Mum who lost 34kg in nine months shares how she feeds her family of six on a budget

A mother-of-four who lost 34 kilograms in nine months by prepping healthy meals every week and taking part in a weight loss challenge has revealed how she feeds her family on a budget. 

Sascha Farley, from Sydney, transformed her life and look in 2017 by exercising regularly, incorporating enough protein in to her diet and eating every two to three hours. 

Six years on, she maintains these healthy habits and plans nutritious meals for her family of six.  

‘Being a young family with four kids, things are tight financially and groceries are the one place we can actively save on each week,’ Sascha told the Healthy Mummy. 

The savvy mum shared a list of ways to save money on groceries – from cooking double meals every night, shopping the specials and eating vegetarian meals once or twice weekly. 

Every week Sascha uses recipes from the Healthy Mummy to make ‘quick, easy and delicious’ meals for her kids and husband. 

With the current cost of living crisis, Sascha revealed a list of ways households can save money on food. 

She suggests starting by cooking double for dinner every night, which is both time and cost effective since leftovers can be had the next day or put in the freezer. 

Opt to buy ingredients that can be used for multiple recipes. 

‘Cook a big batch of rice as a base or a big batch of pulled meat as a base – from this, you can make things like easy fried rice, slow cooked asian chicken with rice, pulled meat, nachos, or burritos,’ she said. 

Eating a vegetarian meal once or twice weekly and shopping the specials is also another great way to keep costs low. 

On one occasion, Sascha picked up two packets of meat for the price of one by keeping an eye out for deals at the supermarket. 

She also plans her meals in advance before grocery shopping to ensure only essential items are bought and avoid double-ups.  

Previously Sascha also revealed the most important aspect when it comes to losing weight. 

‘The main thing is to focus on all the little changes and knowing they all add up,’ she told Healthy Mummy.

‘It’s also super important that the traditional low calorie approach of 1,200 will only send you around in diet circles so get the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge app, calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and focus on the daily calories given to you personally. 

‘This is important in keeping things realistic and long term.’

To maintain her optimum body weight and boost her metabolism Sascha incorporates enough protein in her diet and switches her exercise routine often.

‘Whether it be the type, the time, the effort – it’s true we become conditioned to thing we do consistently for a long period of time so ‘shock’ your body and you’ll get a reaction! Weight training is amazing for changing your composition,’ she said.

As the human body consists of nearly 60 per cent water, it’s also essential to maintain health and wellbeing by drinking at least two litres of water each day.     

Sascha recommends calculating or recalculating your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) to understand how many calories you should be consuming each day based on your body weight.

‘A lot of the time we forget this one! If you’ve lost a few kilos, had a birthday or changed/changing your exercise – recalculate your daily calories as you will most likely need MORE! This will actually aid in weight loss,’ she said.

Your BMR can be calculated on the Healthy Mummy website. 

Sascha managed to lose the weight swiftly by eating smaller meals and healthy every two to three hours, and also uses this tactic today.

She said everyone who wishes to prep their meals should always plan for the week by writing a list, cook double of everything (where possible) and pick meals that freeze well as they can be ‘stashed’ for busy days. 

She also recommends getting the family involved as much as possible – especially young kids. 

‘Ask the family for their input when planning and get them involved in the cooking too – it will be more enjoyable for everyone and they are more likely to eat the food, especially the kids,’ she said.  

During the 28-day weight loss program, she drank a smoothie twice a day for breakfast and lunch to accelerate her results. 

Speaking to FEMAIL previously, Sascha revealed how she was able to cook up an impressive 114 meals and snacks for just $129 – each meal costing just $1.13 per serve.       

‘I had never prepped before, before I started doing this and focusing on my health I was the absolute opposite and was shopping every single day to buy things for dinner,’ Sascha said.  

‘I found a program called the Healthy Mummy after the birth of my daughter last year in August and decided to give it a go because I wanted to lose weight the right way.’ 

In 2017 Sascha started following the meal plan – which included meals like sweet potato nachos and snacks like bliss balls – and within five months, lost 25 kilograms despire doing no exercise.

‘I plan on Friday, shop on Saturday and cook on Sunday,’ Sascha said, adding that she will often cook for the week ahead but sometimes cooks more. 

‘It’s about knowing exactly what you’re making and what you need to buy so you only need to go to the supermarket once.’ 

Sascha said she will often replace meals that require pork, beef or chicken fillets with mince instead.

Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk