Concession Confessions

From dictionary.com: addiction - "the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma"

This post by Skinny Emmie resonated with me. For weeks I hid from my choices, only to realize how much it was costing me. I must admit that, as much as I try, I do have to make some concessions in my dietary choices.

Everyone heralds the benefits of quitting soda--there's even an entire website dedicated to it--but I simply can't do it. At least, not yet. During the fitness program last semester, I tried to stop because my personal trainer urged us to give up sugary drinks for water entirely. I wanted so badly to accomplish what I haven't been able in years, so I stopped buying soda at the grocery store for several weeks.

I soon discovered that, even without soda in the fridge, I found ways to get it. I started ordering Jimmy Johns every evening so that I had a reason to order a soda. Or, I'd avoid packing lunch so that I could buy a soda with my lunch on campus.

If this sounds like an addiction to you, that's because it's close. It doesn't meet the medical definition for an addiction, but it's an incredibly difficult habit to break. My mom likes to joke about how I would only play tea party if she gave me soda for my plastic tea set. That's a sweet story, but that learned behavior set me up for a lifelong (so far) addiction to sugary drinks.

Time for a little number crunching! A twelve-pack of Pepsi runs around $4. If I'm lucky, I can catch it on sale for closer to $3. That sounds a little expensive, right? My average meal at Jimmy Johns, including a sandwich, chips, soda, and tip, runs closer to $11. One of the less expensive meals on campus, normally a sandwich and soda, costs about $6. Let's say I ate on campus and ordered Jimmy Johns that night: that's a total of $17 to get my soda fix! I could buy between 4 and 6 12-packs for that much. A 12-pack of soda will last me about a week and a half. So, for the price of one day of eating out to get soda, I could have stocked myself up for nearly two months. That's not to mention the money I could have saved by cooking the food that I had on hand.

I'm doing better now. My concession confession is that I always keep soda in the house; if I don't, I'll revert to ordering in and eating out just to get my soda fix. Since I've started keeping soda around, I've only eaten out (or ordered in) a few times. When I do order in, it's usually a plain turkey and provolone sandwich from Jimmy Johns and their delicious Thinny Chips. When I eat out, it's those rare evenings when I need to have dinner between working and attending an evening meeting on campus. Even then, I try to get a light meal so that I can eat something better upon returning home.

It's a long, harrowing journey, but I'll get there.

Fashion Challenged

From dictionary.com: fashion - "a prevailing custom or style of dress, etiquette, socializing, etc."

I love Drop Dead Diva on Lifetime. If you haven't been watching, you really should consider it. My favorite (superficial) part of the show are Jane's outfits. That woman can dress! She's particularly inspiring to me because she's overweight and dresses so fashionably.

For the last few years, I've been trying to develop my style. From high school until nearly the end of undergrad, my go-to outfit was a tee-shirt, hoodie, jeans, and sneakers. Now that I'm in graduate school preparing to get my degree and hopefully a professional position, I need to start dressing like the person I am instead of who I was.

I am a put-together person, but I don't look it. Part of my problem currently is that I can't afford to buy the clothes that I want...or new clothes at all. Being overweight means not really having the luxury of shopping at consignment stores or places like Goodwill. Most of the used pieces for plus size women are either severely outdated or seem to be made for the elderly (or both). I'd love to shop at Kiyonna or Sealed with a Kiss Designs or Fashion to Figure, but those things require funds that I'm seriously lacking.

I know the look I want. I know what styles I prefer, and what colors work for my coloring. One of these days, I'll be able to say that I honestly love every piece in my closet.

I'll cross my fingers that in the fall I'll have more spare change, but until then I can aspire to use my current wardrobe as best as I can to look as fabulous as Jane.

Frustrations with Money and Health

I'm going to write about something that's been weighing heavy on my life lately: money. I promise that I'll eventually bring it all back to my weight loss journey, but please bear with me.

Money has been at the forefront of my mind since the start of this summer. I decided that I would continue at my current job at a slightly higher rate of pay for 30 hours a week. My calculations showed that this would be fine as long as I stuck to a very, very strict budget. Things have been pretty tight. Really tight. I had to stop going to belly dance, which I love, and I've had to postpone my violin lessons. Still, I was on top of things.

Until my rent went up. Until I got sick. Last Wednesday I woke up with a dizziness I had never experienced. Long story short, I was diagnosed with an inner ear infection and spent over $120 on the doctor's vist (because I was listed as being out of network because I'm away for school) and three medications. I'm fine, but when you're on a super tight budget, that's huge! That's basically my food budget for the month. I am a crazy, crazy coupon lady, but I've been slacking. I spent Saturday night watching romantic movies--I can't help but love The Notebook--and organizing my coupons. Then, I went to Southern Savers and printed a shopping list for CVS.

I shop at CVS more than other stores for a variety of reasons, but I have two major ones right now: 1) my mom puts a bit of money on my Plus Account once a month, and my local CVS accepts Plus Account; and 2) CVS is currently doing a gas card promotion. Spend $30 on qualifying purchases, and get a $10 gas card every week! It's fantastic. It costs about $50 or $60 to drive to WV and back, so that is a huge help.

Here's where the healthy eating part takes a role. CVS doesn't have very many fresh foods; if they do, they're normally overpriced. I bought several boxes of Easy Mac (as part of the gas card promotion) yesterday. I'll brag for a minute to say that my shopping trip's retail value was $116.40, and I paid $42.69. That's a savings of over $70, or 63%! Anyway, I have to find ways to make these seemingly unhealthy foods work for me, for my new lifestyle. Tonight I had a bowl of Easy Mac. To make it at least nominally healthy, I mixed steamed broccoli into it. (If you haven't tried mac and cheese with broccoli, you really should.) Is it the most healthy choice in the world? No. Was it filling and delicious and full of a very yummy vegetable? Yes!

That's my lesson. I'm going to have to scrimp and save for now. I won't always be able to buy fresh produce, but I can find great deals and coupons for frozen veggies, which are nutritionally similar to fresh veggies or arguably even better. I've learned to make small adjustments to make a meal healthier, like adding broccoli to mac and cheese or baked potatoes. It doesn't take anything away from what I want to eat, it's still inexpensive, and I'm upping my intake of good food. Overall, it's not a bad deal.