The Great CFC Low Income Food Experiment Challenge!

[Patroklos]

DAY FIVE

BREAKFAST

ITEM| SRV| CAL| FAT CAL| PRICE
1 BLUEBERRY MUFFIN| 2| 268| 85| .31
1 BOILED EGG| 1| 90| 62| .15
1 CUP APPLE CIDER| 2| 120| 0| .37
TOTAL| 7| 478| 147| .83

.

Simple breakfast using one of my muffins again today, good to go and filling.

LUNCH:

ITEM| SRV| CAL| FAT CAL| PRICE
1 OZ CHEDDER| 1| 110| 80| .31
2 SLICES WHT BREAD| 2| 120| 15| .14
1 GL MILK| 1| 90| 0| .33
1 BANANNA| 1| 105| 0| .24
TOTAL| 6| 425| 95| 1.02

Grilled cheese today with some mikl to know out both dairy servings plus a banana!

DINNER:

ITEM| SRV| CAL| FAT CAL| PRICE
1 APPLE| 1| 116| 0| .31
1 TBSP BUTTER| 1| 50| 50| .05
2 TBSP BR SUGER| 1| 60| 60| .03
2 CARROTS| 2| 60| 0| .19
1/4 CUP RAISINS| 1| 130| 0| .17
2 SLICES WHT BREAD| 2| 120| 15| .14
TOTAL| 4| 646| 125| .89

Forgot to thaw the chicken today so I scrapped together a baked apple instead. Turned out well, pretty tasty. Through some bread in to cover carbs and calories.

RESULTS:

SRV TYPE| GOAL| ACT
GRAIN| 6| 6
VEG| 3-4| 2
FRUIT| 4| 5
DAIRY| 2| 2
MEAT| 3-6| 1
FAT| 2| 2

Only short fall today was protien and that is because I forgot to defrost the chicken. Oh well, I got FIVE fruit servings in so I call that a win.

CATEGORY| GOAL| ACT
CALORIES| 1600-2000| 1549
FAT CALORIES| - | 367
PRICE| 2.90| 2.71

Right in the middle of the calories despite the lack of protien and I did really good on the fat today. Most importantly I saved .19 today so I am now over goal overall by only .74. I have two more days to get that down, but thats much better than before.

 

[Borachio]

That's only ~1600 calories. A slimming day, I see.

 

[Mise]

Yeah seriously this just isn't enough calories for you. Either you're undercounting or you're going to lose a lot of weight very quickly. You need to throw in more rice or you'll start to feel tired and irritable and underperform at work. 1600 calories is fine for one day, but it's simply not sustainable. And it's certainly not eating healthily! I've never seen any pictures of you but being as you were in the navy I assume you're relatively fit, not overweight, and fairly active. In that case, you probably need more like 2600 calories a day.

Just for some context, 1600 calories is even lower than the calorie requirements of 7-10 year olds, according to the UK health service.

 

[Patroklos]

I feel you dude but I am literally forcing food down my throat for this experiment, I am eating more than I want to. I might be under reporting but I can only use the labels as my guide. I am using the American Heart Association as the guide for calories which puts 1600 as healthy (linked in the OP) and I see no reason to challenge them but I am open to criticism.

BTW I am using the AHA guidelines because my fiancé works for them and part of this challenge outside CFC was to demonstrate to her that I could meet AHA requirements.

Rest assured however I will be in range for overall weekly calories, being off 50 for one day is irrelevant. However in hear you so rice is food of choice today.

DAY| CAL
1| 1322
2| 1563
3| 1723
4| 1636
5| 1549

Average daily value is 1559.

 

[Zelig]

Unless you're quite a small man and are largely sedentary, it's very unlikely that 1600 Calories per day meet your requirements.

 

[Patroklos]

The AHA disagrees with you. It also matters what calories you are eating as your body doesn't utilize all foods the same. All I can say is 1600 won't be the daily average.

If you guys had a problem with the calories why didn't you say something before we started!?! I can't change the rules 6 days into a 7 day experiment.

You got me thinking though so I found this site to see what my calorie intake would mean.

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

Male/160/5'6"/no exercise (which describes the poor accurately)

Maintain: 1750
Weight Loss:1401
Extreme Weight Loss: 1280

 

[Borachio]

Yes. I don't see what's wrong with low calorie intake for an adult in otherwise good health.

Fasting for two or three days is quite a natural thing to do and something the adult human body is designed for. Rather than a continuous stream of food three times a day from cradle to grave. Which is frankly ridiculous.

Fasting for longer periods like a week or 10 days shouldn't be a problem either - provided you're very inactive. Longer than that, I think you really need to know what you're doing.

This is with maintaining water intake, though.

Without water, depending on the climate, I don't think it's advisable to go much longer than 24 hours, to be on the safe side.

 

[Quackers]

Unless you're quite a small man and are largely sedentary, it's very unlikely that 1600 Calories per day meet your requirements.

I think he is on a diet, ergo he doesnt want to meet his body energy requirements just from food he wants to use the excess fat to make up the few hundreds of calories he isn't getting.

 

[Patroklos]

DAY SIX

BREAKFAST

ITEM| SRV| CAL| FAT CAL| PRICE
1.5 CUPS RICE| 2| 300| 0| .16
1 EGG| 1| 90| 62| .15
1 CUP APPLE CIDER| 2| 120| 0| .37
TOTAL| 5| 510| 124| .68

.

Breakfast rice again minus the cheese. I used fresh rice this time and it worked out much better.

LUNCH:

ITEM| SRV| CAL| FAT CAL| PRICE
1 OZ CHEDDER| 1| 110| 80| .31
2 SLICES WHT TOAST| 2| 120| 15| .14
1/4 CUP RAISINS| 1| 130| 0| .17
TOTAL| 4| 360| 95| .62

I had grilled cheese again today simply because I was craving it. I cut the milk today to save some cents.

DINNER:

ITEM| SRV| CAL| FAT CAL| PRICE
2.25 CUPS RICE| 3| 450| 0| .24
.25 CN GREEN BEANS| 1| 20| 0| .15
2 CARROT| 2| 60| 0| .18
4 TBSP PEANUT BUTTER| 2| 400| 280| .28
1/4 CUP RAISINS| 1| 130| 0| .17
TOTAL| 9| 1060| 280| 1.02

Another meatless dinner but I did put some penut butter in there (eaten with the carrots and raisens) to cover the protien servings and get my calories up. That combined with some more rice mixed with the green beans and one of the carrots stirfried in some soy sauce made up the meal.

RESULTS:

SRV TYPE| GOAL| ACT
GRAIN| 6| 7
VEG| 3-4| 3
FRUIT| 4| 4
DAIRY| 2| 1
MEAT| 3-6| 4
FAT| 2| 0

One off on dairy today and thats it. I had one extra carb to pad the calories. Very healthy today, I used maybe a teaspoon of butter int he grilled cheese today but not enough to matter. Half todays fat came from the peanut butter but again that is good fat.

CATEGORY| GOAL| ACT
CALORIES| 1600-2000| 1930
FAT CALORIES| - | 437
PRICE| 2.90| 2.32

I don't think these values can disappoint anyone. Saved money, maxed out on calories, and kept the fat in check.

So that leaves me $2.44 for my last day and I want to get my calories up again to get the weekly average to at least 1700 to satisfy those who had commented on my 1600 goal. We shall see...

 

[TomYo689]

This is fascinating

 

[Borachio]

That's quite a lot of rice. I doubt I'd want to eat that much rice all in one go.

I find rolled oats (i.e. uncooked porridge - porridge itself I detest don't especially like) soaked in milk overnight is an efficient and cheap way of getting those sorts of quantities of grain in the diet.

 

[Patroklos]

Yeah, three and a half cups in one day is a lot, I only did that to get the average calories up. The stir fry actually wasn't bad so it wasn't as difficult as you might think outside of sheer volume.

 

[Mise]

I didn't see in the rules anything that said you were aiming for 1600 calories per day, otherwise I'd definitely have said something. If you're aiming to lose weight then 1600 is less crazy, but it does mean that your body will subconsciously choose to do less activity than if you were on a less restrictive diet. It's better to have a more moderate decrease in caloric intake (say, eat 300 calories less than normal) and consciously increase your activity/exercise (e.g. run a mile every day/two miles every other day) if you want to lose weight, as it will be less dangerous and more enjoyable too. That may be beyond the scope of the experiment but tbh if the point is to prove that a poor person can have a healthy lifestyle then you shouldn't really assume they're all unusually short men or completely sedentary. Someone working behind a shop till standing up all day will burn a hell of a lot more calories compared to my well-paid desk job.

Frankly, I think you can get 2000-3000 calories a day living off $20 a week, just by adding more rice to main meals and eating more fatty foods instead of the leaner stuff you're eating.

 

[Zelig]

Frankly, I think you can get 2000-3000 calories a day living off $20 a week, just by adding more rice to main meals and eating more fatty foods instead of the leaner stuff you're eating.

Also by adding more low-cost oils and eating more meals.

 

[Borachio]

Yeah, three and a half cups in one day is a lot, I only did that to get the average calories up. The stir fry actually wasn't bad so it wasn't as difficult as you might think outside of sheer volume.

And that will be polished white rice, I take it?

Which, unless I've been grievously misinformed (always possible, if not quite likely), is severely lacking in some essential nutrients, and, of course, roughage. And this last is why I prefer oats.

Brown rice takes such a lot of cooking - 40 mins as opposed to 15 mins for white.

Potatoes are a very nearly complete source of nutrition - at least, compared to rice anyway.

And while we're at it, have you considered the cooking costs in these meals?

 

[Patroklos]

If you don't rinse your white rice it is far more nutritious.

Mise, all the serving requirements were referenced to the AHA link in the OP for boh servings and overall caloric intake.

All I can say is that for me, a 31 year old dude of healthy weight and average height most calculators I have seen say that I have to reduce calories to 1400-1500 to lose weight of any significance and eat 1700 pretty consistently to maintain weight.

The simple facts is the US poor are sedentary. It's a major factor in our obesity epidemic. But I think I proved yesterday that I can get calories up to the max daily value if I want to. That was also my cheapest day. I should end up with a daily average of 1700-1750.

As far as excersise I agree with you entirely, if we could get the poor to embrace excersise regularly the would need more daily calories. That is however not the point of the experiment, we are just seeing whether to poor as they exist now can eat healthy on a very shor budget (shorter than than what the poor can actually afford).

And while we're at it, have you considered the cooking costs in these meals?

Utilities are not generally included in anyone's food budget, poor or rich. There is no problem with the US poor having electricity or gas.

A gas or elective stove usage would be a I significant portion of an energy bill including home heating/water heating/overall electronic usage.

I have only used my gas stove BTW, no electric appliances whatsoever besides the refrigerator.

 

[Zelig]

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

Male/160/5'6"/no exercise (which describes the poor accurately)

Maintain: 1750
Weight Loss:1401
Extreme Weight Loss: 1280

Mise, all the serving requirements were referenced to the AHA link in the OP for boh servings and overall caloric intake.

All I can say is that for me, a 31 year old dude of healthy weight and average height most calculators I have seen say that I have to reduce calories to 1400-1500 to lose weight of any significance and eat 1700 pretty consistently to maintain weight.

The simple facts is the US poor are sedentary. It's a major factor in our obesity epidemic. But I think I proved yesterday that I can get calories up to the max daily value if I want to. That was also my cheapest day. I should end up with a daily average of 1700-1750.

I really don't see how you can get those numbers in good faith.

Using the calculator you linked for a 30 year old, 5'9" (average male height in America), 160 pounds (normal BMI) male with little/no exercise, maintenance is 2013 Calories.

A daily 300 Calorie deficit will see you losing roughly a pound every 10 days.

 

[Borachio]

That is however not the point of the experiment, we are just seeing whether to poor as they exist now can eat healthy on a very shor budget (shorter than than what the poor can actually afford).

I can see that. And the answer has to be yes. And, indeed, on substantially less than that if you resorted to communal kitchen arrangements.

But it does take considerable - what's to call it? - skill and knowledge to do so. Something that is not typically at the beck and call of the average poor person, who generally has a lower educational attainment than many others.

Add to that, the idea that poor people (according to George Orwell, in the Road to Wigan Pier, which also details this exact same experiment in the 20's), will often choose to have something "tasty", and hence high in saturated fat, rather than something usually considered bland, although healthier.

 

[Patroklos]

I really don't see how you can get those numbers in good faith.

Using the calculator you linked for a 30 year old, 5'9" (average male height in America), 160 pounds (normal BMI) male with little/no exercise, maintenance is 2013 Calories.

A daily 300 Calorie deficit will see you losing roughly a pound every 10 days.

I gave you my values, what do you want me to say? You will note there is a delta between the "maintain weight" and "lose weight" value meaning any value between them will maintain your weight.

Another site referencing 1600 as the lower end:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/309232-how-many-calories-should-an-adult-have-a-day/

They are heardly a light weight when it comes to healthy living.

My average caloric I take is NOT 1600 however, so worry not.

 

[dutchfire]

The plan for the weekend:

Eat the remaining 1/2 Turkish bread, 1 slice of cheese, 6 eggs and 2 glasses of milk for lunch/breakfast.

Eat Penne Rigata (€0.49 per 500g, probably need 100g for two days, so €0.10) with a mix of stirfried carrots (500g, €0.49), canned green beans (450g without water, €0.69) and tomatoes (500g €0.89). Eat apples (500g, €0,50) on the side.
This would put me at €22,33 in total for the week, quite close to the aim of €20,00 Especially given my lunch constraints.

Reality of the weekend:
All went according to plan until after dinner on saturday (ate slightly less than half of the veggies). Then I went drinking with a friend of mine, spent roughly 10-20 bucks on beer (and crisps ). Was totally wasted today and survived on a glass of Coca Cola and an apple.


Conclusion:
I think the original weekend plan would have been enough if I hadn't gone drinking. This would put me slightly above the 20 line. If I could have changed my lunch to eating bread and cooking a meal in the evening (no mensa), then getting under the 20 bucks would have been possible. My dinner for the weekend was ~€1 per meal, so that would have saved me €7.80 over the week. I think my breakfast and bread dinner during the week were a little on the low side, I would have spent more on them in hindsight, and maybe also another serving of fruit a day. I guess this would put me nicely in the top of the 15-20 range.

So I think it is possible to live on 20 a week, however, there is little room for luxuries (you can't go drinking! ), drinking anything but water (say soda) in large quantities is mostly out of the question and your choice of food is pretty limited (I usually eat bellpepers as vegetables, but they're about twice as expensive as carrots). If needed, I could easily do this again (and given less real life contraints, be successful), but I'd prefer not to.