9/19/2010 - Hoarder

I put the "hoar" in "hoarder" or the "der"...either way, I am totally becoming a Nutrisystem Hoarder!!! I got my first month of food free from my mother-in-law, who had given up on the plan and just wanted it out of her house. Besides the celebrity endorsed commercials, I didn't really know much about the plan, but doubted a program where you could eat burgers and pancakes and lose tons of weight. After the first day, I was hooked. It was completely something I could do. The food was tasty, the weight was coming off, and for the first time in my life I wasn't starving! I immediately felt lighter on my feet and knew I wanted to ride out this weightloss success. Each day was a success, where I stuck to the plan and felt great. So, I investigated. I had seen the sale at Costco (big island featuring Dan Marino and Marie Osmond smiling in their weightloss glory), but thought the $300 was for 3 months; boy was I mistaken. . . It is about $300 a month! Being the sole bread-winner, I knew I could afford this, but certainly did not want to. I have growing teenagers who eat hundreds of dollars of food a week, and that is if I cut them off when they are grumpily unsatisfied, but have definitely received enough nutrition. What was a girl to do?

So, like all frugal people, I checked out Craigslist. To my surprise, there were several listings in my area. The first listing advertised 1 month's worth of food for $75. She stopped the program because she was pregnant. I drove to the lister's house and picked up the food. When I got home and started digging through the contents, it was way more than a month's worth of food. I have had several other successful craigslist transactions since the first one; most recently, I picked up 108 items for $80. I have also bought a few things on ebay and made trades and purchases through the Nutrisystem.com support boards. My coat closet was full and I had no idea exactly what I had. Additionally, those closest to me tease me endlessly about my "black market food" saying that I meet people in dark alleys to get food that they purchased on stolen credit cards. Comments are often said like: "She buys FOOD on CRAIGSLIST!" Pointing at me and making the "loco" signal with their finger swirling their ear. I would be angry, but it is hilarious!

So, overwhelmed with food, I started to inventory my massive accumulations yesterday. I only have 2 boxes completely organized. 1 box slips under my bed and the other is in my bedroom closet. I tried to talk my husband into converting our formal living room into a "Nutrisystem Room" but he WAS NOT having it! He also TD'd the formal dining room and the office as alternate rooms. He is supportive in every other way and is pretty convinced as I approach the end of my 9th week that I am not in one of my phases. The 2 boxes that have been inventoried contain 190 items! 65 breakfasts, 104 lunches, and 21 dinners. I have barely scraped the surface of my inventory and have hundreds more items to sort and enter into my excel... I also have 8 weeks of food separated out by week. So, I guess I can take it easy, I will not be running out of food anytime soon. Hopefully I can eat it all before it turns. LOL. Der! 

Meal	How many?	Location
Nutriflakes	11	Box 3
Apple Strudel Scone	10	Box 3
Lowfat Granola	1	Box 3
Cluster Crunch	15	Box 3
Nutricinnamon squares	7	Box 3
Berries and Multigrain Flakes	12	Box 3
Blueberry pancake mix	3	Box 3
pancake mix	3	Box 3
Apple Cinnamon Oats	1	Box 3
Maple Oats	1	Box 3
Nutrifrosted Crunch	1	Box 3
	65

Meal	How many?	Location
Black Beans & Rice	4	Box 1
Black Bean Tortilla	4	Box 1
Minestrone	6	Box 1
Fettuccini Alfredo	3	Box 1
Pasta Parm w/Broc	3	Box 1
Split Pea	1	Box 1
Cheese Tortellini	7	Box 1
Chicken Noodle	8	Box 1
Beans & Ham	8	Box 1
Minestrone	15	Box 3
Fettuccini Alfredo	4	Box 3
Mexican Style Tortilla Soup	1	Box 3
Black Bean Tortilla	3	Box 3
Black Beans & Rice	1	Box 3
Cheesy Homestyle Potatoes	5	Box 3
Cheesy Cream of Brocolli Soup	1	Box 3
Cheese Tortellini	1	Box 3
Chicken Noodle	2	Box 3
Noodles w/ Chicken	4	Box 3
Beans & Ham	10	Box 3
Chicken Catictorre	2	Box 3
Creamy Tomato	1	Box 3
Chicken Stew w/Barley	1	Box 3
Pasta w/beef	6	Box 3
Split Pea	3	Box 3
	104

Meal	How many?	Location
Mac & Cheese	2	Box 1
Hearty Beef Stew	10	Box 3
Mac & Cheese	2	Box 3
Mac & Cheese w/beef	2	Box 3
3 cheese pasta w/ chicken	1	Box 3
Chili with Beans	4	Box 3
	21