Day: 14 and 15

So I didn't make it quite to two weeks. Too many adverse effects. Just from 13 days of not eating properly - limited fruits and veggies, good quality whole grains, and variety in foods. The effects of such a limited diet are also very taxing on my overall thought process during the day - it's all I could think about, and not so much that I could do about. Tons of planning and number crunching didn't help a great deal. I could see myself becoming more moody, more subject to the ups and downs of a regular day, and lacking any desire to continue with my passions - writing and photography. And people wonder why those with little money have trouble digging themselves out of a hole.

I cannot believe how much the lack of nutrients in such a short period affected everything about me (think: Space Cadet). I even began having trouble with walking to and from work and school - the lack of energy and concentration led to me taking public transportation more and more ($2.50 a shot) - and even with basic things like crossing the road. I was in a daze and my judgement and reaction were so compromised. (I won't tell you how I almost got hit by a car). I look like total crap - like I'm not eating well, sleeping enough or enjoying anything.

My food choices have also become seriously skewed. Usually I would not consider going to fast food burger joints for meals, and coffee shops for anything other than a snack and a coffee. Forget vegan and organic. I didn't care about the quality of food I was eating. It was all about how much I could get in for the least amount of money. Yesterday I became a total rebel, against my own authority (I've always had a thing against arbitrary authority figures in my life). Here I was, Starbucks sandwich and a slice of lemon loaf ($6.51) for breakfast one day, crepe from Granville Island for lunch ($7.78), and then I went grocery shopping ($45.82) and bought all sorts of glorious things! Ingredients for my 7 layer dip (actually based on this awesomeness of a dip!!!) - rice crackers, avocados, tomatoes, serrano peppers, lemons, refried beans, sour cream, monterey jack cheese with jalapeno peppers, red peppers - (though I've used real sour cream and cheese in my version). I also got some fruit and nut mix along with my 10 grain hot cereal. Honey. Cadbury mini-eggs (told you I'd get chocolate), carrots, two big bags of Neal Bros' organic cheese puffs (these are my favourite!), and edamame hummous. The bean dip with rice crackers has lasted me two full meals and another snack for tomorrow at work. My breakfast is taken care of for at least the week. I forgot Soy Milk...so that's on tomorrow's rampage about town.

Then my friend showed up last night with a bottle of wine, which we devoured, and I busted out the Cadbury mini-eggs. Chocolate and wine always go together. My body must be totally out of whack, 'cause that half bottle of wine really went to my head, or maybe it was the sugar rush from the chocolate... this morning I stayed in bed until the last possible second. This meant - another breakfast and lunch out. (Anyone see the vicious cycle happening here?) So breakfast at ..... McDonald's on the mad dash to work. Hahahahahaha. Like a full on, 2 hashbrowns, sausage McMuffin, and massive coffee, meal deal that cost me just over $5. Then for lunch I went to....Starbucks again...a Grande coffee, a bagel with cream cheese and a double chocolate chip cookie - I think that's about $10 for the day. I would never eat like that on a regular day. It's just too unhealthy. Dinner was left-over 7-layer dip with the rice crackers and some tea. Also mini-eggs to snack on.

For the last two days (Day 14 and 15), I've said screw it. My body just can't handle the boring, bland, repetitive nature of such a limited budget on food. It's really not worth messing up my whole system to prove this. About a year ago I decided to actually take time to listen to what my body was telling me. Since then, I feel so much better, have tons of energy, don't have emotions swinging out of control anywhere near as often, and just love every day so much more. After just two weeks of ignoring what my system was telling me and going by the numbers alone - I just can't believe what a negative impact it has had on me. I am going to take a few more days of body resetting, and see where I am at.
Maybe there wasn't enough of a transition period. Maybe I jumped in headfirst and decided to see where it would lead. That's how I tend to do most things. I just jump in and give it a shot.

Let's see what I've spent recently:
Day 14: Breakfast - $6.51, Lunch - $7.78, grocery shopping - $45.82.
Day 15: Breakfast - $5.69 , Lunch - around $5 (forgot to get my receipts).

Coming to the end of Week 2: For the week I had a budget of $31.71. I spent - $87.52
Week 3: For the rest of the month, I have $30.19. That seems a little rediculous, considering there are 2 1/2 weeks left in the month.

So a few days of eating out and my whole month is thrown into absolute chaos. Not that it was ever under control. It's been balancing precariously ever since day 1 - even with the stocking up I did, and the fact that I have all the staples of a standard kitchen. If I really was stuck on $5 a day, I don't think I'd last long before I became super stressed out, and fell into a rotten cycle of bad health and no money. Having regular access to a variety of nutritious foods at reasonable prices seems like a basic thing to ask for, yet, so many people are stuck without even this.

I'm thinking that at least double what I've budgeted is much more reasonable for someone like me (and that's with careful budgeting and planning). I'm active, energetic, happy and busy. It takes a lot of food to keep that up. And not just filling junk - good quality, nutritious food. It's also about my state of mind. Having something taxing on you in your every waking moment is a serious blow to your ability to carry on in your day-to-day activities. Just 2 days after beginning the boycott of my own challenge and I feel happy, light, hopeful, energetic, and so much more at ease with whatever my day throws at me.

The fact that so many people in this city are making so little money, and having to deal with way more taxing financial situations than myself, just seems completely rediculous. I'm not sure who deals with minimum wages, who decides what they should be at, and who decides when they should be increased. Honestly I don't give a damn. It's disgusting that in a country that's suppose to be so awesome, that we treat our own residents so poorly and expect so much from them. When will someone wake up and realize that this can't continue? When will the people that are living in these circumstances make a stink and demand more? Maybe they're just to malnourished to fight back...