A student from St. Petersburg lived for a month on a scholarship of 1,572 rubles and urged everyone to be more modest
Alexey Zyryanov, a student of St. Petersburg State University, lived for a month on a scholarship of 1,572 rubles for the sake of experiment and as a result lost weight from 73.5 to 68.5 kilograms. Thus, he wanted to "unlock the potential of undervalued products", make people think about their nutrition and show nonresident applicants and children from poor families that it is possible to survive in St. Petersburg on a scholarship.
The idea of the experiment appeared when Zyryanov brought buckwheat with eggs in a container from home to the student canteen. His classmates noticed that such food costs 50 rubles a day and with such food it is possible to live for a month on a regular scholarship, like Alexey's — 1572 rubles.
On February 23, the student started the experiment. He spent 100 rubles on household items: soap, toilet paper, napkins, toothpaste, washing powder and a pack of wet wipes. There are 1,472 rubles left to buy groceries.
Rosbalt notes that students from low—income families receive a social scholarship in addition to the academic scholarship - as a result, 3,518 rubles come out.
Zyryanov's meals were three times a day, he spent from 13 to 53 rubles a day. The student's diet consisted of oatmeal, dark chocolate, bananas, buckwheat with eggs and carrots with cabbage.
Alexey claims that the transition to economy mode was almost painless, but it was difficult for him to give up kefir after sports.
After a month of the experiment, the young man lost 5 kilograms — however, he explains this by saying that he was used to eating little, and says that, if desired, he could double the portions of buckwheat and oatmeal.
Zyryanov wanted to "unlock the potential" of some products. For example, he believes that instead of muesli it is better to buy a pack of oatmeal and dark chocolate: it will be healthier and cheaper. Cabbage is better than chips or popcorn: it is "delicious and also crunchy."
The student told the correspondent of "Rosbalta" that he was not going to continue this experiment, and summed up its results.
Something else strikes me. People who consume five times more than the norm of fats and carbohydrates for many years, eating store-bought dumplings, mayonnaise and snickers, do not worry about their health. I think that going over the norm five times is much worse than not getting enough by 10 percent. I urge all people to be more modest."
Keywords: Money | Food | St. Petersburg | Scholarship | Students