Day 2: My kingdom for some bread!

The towns in my part of the state just kind of wander into each other. There isn't a lot of density up here. Some nodes with a bunch of houses and buildings, and then you drift along the road for a while and don't see much until you hit the next node. That means there isn't enough population density to support a lot of convenience stores. There are three relatively near me, then there are four down by the university, two of which I drive by on the way to work. I had stopped at the ones on the way to work before just to get gas - I'd never gone inside. Until today.


So I stopped at the Circle K on 108, just off of Main St. in Durham, hoping they might have some canned vegetables or maybe some real vegetables. Not much luck.

They did have a display of bananas. And one apple.


There was a time, not so long ago, that this was a regular part of my breakfast. I preferred Hostess, actually, but you get the point. This is how most of the fruit is available in this store.

I was pleased that they had Chobani yogurt, though it was priced about 80% more than I'm used to paying for it.The prices at the Circle K were about the same as the prices at Dover Discount. The selection of groceries was actually better at Dover Discount. But Circle K has a Subway. I find myself wishing, on Day 2, that I had not ruled out fast food restaurants. Subway really does have some healthy options - like big salads. Of course they're expensive.

I picked up a few bananas, some yogurt, some peanuts, and a cup of coffee and hauled it back to the office.


The thing I got frustrated with today was the lack of bread. Dover Discount only had rolls: hot dog rolls, hamburger rolls, and grinder rolls. The two convenience stores I visited this afternoon had no bread at all.

For breakfast I had 2 hard boiled eggs ($0.59; 150 calories), and a yogurt ($1.79; 140 calories), and a cup of coffee with about a 1/4 cup of milk mixed into it ($0.99, 43 calories) for a total of $3.37 and 334 calories.

I packed a tuna sandwich for lunch. I used the whole can of tuna ($1.99; 112 calories) with a mayo ($0.07; 35 calories), on a grinder roll ($0.50; 260 calories) for a total of $2.56 and 406 calories.


In the afternoon I had a banana ($0.00 because it came with the yogurt; 90 calories).

On the way home I tried the Route 66 convenience store which was across from the Circle K. After all, where else do you want to shop for your dinner but the place you get your gas?


I picked up a few more supplies, including peanut butter which was $4.19 for a 12 oz jar. Look at that jar! It's like a toy jar! And that silly can of parm. That's a normal sized (15 oz) can of green beans.



Got home and had the same thing tonight as I did last night - peas and corn, and kielbasa ($2.36; 404 calories).

I did have a half of a grinder roll with two tbsp of peanut butter ($0.67; 310 calories) for a snack later in the evening.


So far, so good. It's a little frustrating, but I expected that. I think the thing that strikes me the most so far is the price differential on certain things - like canned vegetables. Walking through a convenience store looking for canned vegetables (and finding three cans in the whole store), and having to walk by a wall full of chips of all varieties and sizes is a bit mind blowing. It really brings things into perspective. The stores stock what sells. And what sells is chips. And beer. And soda.

The other thing that strikes me is how stores that have built in restaurants seem to be doing away with groceries. Dover Discount Beverage did not have a fast food counter inside, and it had more selection. The Circle K and Route 66 stores both had fast food counters, a Subway, and something called "Moe's Italian". Both of them showed significantly less traditional grocery inventory. This is something I'll be watching for now.

Day totals:

Cost: $8.96
Calories: 1,545
Weight: 174.2

I walked for an hour on the treadmill again. Yesterday I had 10,264 steps, for a final calorie adjustment of 132.

Tonight as I prepare to go to bed, I have scored 17, 417 steps, for a calorie adjustment of 611. Net calories for today: 852.