A common misconception is that eating healthy is more expensive. And, certainly, if you look at the cost of food, taking the cheapest junk and processed food compared to a head of broccoli, it is. However, there is much more to the total cost of food than just the price.
Let’s look at not just the food cost but also the actual cost impact of fast and processed foods and healthy foods. I used to be a very sick and obese man. My wife, Gwen, dealt with the effects of fibromyalgia and its symptoms for years. I can give you first-hand knowledge of the cost differential between cheap fast food with a sedentary lifestyle and a healthy diet and active lifestyle.
Our diet was consistent with the standard American diet of fast, processed, refined, and fried foods. We were also very sedentary people. I was over 450 pounds with multiple health conditions and multiple medications. Gwen was very sick and under the care of three doctors while taking seven medications.
Our Health Revolution Away From Junk Food
I began my health revolution in November 2006. (I must have been crazy to start a new lifestyle journey during the peak of Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners and party season.) Shortly afterward, Gwen jumped on board the wellness train with me.
In 2006, Gwen and I had out-of-pocket medical costs exceeding $13,000, even with insurance coverage. This cost included medical expenses and prescriptions but did not include surgeries or non-routine charges.
In 2007, our out-of-pocket medical expenses dropped to less than $7,000. In 2008, they fell to a little over $3,000. Our total medical cost for 2009 was less than $1000, and it has been under $500 per year since (except for the cost of my bicycling accident). Now we have yearly physicals and routine chiropractic visits, that’s all.
Crunch the Numbers
If we had continued our unhealthy lifestyle, odds are our conditions would have worsened and required even more medical expenses. Let’s do the math: $13,000 yearly from 2007-2023 is $176,000, the bare minimum we would’ve spent. If you add the $11,000 for 2007-2009 and then $500 per year for 2010-2023, you get a total of $17,500 in medical expenses for the last 16 years. Our new healthy lifestyle has given us a total medical savings of (drum roll) $158,500 over 16 years.
Here’s the real kicker: Our food costs also decreased because we stopped buying so much meat and dairy, the most expensive grocery items.
One of the ways you can increase your options for nutrition is by drinking Vive Shake. It’s a whole-food, fiber-rich nutritional supplement with nothing extra. Contact us today at 877-878-3009 or info@viveshake.com for more information. Next time, we’ll talk about what changes we made to decrease our medical costs and how you can get healthier food at less expensive prices.