As a crafter...

[Bonbori]

I am well aware of that. I was just illustrating to the op my results without food or medicine

Ah, my bad n_n

I guess you're right. The OP's biggest problem is lack of materia and they should probably prioritise that. Food is a great way to maximise but its value is diminished if someone is undergeared in the first place.

If you want to go on the cheap use grade VI materia, the boost is similar and you have a 100% remove success rate

^
So much this. I was actually updating my alt's levelling gear yesterday and managed to find some VIs going for as low as 10-15k a piece.