I started out my first day of the challenge with a “plan of attack.” I knew exactly what I was going to eat for each meal. This is because I prepared my meal items the night before. I thought if I knew what was coming next, then it might make things easier.

I started my day off with breakfast around 8:30am, it’s the usual time that I eat. Instead of the 6oz of yogurt, whole banana and cup of cappuccino that I’m used to, I had 3oz of yogurt, 1/2 of a banana and water. It didn’t seem like that much less while I was eating it, however, I did notice my stomach started to grumble around 10:30. I still had 2 hours until my lunch break. Luckily I had a desk full of tasks to keep me busy and my mind off of the fact that my stomach was talking to me.

Once 12:30pm rolled around, I was definitely ready to eat something. I had made a fried egg the night before. I placed it on an English muffin and toasted it. I also had about 6 pieces of celery that I filled with peanut butter. Again, I didn’t notice at the time that it was a smaller meal than I was used to for my lunch. I was hopeful that the protein in the meal would go a long way.

Day 1 LunchAfter lunch my afternoon proceeded as usual; I still had lots to keep me busy, so I was not focused on whether I was hungry. On my drive home I noticed I started to get a slight headache, this happens sometimes so I didn’t think much of it. It got worse when I got home. It was 4:15pm. I knew my next meal was going to be around 6:00pm. I tried to tell myself that I could wait until my next meal and that I didn’t need anything. I sat down at my computer to check email and the headache was getting worse. I hadn’t planned on a before dinner snack, but I did have 1/2 of my banana left from breakfast. I decided to eat half of the banana. It did help; my headache went away for a bit. It ended up coming back about half an hour later.

For dinner I ate chili over rice; I had prepared both the night before. I had 1 cup of rice and about 3/4 cup of chili. I made the chili using 1 can of diced tomatoes, 2 small cans of tomato sauce, 1/3 can of black beans, 1/2 of a packet of chili seasoning and I cut up 1 link of chicken sausage to add a meat to the chili. This batch of chili made enough for 3-4 servings, so I will be eating the chili multipleDay 1 Dinner times throughout the week. I also shredded some cheese and added 2 tablespoons of sour cream to the chili. It was a decent sized serving, made mostly of rice. I took my time eating my meal. I thought if I spaced out eating the meal, the effects of the food would last longer. Eating this meal did help my headache to go away.

I ate this meal while with my family. Their meal was significantly different than mine– complete with ice cream for dessert. Although it was offered to me, I declined the ice cream as this is something that might not be available to a S.N.A.P. recipient.

Overall, today was okay. I did experience mild side effects of being hungry, but these side effects pale in comparison to those experienced by people who live this life day in and day out.

I am curious to see how tomorrow’s meals will go and if I experience the same or different effects.