Chronicles of a Late Bloomer

With a recent personal budget crisis and no choice but to become very frugal, I must report that I am now in week 3 of not eating out nor purchasing groceries. I have no doubt that this contributed to my 5+ pound loss in the last week.

Fortunately, I had a few things stockpiled (many of which I had forgotten about) which have seen me through these lean times, including dried beans, frozen veggies, and a $5 grocery store gift card. I’m grateful for the resourcefulness, creativity, and determination which were passed down to me from my farmer grandparents. It’s very tricky, after all, to be broke and try to still eat healthily. They did it by composting and growing their own food. I live in the concrete jungle and am relegated to scraping the bottom of the barrel.

For instance, last weekend as I stared at my cupboards I wondered how I would stretch 2 eggs for an entire week’s worth of breakfasts. I didn’t have milk, fresh fruit, yogurt, or any of my other stand-bys. What I DID have were some quick oats (purchased for a baked gift — I don’t eat quick oats but rather steel-cut) whole wheat flour, and frozen berries. Voila! 2 eggs turns into a week’s worth of whole-grain muffins. Later that evening, I also made homemade crackers (a feat I have accomplished before) to eat with canned tuna and carrots for my week’s lunches.

This represents a dramatic increase in grain-based carbohydrates, which may result in some waffling on the scale this week, though I am quick to note that they are all whole grains. (Heh. I said “waffling.”) However, that might not be this week’s biggest culprit.

No, the true danger for me — Broke Betty — this week is any mention of FREE FOOD. Whether it be a friend’s invitation for Sunday dinner or a coworker’s candy jar (mercifully filled with goodies other than migraine-inducing chocolate), the thing I’m learning about free food is that it doesn’t tend to be very good for me. Also, I tend to overindulge right now because I am panicked about my personal finances and free food is, well, free.

All of this is to say that at my mid-week check-up weigh-in this morning, the scale was up a bit from what it was over the weekend. I’ve still lost more than 50 pounds, but I will be grateful for payday on Friday, an infusion of fresh fruits and vegetables, and a baby step towards peace of mind.