DAY ONE:  Breakfast was an orange and piece of bread and butter with milk.  Lunch, an apple (forgot I had apples in the fruit bowl on the table), crackers, cheese and a hard boiled egg.  More about dinner below.

I used my Facebook page to invite a lot of my friends and family to follow along as I try this little experiment.  A few people immediately expressed concerns:

Pam: Not sure how this will work - seriously, don't eat meat; however, it seems to cost more to purchase items that don't have meat products in them. If you look at the percentage of Americans on food stamps and look at obesity - one might find a connection. Mac & Cheese, other pasta quick meals or even just plain in their own packages are some of the cheapest items in the store - much cheaper than meat and even fresh fruits and vegetables. So not all obesity might be from over-eating, just not eating healthy food that will sustain the body without being all carbs. And this may not be a lifestyle choice; however only what can be afforded for food. Anxious to see what you come up with for ideas, recipes, etc. and if weight gain comes with less food choices, rather than just affecting those who frequent fast food establishments and/or purchase more expensive food items in the stores. Weigh before you start :).

Weigh before I start?  Well, as it so happens . . . I have been working to lose weight lately.  I think it is possible to do this in a healthy way (though that would be easier if I had tried this in summer when I have a garden).  But Pam has a point.

Weight: 173.7 lbs

BMI 25.6

Body Fat: 29.2%

Blood Pressure: 98/69

Pulse: 73

This at the high end of the weight range for my height, but within bounds.  I am not much of a meat eater; in fact, I am a carb junkie.  So we will see if the change in diet and the tight restrictions help or hurt me.

I think I have the menu for the week worked out.  But what about the spiritual side of this experiment?  So I have several books that I will be reading as meditations during this experiment.  Anne Lammot has become a fav, and I will start by reading “Plan B-further thoughts on faith”; as well as daily meditations from "A Place at the Table--40 days of solidarity with the poor" by Chris Seay.  And well, my Bible.  

Dinner?  I actually made home-made soup: Half an onion, two cloves garlic, three cups carrots sliced, four cups of diced potatoes, half a head of cabbage shredded and one hot-dog sized keilbasa chopped up.  Add water and one can of vegetable broth to cover, cook until vegi's are done.  My dad would have called this a boiled dinner.  I just call it good.  And in this case, cheap.  I have over half my carrots left, as well as most of my potatoes and half a cabbage.  And left over soup still.  I also had a half a glass of wine--I had an open  bottle and I won't be buying more until after Easter. 

Light on meat--but as Pam pointed out, meat is one of the more expensive things you can buy.  And I have a very tiny budget.  $21.00 a week.

Day one went well.  Day one was easy.  But it could turn out to be a very limited diet.  Pam is right--vegetables are sky high in cost right now, thanks to a cold snap in Arizona.  If I have to eat the same meal day after day, will it get too boring--will I get frustrated and give up?  

TRUTH:  On the way home, I was CRAVING a burger.  Or chicken.  Or really, anything that I could pick up at a fast food restaurant.  

I rarely eat burgers.  They are not a favorite of mine.  But knowing that I COULDN'T eat a burger and fries made me crave it all the more . . . And unlike those on food stamps, I could cheat.  I could buy a burger, and only God and I would know.  

THIS is the part that will make the whole thing more difficult.  Perhaps living in an area with no grocery stores and no fast food joints will make it a little easier to resist temptation.  If you don't drive past Frisco Freeze, you are less likely to get a big greasy burger, fries and a chocolate malt.  And the fact is, I haven't had any of those things in weeks.  But now that I have promised I won't--it is all I want.