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Jul. 19th, 2004 02:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nockergeekToday's an exercise in willpower.
See, with the very possible large dip in my income, we're having to cut costs. One of my big costs? Eating lunch and snacking through the workday. I usually get a large Coke to keep my caffeine level up, go out for lunch if there aren't any leftovers packed, and then make an additional snack run around 3:00 PM, when my blood sugar starts to dip a bit. However, all of that costs money, and that money starts to add up. A large Coke each day? That's $6.25 a week. Lunch? That's easily $5-$6 a day, so figure about $30 a week. Snacks? Another $5-10 weekly. Considering that I get paid every two weeks, that's around $80 of cash that disappears down my gullet. Granted, it's not usually that much -- I've got lunch packed at least 2 days a week -- but still, $50 or more a paycheck for food when we have lunch-makings at home is just, well, stupid.
So today, I started something different. Brought half of a sub (leftovers from lunch yesterday), a half-pound container of potato salad (ditto), and a can of Sam's Choice cola (24-pack for $3.69 at Wal-Mart). For snacks, a can of Pringles ($0.99 at Aldi's) that has to last me all week. For desert, a Star Crunch (from a $1.00 box of Little Debbies we got at Price Chopper). That's it. That's all the food I get for today (at work). The challenge is to let that be enough. No running out for extra snacks. No picking up something when I make a post office run. No going out for lunch. It's a habit I need to break, and it won't get broken unless I make a concerted effort.
(Also, making the Pringles last? That's going to be a challenge in itself. I've got a bad habit of developing the munchies and absent-mindedly eating bags of salty snacks. Need to knock that off.)
Thing is, today is both the hardest day and the easiest. It's the hardest, because it's the first day. Those habits are still fresh in my mind. They're present, and the temptation is right out in the open. So easy to get a large Coke. So easy to grab a Snickers from a snack bar. It's also the easiest day because the temptation is right out in the open. I'm aware of it, waiting for it, ready to counter it. While the first part -- resisting the temptation -- will get easier with time, recognizing the temptation will get harder. It'll get subtle. I'll forget. I'll slip and have a Coke. Not that it's a great sin to have a large Coke, but if I want to break my snacking habits, I have to treat it as one.
So... let's see if I can do this thing. So far, so good. Let's hope it holds.
See, with the very possible large dip in my income, we're having to cut costs. One of my big costs? Eating lunch and snacking through the workday. I usually get a large Coke to keep my caffeine level up, go out for lunch if there aren't any leftovers packed, and then make an additional snack run around 3:00 PM, when my blood sugar starts to dip a bit. However, all of that costs money, and that money starts to add up. A large Coke each day? That's $6.25 a week. Lunch? That's easily $5-$6 a day, so figure about $30 a week. Snacks? Another $5-10 weekly. Considering that I get paid every two weeks, that's around $80 of cash that disappears down my gullet. Granted, it's not usually that much -- I've got lunch packed at least 2 days a week -- but still, $50 or more a paycheck for food when we have lunch-makings at home is just, well, stupid.
So today, I started something different. Brought half of a sub (leftovers from lunch yesterday), a half-pound container of potato salad (ditto), and a can of Sam's Choice cola (24-pack for $3.69 at Wal-Mart). For snacks, a can of Pringles ($0.99 at Aldi's) that has to last me all week. For desert, a Star Crunch (from a $1.00 box of Little Debbies we got at Price Chopper). That's it. That's all the food I get for today (at work). The challenge is to let that be enough. No running out for extra snacks. No picking up something when I make a post office run. No going out for lunch. It's a habit I need to break, and it won't get broken unless I make a concerted effort.
(Also, making the Pringles last? That's going to be a challenge in itself. I've got a bad habit of developing the munchies and absent-mindedly eating bags of salty snacks. Need to knock that off.)
Thing is, today is both the hardest day and the easiest. It's the hardest, because it's the first day. Those habits are still fresh in my mind. They're present, and the temptation is right out in the open. So easy to get a large Coke. So easy to grab a Snickers from a snack bar. It's also the easiest day because the temptation is right out in the open. I'm aware of it, waiting for it, ready to counter it. While the first part -- resisting the temptation -- will get easier with time, recognizing the temptation will get harder. It'll get subtle. I'll forget. I'll slip and have a Coke. Not that it's a great sin to have a large Coke, but if I want to break my snacking habits, I have to treat it as one.
So... let's see if I can do this thing. So far, so good. Let's hope it holds.
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no subject
on 2004-07-19 07:10 pm (UTC)I feel you pain...
on 2004-07-19 08:14 pm (UTC)You'll find yourself wanting to get up around then too...
Re: I feel you pain...
on 2004-07-19 08:21 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2004-07-20 02:19 am (UTC)You could buy a big bag of unpopped corn and make your own at home... cheap and you can add lots of salt! =9 Fairly healthy, too! Martha Stewart once showed how to make it in a paper bag in the microwave, but I can't remember the details. You could just pop enough to fit in a gallon zip & take that to work to munch on...?
I think you just get a heavy-bottomed pot (like a dutch oven or sturdy sauce pot) and put enough oil to just cover the bottom of the pot, heat until quite hot & add popcorn (in a single layer). Stir a bit and cover. Shake occasionally with cover on until popping slows... add salt (I like garlic salt) and enjoy! ^__^v