I have $3.13 in my bank account. At the beginning of the week I had $14.46. That was all the money I had access to for the week. Having just ended my last part-time job (it was seasonal), money is tight. So how did this impact my weight loss efforts in terms of diet?

Quite positively actually. Who would of thought that having almost no money for food means buying less food, eating less food, and losing weight!!

In all seriousness, my astonishingly low bank account balance actually let to a very healthy week, food-wise. I ate surprisingly well on so little, and any cravings I had for junk food or take-out were immediately quashed by my unavoidable, un-ignorable lack of funds!

I planned almost every meal before going shopping, including snacks, and went to the grocery store with my ipod out to add up the price of everything I put in my cart-- just to be sure I didn't go over my account balance. (Who wants the embarrassment of having one's card declined when buying $12 worth of groceries??)

In the end, this is what I bought:
- 1/2 pound of almonds $3.00
- 3 zuchinni $1.67
- 2 red bell peppers $1.49
- 3 plums $0.94
- 4 apples $2.08
- 1 garlic head $0.32
- 1 yellow onion $0.42
- 1 thing of mushrooms $1.49

Total: $11.33


I really wanted to buy peanut butter to binge on, but I couldn't. Cause I'm broke. I really wanted to go to Chipotle after a long day of classes, but I couldn't. Cause I'm broke. I really wanted a lot of junky food, really really badly. But I literally couldn't buy it. Bingeing wasn't an option. Eating poorly wasn't an option. I knew that if I wanted to eat at all this past week, I couldn't blow my entire balance on one meal at a takeout place -- I had to buy what was inexpensive and would last me the entire week. Just so happens that produce fits that bill quite well.

What made the week even better was that I didn't have to go around in circles in my head, trying to rationalize going over my calorie budget on some "well deserved" takeout binge. There was no point to the mind games -- even if I somehow rationalized a binge or a bout of emotional eating I COULDN'T AFFORD ANY FOOD!!! It was frankly quite liberating.

At my apartment already, I had a small stock of beans and lentils, as well as a dozen eggs. My diet this week mainly consisted of eggs for breakfast, some combination of beans/lentils and stir fried vegetables for lunch and dinner, and fruit and almonds as snacks. Combined with my Couch to 10K program and daily long walks to and from campus, I lost.... 1.8 lbs!!!

I had a pretty great week, weight wise. And though I will be able to cash another paycheck soon, I just might consider shuttling the majority of that money into my savings account, and leaving just a teensy bit behind. Being flat broke kind of sucks, but it forces me to make healthy choices about the food I buy and eat. And that helps me lose weight. And that is awesome!