Quarantine life had my food consumption in a NO BUENO situation. For the past year, my diet has been in a relationship rut with lots of : tacos, donuts and tortilla chips. I justified this of course by the good I was doing supporting the economy and keeping Chicago restaurants in business. According to my accountant I eat LOTS of Stans donuts…like $56 a month to be exact. I also realllllly like designer water. The kind in pretty bottles with interesting shapes, preferably plastic free and alkaline with a PH level above 8.
Of course, as many Chicagoans are, I am walking distance to sooo many fab restaurants. Some of my fave which became weekly indulgences over quarantine: Pizza Friendly Pizza, Parsons Chicken & Fish, Nellies Puerto Rican Restaurant…you get the picture!
CASH -DETOX -DIET PLAN
For the month of June-and after doing my taxes, I decided to go on a CASH -DETOX -DIET. I wanted to see if there was a correlation between impulse spending and impulse eating using my mindfulness training as a tool.
My motto for the month was: Plan Pause Purchase. Pay major bills. Pre-purchase : Ubers, transit card, Whole Foods, Marianos . CASH allowance for entertainment, impulse spending and non-essentials. Two days per month for Amazon purchases.
Impulse Spending-Impulse Eating
With mindfulness, we learn to pause and notice thoughts-sensations and emotions so we can respond versus react. I noticed from looking at my expenses , a-lot of my food spending came from two scenarios: boredom and excitement!
Amazon seemed to be a nice boredom fix and was becoming a daily habit. I also noticed the emotion of excitement when I received money , with the thought: I deserve a treat! This often meant ordering out, socializing with food and drink followed by ubers!
Food & Water Prep
If I was going to eat out less, that meant I had to food prep. I tried to make my fridge as inviting and efficient as possible to toss meals together in under 5 mins. This would include: greens, grains, bread, wraps and prepared meat. I love salsa as a topping over rice or as a salad dressing.
I bought a glass water canister with filter to save on all the designer water I was buying-the $3 a bottle of PH alkaline refreshment was running me over $150 a month.
I bought Mason jars to prep juices and protein shakes. Having prepped juices and shakes helped me be more on time versus rushing in the morning, which in turn led to less ubers.
Overall
For me, the impulse of spending and eating is related. Impulse eating makes me feel sluggish and tired. Impulse spending makes me scattered, anxious and cranky. When I eat for fuel I have more energy. When my spending is purposeful I am more joyful and less stressed.
I definitely saved money this month. I will continue to use cash for entertainment. With my extra funds, I am going to buy some new equipment to make my virtual workouts a more enhanced experience. I contributed more funds to my retirement IRA. Oh…and I bought a new workout outfit!