Well that was a long week! I'm very glad it's over with. It's funny because I haven't eaten much today either, but there's something about that being my choice that makes the easier to deal with. I had a vanilla mousse at midnight last night and then Taco Bell and a bloody Mary for brunch today. Something liberating about that!
I learnt a lot this week, things that are on the earlier list, but also that you need to think about calories per penny when eating on such a tight budget. Getting a healthy meal doesn't mean you'll get enough food to sustain you and your brain.
I'm sad I didn't manage to do a better job of managing food, drinks and exercise. I don't think I'm a good enough eater to manage such a challenge and not feel like crap most of the time. I like what I like and it was hard to go outside of that. Plus I spend entirely too much money on beverages. The beverages I drink don't have any calories in them, which is fine for weight control, but terrible for managing to sustain life on a tight budget.
I have a new appreciation for people who have to live of benefits everyday. It is not enough money. Period.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Last Day
So happy to almost be done! I'm tired and hungry and in need of a meal big time. Tomorrow I'll write final thoughts but for now here's how today has gone.
3/4 granola bar - $0.40
Dinner roll and slice of cheese - $0.50
2 diet cokes - $0.75
1/4 Justins French fries - $0.50
Dinner is going to be a portion of tuna casserole, which the whole thing is costing just under $10 to make and guessing my part will be $2 worth, which will lead me to a total of $4.15. If only I had made tuna casserole or something similar earlier I think I'd have felt better.
3/4 granola bar - $0.40
Dinner roll and slice of cheese - $0.50
2 diet cokes - $0.75
1/4 Justins French fries - $0.50
Dinner is going to be a portion of tuna casserole, which the whole thing is costing just under $10 to make and guessing my part will be $2 worth, which will lead me to a total of $4.15. If only I had made tuna casserole or something similar earlier I think I'd have felt better.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Penultimate Day
Ok, so penultimate is just one my favorite words, but I am on the next to last day of this challenge and I feel crappy again. The joys of a full meal on Tuesday are long gone and this chick is hungry I guess. Stomach doesn't feel it, but head does. I have had a headache all week and I know that will go come Sunday, but that really makes me feel for those that live on food stamps everyday. How do they focus or concentrate? I'm trying to do homework and it's not easy.
46 million America's fell below the poverty line in 2010, and I'm sure many others don't have good access to enough money for food. http://ethnoblog.newamericamedia.org/2011/09/as-poverty-rise-wrong-time-to-cut-safety-net.php. I really feel for these people right now, and it's sad because this week will end for me and I'll go eat somewhere great on Sunday as a "reward", start working out again, get ride of the headache and my life will move on. That's not the case for so many and I think this experience will stay with me for a long time. Not sure I want to do it every year as a reminder, but I am glad for the blog, even though I didn't want to write it, to remind me of what I went through this week.
Breakfast - cereal and milk $0.29
Granola Bar and diet coke - $0.85 - found dc for $0.35 a can
Lunch - Eggs, toast and spinach again - $1.04
Mid afternoon snack to wake up, get ride of headache and go swimming - PB and apple sandwich - $1.06.
What does that leave me for dinner???
$1.13 - bugger!
46 million America's fell below the poverty line in 2010, and I'm sure many others don't have good access to enough money for food. http://ethnoblog.newamericamedia.org/2011/09/as-poverty-rise-wrong-time-to-cut-safety-net.php. I really feel for these people right now, and it's sad because this week will end for me and I'll go eat somewhere great on Sunday as a "reward", start working out again, get ride of the headache and my life will move on. That's not the case for so many and I think this experience will stay with me for a long time. Not sure I want to do it every year as a reminder, but I am glad for the blog, even though I didn't want to write it, to remind me of what I went through this week.
Breakfast - cereal and milk $0.29
Granola Bar and diet coke - $0.85 - found dc for $0.35 a can
Lunch - Eggs, toast and spinach again - $1.04
Mid afternoon snack to wake up, get ride of headache and go swimming - PB and apple sandwich - $1.06.
What does that leave me for dinner???
$1.13 - bugger!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Volunteering at the Food Bank
Tonight after clinicals I volunteered at the SF Food Bank with Jimmy and Jeff from school. It was interesting to be there and see what their warehouse is all about, but I really wish we'd been with clients instead. Not sure I learned anything about public health by being there. We did package enough food to feed 20,000 people, that's pretty amazing. I had forgotten we were going and didn't pack enough food, so was pretty darn hungry while we were there.
Breakfast: eggs, toast and spinach - $1.05
Lunch: PB and banana sandwich - $0.65
Dinner: Baked potato, tuna, spinach and cheese - $1.85
2 sodas - $0.84
Water - $0.95
Total for the day: $5.34 Fail.
AND I REALLY WANT CHOCOLATE!
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
What Have I Learned So Far - Half Way Through
1) Your brain really does need food
2) Your body really does need food
3) I can be pretty darn snippy after several days of not enough food - sorry Jimmy
4) It is perfectly possible to eat a decent amount on $4.72 - but it's either healthy or enough, you can't really have both.
5) If you chose healthy, or close too, you only get 1200 or so calories, which for someone my height etc isn't enough to not lose weight and not enough to workout as much as I normally do
6) If you aren't organized this is impossible
7) Starbucks just doesn't fly
8) I am addicted to soda, need to get on cutting that out after this is over, probably should have done that before I started as it does eat a ton of $$$
9) I have some super supportive friends - so many of you are so sweet to keep offering to buy me coffee or food!
10) Not eating much does mess with your mind about not really needing to eat - if I didn't have to have a totally clear mind this week I would probably not bother eating that much and come in right on or way below budget
11) Living on food stamps is probably just not a great way to live. If you don't happen to live above a Safeway or down the street from a Trader Joes you options are probably even more limited. If you live in a crappy neighbourhood or the country, this could be even harder.
12) I still don't like rice or beans!
2) Your body really does need food
3) I can be pretty darn snippy after several days of not enough food - sorry Jimmy
4) It is perfectly possible to eat a decent amount on $4.72 - but it's either healthy or enough, you can't really have both.
5) If you chose healthy, or close too, you only get 1200 or so calories, which for someone my height etc isn't enough to not lose weight and not enough to workout as much as I normally do
6) If you aren't organized this is impossible
7) Starbucks just doesn't fly
8) I am addicted to soda, need to get on cutting that out after this is over, probably should have done that before I started as it does eat a ton of $$$
9) I have some super supportive friends - so many of you are so sweet to keep offering to buy me coffee or food!
10) Not eating much does mess with your mind about not really needing to eat - if I didn't have to have a totally clear mind this week I would probably not bother eating that much and come in right on or way below budget
11) Living on food stamps is probably just not a great way to live. If you don't happen to live above a Safeway or down the street from a Trader Joes you options are probably even more limited. If you live in a crappy neighbourhood or the country, this could be even harder.
12) I still don't like rice or beans!
A Much Better Day
Dinner tonight was some left over Thai food, which wasn't much, so I added toast, so that's probably around $2.33 and I had an apple earlier for $0.59 (which is shocking to me that they cost that much), so I'm rounding out today at $4.57, so if needs be I have $0.15 left, which is almost a slice of toast....what I really want is something sweet I have to admit. I wish I could finagle some chocolate!
Will Work for Food
Yup, I'm feeling much better today as I ate a full meal last night. I'm not snippy or grumpy today. I am helping a friend with SEO for her work website and in return they fed me dinner. I know some don't agree with that, but I feel bargaining and using alternative ways to get food should count, so long as I don't just but it.
For the last 4 days, I hope not to have to do that, as I get to be at home every morning and can make food I need for the day.
So far today I have spent $0.29 on breakfast, which was a cup of Frosted Flakes and half a cup of milk. That's only 200 calories, so I was starving by 10:30 and ate half of my peanut butter and banana sandwich and a diet coke. At noon I had the remaining PB and B and another diet coke.
Total as of 2:22pm: $1.78
$0.29 breakfast
$0.84 diet coke
$0.65 lunch
I may have a snack in a bit and plenty for dinner of some sort. This really is a lot easier at home than out and about.
For the last 4 days, I hope not to have to do that, as I get to be at home every morning and can make food I need for the day.
So far today I have spent $0.29 on breakfast, which was a cup of Frosted Flakes and half a cup of milk. That's only 200 calories, so I was starving by 10:30 and ate half of my peanut butter and banana sandwich and a diet coke. At noon I had the remaining PB and B and another diet coke.
Total as of 2:22pm: $1.78
$0.29 breakfast
$0.84 diet coke
$0.65 lunch
I may have a snack in a bit and plenty for dinner of some sort. This really is a lot easier at home than out and about.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)