Lifestyle: grocery shopping when living in university res

Self-tutoring about lifestyle and grocery shopping: the tutor reflects….

When I lived at university res, occasionally I’d go grocery shopping. It led me into a world of decisions, what-ifs, and contemplation.

I was always hungry when I lived at res. Don’t get me wrong; I wasn’t unhealthy or losing weight or anything like that. In fact, I was only about 10 pounds lighter than now. Yet, food prep just wasn’t so convenient there as at home. Moreover, I had a small fridge, so storing food wasn’t as easy either.

I ate very well at res, nutritionally – lots of fresh fruit/veggies, and bread and cheese. What I didn’t have was snack foods, because I knew I’d fall into bad eating habits if I did. With my tendency towards weight gain, that would have been a bad road to go down.

The first time I walked from res to a local supermarket with a deli, I was floored. I recall it was around 8pm, so very few shoppers were there. The deli offered all the day’s leavings, wrapped up at 30% off. Hungry, I was tempted: I could buy that slice of pizza, sit at that table right here and now, and feast.

However, there was also the clubhouse sandwich, the corned beef sandwich, the mac and cheese…there were so many choices, all delicious! Yet, I knew I couldn’t indulge.

Not only would doing so have added valuable time to the shopping, but it would have brought my focus away from my needs, which were fresh fruit, veg, and protein. After a couple of minutes of hesitation, I left the deli for the produce and dairy sections. (I couldn’t afford to buy meat, nor could I prepare it efficiently.)

I still think, sometimes, about how special those times were: from a life of crowding and bustle, I suddenly had the deli to myself, free to imagine delicious possibilities. Yet, 25 minutes later, I would return to the dark parking lot, still hungry, and head for home with one grocery bag in each hand; neither contained a treat from the deli.

Those were good times:)