So, about that poll…I created it because I was surprised, almost shocked, at how much weight I lost over the eight days living on a food stamp budget. I lost 6 pounds. Experts suggest losing no more than one to two a week through diet and exercise. I hardly exercised, so that was almost entirely through calorie reduction.
Basically, this means that I was not able to meet my caloric needs on the diet I created. There were some days that I was so hungry I couldn’t concentrate. Other days I had plenty of food. It all depended on how much protein I had available.
I also didn’t bake bread. Since I don’t own any loaf pans (and certainly didn’t think it would be acceptable to buy them), I’d intended to construct them out of tin foil, but I never ended up making the time — so I did without. The week I was doing the food stamp project, I worked approximately 70 hours (60-70 is typical for me). I was usually so ravenous when I got home from work that I’d make whatever was simplest and then crash. That was part of the reason I did this…to see what it was like. And hopefully to make people think a little bit. It was certainly a learning experience.
There are still a couple of posts I want to write about it, but I haven’t had time. Maybe this weekend.
Overall, 48 people voted. 4.2% thought I’d gained 8 pounds. 25% thought I gained three pounds. 35.4% thought my weight would stay the same. 34.5% thought I lost 6 pounds.
This article appears in May 16-22, 2007.
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