Day 6: April 28, 2012

Meals=

            Breakfast: Bowl of Honey and Oat Tasteeos

            Lunch: 2 grilled cheese, 1 orange, and 3 cookies

            Dinner: ---

Today was the first day that I skipped a meal, quite the accomplishment for me considering how often I wake up too late for breakfast, or get home too late to eat dinner, or just completely forget to eat lunch. This week I wanted to make sure that I didn’t skip any meals so that I could truly feel what it means to eat a “balanced” diet with 3-square meals on only $5 a day. However, if I had taken on this week with the same life-style of eating that I am inclined to on occasion, I feel that I would have ended up with a lot more food left over. Perhaps this is part of the reason that college students are not usually allowed to apply for food stamps; in the end, so much of it would go to waste.

I ran out of my first food item today: the chocolate chip cookies! Of course they would be the first thing to go. They became my go-to “I am hungry” snack and so they disappeared. I am glad they are gone, so that I don’t eat anymore, but then I realize that in only 6 days I ate 24 COOKIES! I can’t remember a time when I ate that many cookies in so short a time, and it does not make me feel very good about myself. A great reason to avoid cookies if ever doing this challenge again; no matter how cheap they are!

I found another change I would make if I was to do this challenge again: I would not buy all of my fruit at the beginning of the week. Unfortunately, the 2 bananas and the 5 oranges I have left have started going bad. My bananas are turning brown and mushy and the oranges are drying out. These are the food items that I feel best about eating but now they are the hardest thing to eat because they have lost their appeal. (haha…peel.)

I have learned two very important things to remember for this challenge and may be beneficial if any of you decide to try this out sometime: 1)buy healthy food at intervals, rather than all at once and 2)don’t buy the sweets! It sounds difficult, but with the healthy stuff you feel better and fill up quicker, so it is a good switch to make, whether on food stamps or not!

Only one more day…