Sunday's Menu:
Breakfast: Porridge with water, frozen fruit and 1 tsp of sugar.
Lunch: Homemade soup left overs from Saturday
Dinner: 1 egg, home made chips and 3 tsp of frozen veg.
I have got to the stage now where I am just plodding along with the challenge. I am accepting that I can not eat what I want, when I want to, and I do seem to be feeling less and less hungry. Having said that I would kill for some meat; I have been living as an unwilling vegetarian for the last two weeks, and am dying for some chicken or a juicy steak. I also would love some fresh fruit and veg, a leafy salad, a pile of roasted vegetables or even just a crisp apple would go down a treat right now.
I am a little concerned about the wide gaps in my nutritional intake. Not so much for my health, a month of eating like this is not likely to have any long term effects, but for the health of the billions of people for which this is a reality. I have found it impossible to get enough protein in my diet these past weeks and you can forget about getting 5 fruit and vegetables a day. You need vitamins, minerals and protein to fight off illness and repair your body. How are people meant to have a chance against poverty related illnesses such as malaria and polio if their bodies have rarely, if ever, been given the right nutrients to protect them.
It is thought the average woman should eat approximately 2000 calories a day. Since starting this challenge I have had a daily calorie intake of around 800-1000 calories. This means every day I have been getting at most half the calories I need. Or, to put it more shockingly on average I have been eating 2.2 days worth of calories in a 7 day period.
Every day I thank God that for me this is just a challenge. The above fact is just another point the highlights how lucky we are in the western world. If we eat under our calorie requirements, it tends to be out of choice. I know I have said it countless times but I just cant imagine how you would survive like this for years and years. I know even in this month I am eating well in comparison to billions living in extreme poverty. I just can't comprehend how they muster the energy to work all day, with no energy, and then come home and have a smile on their face. It is truly inspirational, but it is not acceptable. There should be no one out there who can only afford to eat 2 days worth of food in a week. There is enough food on this planet to feed everyone, we just need to waste less and share more.
Please help me raise money for Tearfund who are working to help millions world wide escape this hunger and work their way out of poverty. Please donate today by clicking here to be taken straight to my just giving page.
My friend sent me this video about the global food waste scandal. It is really interesting. If you ahve 15 minutes to spare give it a watch...
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