I graduated from college just a few months ago and like almost every other recent grad, my wallet is thin. The city is expensive, as are some habits I’ve picked up while under the impression of having disposable income. I’ve been living like a yuppie: going out to dinner and drinks, constantly satisfying my addiction to not brewing my own coffee, and basically bleeding money every time I step out into the street. I’ve been really trying to track my spending and develop some kind of system that helps me save, even if just a little bit. I’ve noticed that I spend a ridiculous amount of money on food, especially while I’m at work. So, I’ve stopped buying food on my lunch break. This seems like a very obvious discovery (buying lunch every day is expensive), but it’s so easy to rationalize buying food, it takes a big change to actually be prepared enough to pack lunches and remain satisfied.

I’ve been eating salad every day for lunch; salad that I make at home before the long day, salad that I look forward to eating. There are so many perks to packing a lunch. Regardless of whether or not you are exceptionally skint, from a health perspective, it feels great to really control what you’re eating. Eating well for breakfast and lunch makes me feel accomplished, and motivates me into eating well for dinner. I find myself drinking a lot more water when I’m eating a lot of vegetables, and overall I’ve been seeing the benefits. I don’t feel gross and sluggish after my lunch break, and I’ve actually lost a few pounds!

Compare my simple salad to what I probably would have had for lunch. On my block at work there is a Boloco (Inspired Burritos), a BGood (Real food, real burgers), and DeLuca’s Market (chicken salad that makes you sick). If I am buying my lunch during my half hour break, I go to one of these three places, and this is what I’m eating:

There is no need to waste almost my entire day’s worth amount of calories on a meal that will likely give me a stomachache! My salads have been awesome and I am not filing these numbers into my food log:

I’m not going to say that I’m always eating well, but I’ve been trying, at least during my work week, to keep my head in the game and to keep my March goals on track. I’ve been doing well and I’m hoping for another loss this week!!