy medium?

1. Decide on your nutritional requirements and list them in groups of protein, fruit and vegetables, dairy, and grains

2. Set a separate budget for your nutritional needs

3. Track your food choices and explore substitutions and alternatives

4. Track your expenditures on food choices

5. Review both your budget and your food choices list

6. Swap choices, prices, and adjust accordingly

7. Use free apps for budgeting and food tracking to make the process much easier

 

 

This exercise will require time, patience, and data to make sound decisions. Always update your information on nutritional requirements and seek help from appropriate professionals as needed. Your goal is to eat healthy on your allotted budget and find a balance between money and nutrition. Good news, choices, and alternatives are plentiful, it is up to you to acquire trusted data and make relevant personal decisions. 

 

Practice

Now that you know what a budget and a diet have in common, think of paying it forward and discuss your understanding of both concepts with a friend or a family member.

 

Congratulations! You can move on to Chapter 4. Ways to save money and shop for healthy foods.

To review the full module on Money and nutrition, click here.