Eating On $3 A Day For 30 days Food Challenge Begins Nov 1st.

[arakboss]

Edit: If anybody wants to join me in this challenge feel free to share your methods and results here. It would be a great way to lose weight, save money to expand your food storage, free up more funds to buy gun stuff on Black Friday sales, practice your SHTF diet skills/plans, etc. Make your own rules and the diet as healthy as you like. Sticking to $3 a day will save money for the vast majority of members here.


My weight loss challenge is finally ending at the end of October. I have been thinking about inflation a lot lately and for my next food related challenge I have decided to try and eat on $3 a day.

The guidelines for the diet is to spend a total of $90 on food and drinks for the month of November. I can eat as much or as little as I want provided I don't spend more than $90 for the month. Edit: The diet will need to provide enough calories that I can maintain or increase my weight.

A few budget cheats will be that I will not count the cost of existing spices and condiments that I already have on hand. Also I will not be counting any money I have to contribute towards two Thanksgiving meals with the families or the birthday meal out I buy for my wife.

2nd Edit: I am going to allow for one other budget cheat. If I come up short on funds to acquire some food, I will allow for trading some of my reloading components or ammo directly for the food I need. I don't anticipate this being necessary. If I did find it neccesary it would help me practice bartering.

This challenge will be very helpful to do following the weightloss challenge because I am going to have strong urges to massively binge eat after the weightloss challenge concludes.

If you have tips for eating on super low budget, feel free to share.

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[arakboss]

This guy didn't look like he did to well on $3 a day, a month ago. His rules were way too restrictive for a low budget diet which should definitely include processed foods imho.

 

[CamoDeafie]

Ramen noodles. Campells soups. Mac n cheese. Beans and rice in bulk if possible. Tap water. Budding sandwich meat. Bread. Not sure how much cheese costs for enough for a month. Personal pizzas (Totinos).

I used to budget $150/month for feeding myself; but that was when food prices weren't as high as they are now.

$90-100 for 30 days should be doable if s bit difficult.

Edit. Ricearoni and Knorr Sides (pasta and rice sides both).

 

[arakboss]

Ramen noodles. Campells soups. Mac n cheese. Beans and rice in bulk if possible. Tap water. Budding sandwich meat. Bread. Not sure how much cheese costs for enough for a month. Personal pizzas (Totinos).

I used to budget $150/month for feeding myself; but that was when food prices weren't as high as they are now.

I was looking for videos about eating on $3 a day, they were plentiful 4 plus years ago. Lately there seems to be very few people trying it. Rice will be a big staple for month of November.

 

[Alexx1401]

I was looking for videos about eating on $3 a day, they were plentiful 4 plus years ago. Lately there seems to be very few people trying it. Rice will be a big staple for month of November.

Given what price was 4 years ago compared to now? Maybe make it $10 a day

 

[arakboss]

Given what price was 4 years ago compared to now? Maybe make it $10 a day

We'll see. I have wrecked my metabolism and my body has been holding on to weight at a very low calorie level. I expect I could easily put weight back on at 2000 calories a day so I will start there for my calorie calculations. That makes 60,000 calories needed for the month. It's guaranteed I will consume at least 5000 calories between two Thanksgiving meals and dinner out with my wife. That brings it down to 55,000 that I need to buy with my $90.


Edit: rice and beans are at least 1500 calories per pound uncooked. Rice is actually about 1600. If I ate nothing but rice it would be about $20 worth of rice for the month. Rice Diet anyone!

 

[TTSX]

Unless you're swearing off the leftovers from Thanksgiving, I think you should choose another month. With at least 1 leftover day, you're "cheating" for 10% of your challenge at a minimum before it even starts. I'm also curious why you weight loss challenge is ending?

 

[arakboss]

Unless you're swearing off the leftovers from Thanksgiving, I think you should choose another month. With at least 1 leftover day, you're "cheating" for 10% of your challenge at a minimum before it even starts. I'm also curious why you weight loss challenge is ending?

The predetermined end date for weightloss challenge is Oct 29th. If I don't get to 175lbs I lose the four firearms. I'm struggling to break a stall at around 185lbs at the moment. Eating around 1200 calories a day.

There won't be leftovers for us. We usually do pizza at my Mom's and chinese food at my Dad's. My stepson gobbles up anything that might come home with us.

 

[arakboss]

I saw a 48ct box of brown sugar and cinnamon pop tarts the other day for $8. That is over 10,000 calories for the box and would be a nice addition to a bowl of old fashioned oatmeal to flavor it.

 

[titsonritz]

I saw a 48ct box of brown sugar and cinnamon pop tarts the other day for $8. That is over 10,000 calories for the box and would be a nice addition to a bowl of old fashioned oatmeal to flavor it.

Maybe 10,000 calories of pure s**t.

 

[slimmer13]

I wonder how much the future medical costs incurred by eating garbage will throw off the budget.

I am going to do something similar except I'm going to eat the best quality, most nutrient dense foods foods I can get and work out a bunch.

 

[arakboss]

Maybe 10,000 calories of pure s**t.

You are not going to easily get 2000 calories a day of quality for $3 a day. But I am open to suggestions.

 

[CamoDeafie]

Peanut butter. Good old Raisins and Peanuts. Rice. Beans. Pasta. Canned goods. The only problem is that to get the $3-5 a day limit of decent-good food, is to buy everything in bulk at the beginning of the month, spending $90-150 at a time and then doing meal preps/planning out.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Dramatic changes don't last imo. Crash diets or any dramatic lifestyle change etc all are not sustainable (unless there is threat of survival involved). Why not do something realistic and sustainable like reduce current food budget by 20% or whatever. Then change as needed. Slow and steady lifestyle changes are sustainable long term imo, not drastic changes.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Dominos 3 toppings large carry out is $7.99.

 

[titsonritz]

You are not going to easily get 2000 calories a day of quality for $3 a day. But I am open to suggestions.

As mentioned, bulk rice and beans, make your own tortillas, start there. Add a little greens into the mix, like lettuce, tomatoes, onions. Got to be better that sugar and pastry garbage.

 

[titsonritz]

You can get several meals out of whole chickens, cut out the main parts...breast, legs and thighs...use the the rest to make soup.

Make your own pasta, all it is is eggs and flour. Whip up a tomato or butter/garlic based sauce.

 

[arakboss]

I visited two different grocery outlets this morning and picked up 57,000 calories worth of items. The bill at store number one was $25.64, the bill at store number two was $16.14. That leaves me with about $49 left to spend. I am going to pick up 3lbs of bacon at Safeway for $6 and a 64oz jug of peanut butter for $5 from Walmart and then worry about spending the other $38 in November.

This is a survival diet, that doesn't involve government handouts. I have been eating protein for the vast majority of my calories during the weightloss challenge and look forward to carbing up in November. Maybe the carbs will help boost my energy levels which have been in the toilet for quite some time now.

Things I want to buy in November may include potatoes, eggs, cheese, bone in chicken with skin, pancake mix, corn tortillas, ice cream and heavily discounted Halloween candy. I missed shopping for junk food and cheap calories.

 

[titsonritz]

I am going to pick up 3lbs of bacon at Safeway for $6 and a 64oz jug of peanut butter for $5 from Walmart and then worry about spending the other $38 in November.

There part of the problem, those stores are expensive. Stick with the grocery outlets, Cash and Carry and Winco.

 

[TTSX]

Well, there go your weight loss gains. FLOOOOSH right down the toilet. I mean, good luck and all but dang, what a waste.