Cheap and Starving

Everyone knows that I am cheap. No really. I love a bargain and I am stingy with the cash in hand. For example, we had a dinner at church Monday night. Unfortunately for us, they served sub sandwiches and chips. We didn't pick up any chips when they offered, but politely took two small sandwich halves. We probably ended up with three or four ounces of meat and cheese plus a few small bites of lettuce and a really bland tomato slice. Yum. But we kept up the conversation like it was no big deal. No one pointed fingers and accused us of being weird. We may be, but that is another story in itself. Granted, we did eat a bit more after we got home. I just grabbed some chili from the freezer. I put it in the microwave for a few minutes, and we got to have a steamy bowl of red. Point is, I never felt deprived, weak or angry with my little bits of dinner.

Now I do need to get to the point of this story--the starving part. The next day, we had a meeting in the State Capitol. We were required to pay for a catered lunch. Ten bucks is something I do not part with easily, so I planned to cheat for this meal, knowing the menu would be carby. Boy was I right. Another sandwich, chips and a huge, moist brownie. I ate it. It was good, but not the "oh my, it has been so long since I had a brownie" kind of adoration. I remember the vegetarian days when the thought of a cheeseburger would have sent me into an altered state. I only ate half of it, but for some stupid cheapskate reason, I put the remainder in my purse. Before we got midway on the turnpike home, I was SO HUNGRY. I was so sleepy too, I thought I might fall asleep at the wheel. So, I decided to rescue myself from a sugar crash and eat the rest of the brownie. It did the trick...for a time. After we got home, however, the attack of the hungry monster was back in force. All night long I was craving carbs. Even my usual low carb dinner could not budge the cravings. I was hungry all evening. The cravings were terrible.

I read an article on Bella that talks about this very thing. It is a study on teenage boys and increased appetites after high carb food. Very interesting, especially if you are in need of some mom guilt.
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art12704.asp

I think next time, I'll pay for the lunch, give it to a homeless person and bring my own low carb goodies in a brown bag. Pretty big decision for a penny pincher like me.