Taylor W.

[taylorwalker94-blog]

Final post

I am so thrilled to be finally done my welfare food challenge. I meant to take pictures of all the food I ate today but unfortunately I ate everything before I thought to take a photo. I truly couldn’t have finished this challenge at a more perfect time. Today it was our final small group class and we had a potluck. I forgot about this until this morning and was very pleased that I got to partake in eating all of the amazing food. My mother also got home from my sisters house in Edmonton this afternoon and brought with her a trunk nearly full of christmas baking and goodies. What you see above is a sugar cookie and I genuinely cannot form the words to express to you how amazing it was. I had 2 leftover eggs in the fridge so for breakfast I cooked those up with some bacon and hash browns, I enjoyed a nice cup of tea with that and I didn’t realize how much I missed that until I was drinking it, then for lunch I ate a bunch of food at our potluck, and for dinner I had homemade lasagna and garlic toast. I so enjoyed eating food today it all tasted probably 10 times better than it usually does! I did have a pretty upset stomach for most of the day but i’m not even upset about it because the food tasted so yummy and made it worth while. I feel very accomplished and proud that I made it through the entire challenge. It was incredibly difficult, probably the most challenging challenge i’ve done in quite some time. I have a deeper appreciation for what it means to live on a welfare budget. I also have a deeper understanding and appreciation for the impact food has on overall health as well as our mental health. This challenge taught me discipline like i’ve never done it before. I don’t believe I have ever committed to something as I did this challenge. I was continuously tempted but I never gave in and I am very proud of that. Overall, this was a hard but rewarding challenge and I truly feel happy to have gotten to experience it. I would highly recommend anyone to give this challenge a try to see what it is like for those who struggle with this on a daily basis.  

Goodnight,

Taylor

[taylorwalker94-blog]

Day 7

Yay!! I made it. I finished the challenge. Today I woke up with a sore throat and a stuffy nose so I am very happy I am done so I can start taking my vitamins again and get rid of this before it becomes something worse. For breakfast I had oatmeal, for a snack I had an apple, for lunch I had hot chicken noodle soup which felt very nice on my sore throat and lastly for dinner I ate the last of the beef stroganoff and peas! I am so happy to be done this challenge but I am grateful to have gotten to experience it. This challenge has been incredibly eye opening to me. It is hard to believe that this is some people’s reality and I have realized that I take a lot for granted. It also has been unbelievable to me how hugely food impacts your body and your mood. I knew this prior but have never really experienced it until this challenge. I did not feel hungry at all today, which I believe is half due to my body adapting to the decreased portions and half due to the fact that I am entirely sick of eating the same foods day in and day out. I am super happy that I am done this challenge and look forward to some nice home cooked meals tomorrow!

Taylor

[taylorwalker94-blog]

Day 6

Day 6 has come to an end and that means that I only have one day left! WOO!! Today for breakfast I had oatmeal, for lunch I had two hard boiled eggs and peas, in the early afternoon I had two oranges, and for dinner I had beef stroganoff. Yesterday I did not have oatmeal for breakfast so today it wasn’t too bad but I really wanted to have my last apple, I decided to save it for my last day! Today I feel great! Drinking tons of water and I actually feel my energy levels coming back up again which is good. The fact that tomorrow is officially my last day of this challenge excites me and gives me the motivation for that last little push! My boyfriend came to see me this weekend so it is challenging not to eat what he is eating. I am cooking him dinner and then eating leftovers from the fridge! :( It is worth it though and again, I feel proud of myself that I can say I have not cheated and that I have fully embraced this challenge! I am looking forward to day 7... Well mostly after day 7 when I have completed this challenge and get to have some delicious chicken breast, rice, steamed veggies and maybe a salad!!

Taylor

[taylorwalker94-blog]

Day 5

Yay! I am so proud that I made it through another day! Holy smokes, this is quite the challenge. I am definitely having a hard time, I feel very tempted to enjoy something, anything from my stocked pantry. I thought after this challenge was over the first thing I would want to eat would be a pizza or take out of some kind however, I really just want a nice home cooked meal. Maybe some chicken breasts, rice and steamed broccoli. My mouth is watering just thinking of it. Anyway, I had virtually the same foods as I have been eating except for breakfast I scrapped the oatmeal. I needed one day that didn’t include oatmeal in it because I am getting very sick of eating it. For breakfast I had two hard boiled eggs, for a snack I had an apple (which was exceptionally delicious today!), for lunch I had soup and for dinner I had the infamous beef stroganoff. I didn’t have a headache today and I did not feel overly hungry so I feel my body is finally adjusting to the decrease in portions and calories. I’m also down 6 pounds and i’m pumped up about it! I know that may seem kind of silly but I am truly proud of myself for completely sticking to this challenge. Although there have been several temptations, I still have not given into them! Feeling proud and accomplished and ready for day 6! The optimism continues!

Taylor

[taylorwalker94-blog]

Day 4

Yay today is the peak of my challenge! Now only three days left. Overall, today went okay. The positive thing about it was that I did not feel nearly as hungry as I have been the last few days but I had a headache all day and did not feel good. So much so that I did not go to either of my classes. I don’t know if this is because of the challenge or if I am getting a bug but either way I am not feeling so good. Today I ate all the same foods as yesterday so it’s definitely getting to the point that the food is not appetizing to me any longer. It is challenging to eat the same foods day in and day out. For breakfast I ate oatmeal, for a snack I had an orange, for lunch I had peas and a hard boiled egg, and then I did get really hungry around dinner so for dinner I had a big bowl of beef stroganoff. I feel like my body is finally adjusting to the significantly less food but I hope that tomorrow I feel better. Overall, I do feel proud of myself that another day has come to a close and I can confidently say I have yet to cheat. My house has a full fridge and it would be very easy to just take some of that food however, I have not and I feel very proud of that!

Four days down, three more to go! 

[taylorwalker94-blog]

Day 3

Another day has officially come to a close and all I can say is, i’m feeling good about being one day closer to being done. This is so tough. For breakfast I ate oatmeal and an orange, for lunch I had the remaining chicken noodle soup that was left over from dinner last night, I had an apple for a snack because around 2:00 in the afternoon I was so irritable and hungry, I believe the correct term is called “hangry” and for dinner I had beef stroganoff. These meals are starting not to be so appealing to me as they were on the first two days. Especially my oatmeal, I almost wish I would have spent an extra dollar and gotten brand name oatmeal, it tastes very different to me and I’m not a fan. I also unfortunately regret waiting until the last week of school to complete this challenge because it is very hard and I have several things due. I have decreased energy levels and I’m very fatigued and this is impeding on my ability to focus and complete work. This is increasing my stress levels and it’s making me fairly frustrated. I also got a bad headache today and this is new for me because I never get them. In fact, it’s probably been a year since i’ve had one like today’s. Another thing that was challenging today was not going out for wings with friends... Almost every Wednesday I go out for wings and having to say no to my friends when they asked was tough but it’s only for one week. I am trying to keep in mind that families below the poverty line deal with these same struggles daily and instead of it being a week challenge for them, it is their reality. I do feel proud of myself for fully committing to this challenge and really challenging myself to stick to it for the entire week, even when it is challenging. Although again I consumed less than half the daily calories my body needs, i’ve lost weight, probably because I’m starving my body of adequate calories but hey, trying to stay positive here. 

See you all tomorrow!

[taylorwalker94-blog]

Day 2

I am excited to say day 2 is now complete. For breakfast again I had oatmeal and a mandarine orange, for lunch I had the beef stroganoff, when I came home from clinical I was very hungry so I had two hardboiled eggs and then for dinner I had chicken noodle soup and peas. I had 2 hours of dance practice tonight where my instructor pushed us and worked us very hard and I had to sit down for a while because I thought I was going to pass out. Trying to balance ensuring there is enough food to last me for the week as well as making sure I have enough to eat in the day. Again today, my fitness pal refuses to complete my daily food diary because again it says I have not consumed adequate calories. I not only felt very hungry throughout the day today but I’m feeling a decreased energy level and I was also very tired. I felt as though I had a good sleep last night but when I came home from clinical I had to take a 30 minute nap because of my fatigue. Overall, the food is still tasting good to me, as I do not feel sick of eating the same thing yet! Here’s hoping my day tomorrow goes even better than today! 

Taylor 

[taylorwalker94-blog]

Day 1

For breakfast I had one packet of oatmeal and an orange, for lunch I had the beef stroganoff I made last night before I went to bed, I had an apple for my snack and for dinner I had two hard boiled eggs and peas. Holy smokes, what a day. I knew it would be difficult but it was more challenging than I thought it would be. Today I had the opportunity to go to the Sheldon Kennedy Centre in Calgary with my clinical group and we stopped at Wendy’s before we hit the road. Wendy’s just so happens to be my favourite fast food place so it was hard to eat an apple of the road trip while everyone had some yummy smelling lunch. I also was curious to know if I consumed enough calories today. I downloaded an app called my fitness pal which enables you to put in all the food you’ve consumed in a day and it will add up the nutritional values etc. Unfortunately, I tried to complete my daily food diary on this app and it said, “Based on your total calories consumed for today, you are likely not eating enough”. I figured that this might be the case because throughout the day I definitely felt hungry. I did try to drink lots of water, I just think my body will need time to get used to the decreased portion sizes. I will likely have another package of oatmeal before I go to bed because I bet I will start getting hungry before then. I really missed my cup of tea this morning and will continue to miss but as for the food, it actually tasted pretty darn good. The beef stroganoff was really delicious and surprisingly flavourful. The no name oatmeal however, isn’t my favourite but it isn’t the worst thing either. Overall, it was a good first day and I hope tomorrow will be just as good! The optimism continues! 

Taylor

[taylorwalker94-blog]

Hello Everyone! 

My name is Taylor Walker and I am a 3rd year nursing student. Tomorrow I will be officially starting my welfare food challenge for my global development course. The purpose of this challenge is to better understand how poverty influences nutrition and how this struggle impacts health overall. The challenge is to use only $21.00 to shop for groceries for the week. For myself, I feel as though this is going to be quite a difficult challenge because I love to cook and I love to eat. The 3 things I will miss the most throughout this challenge is my morning coffee or tea, all of the spices I have sitting in my pantry as well as a weekly meal out I have at least once during the week. I planned as best as I could in order to stretch my 21 dollars to satisfy me for the week both for my physical demands and my mental demands as well. Nutrition and mental health go hand in hand so I am very interested to see how this impacts my overall health. Today was shopping day, I first went to Walmart, then to Superstore, after this I came home and realized I had some money left to spend so I went back to Superstore. Although I planned out what I wanted prior to going to the grocery store, I still spent a significant amount of time and did several laps. I have also never been so mindful while shopping, adding up every penny to ensure I was staying within budget. My first stop was Walmart to which I spent $7.11 and got ground beef ($4), two cans of mushroom soup ($1.14), and a bag of pasta ($1.97), then I went to Superstore and spent $12.44 on instant oatmeal ($1.99), two sachets of lipton chicken noodle soup ($1.77), a bag of frozen peas ($3.27), a large bag of mandarin oranges ($3.27) which was a huge score in my books, and 4 gala apples ($1.48), lastly I went back to Superstore and got 12 eggs ($2.76). $7.11+ $12.44 + $2.76 = totalling $22.31. I went over budget by $1.31, after getting home I priced out no name brand pasta and peas because I bought brand name of both and realized that if I had  bought the no name brand I would only have gone over by 61 cents. But I was very close and feel as though I was able to get items that are nutritious which I didn’t think I would be able to do. I will be posting everyday for the next 8 days with a total of 9 entries including this one. I am actually very much looking forward to embracing this challenge and experiencing some of the struggles people experience when all they have to spend on food is $21 in a week. 

Until next time,

Taylor