Friday,
March 21
8 a.m.
Begin 30-Hour Famine, no breakfast
8:15 a.m.
Show up at Edgerton School District to discuss the Common Core
Standards with District Administrator Dennis Pauli
8:50 a.m.
Interview over. Leaving Pauli's office, I spot a bowl of chocolate
pieces for visitors on the receptionist's desk. Without thinking, I
unwrap and pop a Dove chocolate piece in my mouth. This intentional
not eating is going to be tougher than I thought.
9 a.m.
Begin 30-Hour Famine again. Thank God I was not even an hour in.
10:30 a.m.
Stomach is grumbling. “I want an apple with peanut butter!” it
demands. “Well, tough. Get used to no food until 3 p.m. tomorrow,”
I tell it. This is not going to be easy. I take a few swigs of water
in an attempt to placate my grumbling stomach. Not sure it bought it.
11:45 a.m.
I show up to my chiropractic appointment in Janesville. I get seen
around noon. After doing some spinal alignments, my chiropractor
starts standing the table back up. I had apparently taken my feet off
the stand and start falling off the table while it is in motion, to
both my chiropractor's and my own amusement. “I'm falling,” I
yell as I kick my feet. Apparently I am going silly from hunger.
12:45 p.m.
I stop by Piggly Wiggly in Edgerton to pick up a carton of orange
juice and a carton of banana orange pineapple juice. I am finding
that the juice does more to sate my hunger than water, although both
are equally important. I find myself wondering briefly if I should
not attempt that high school challenge: drinking a gallon of milk. I
have heard it expands the stomach lining, which is why people get
sick if they do it. But how many are on a famine? Hmmm...
1:20 p.m.
My, the banana orange pineapple juice is delicious. I just drank half
my water bottle in the past 10 minutes. Now off to the EPAC to get
photos of a school concert. Another interview scheduled for 3 p.m.
today, and at some point I will have to pick up the African Hope
pendants from Forever Yours Jewelry in Sun Prairie. This is quite a
busy day and weekend to be fasting.
4:30 p.m. I
have learned that the busier I am, the less aware I am of the hunger.
Also, juice helps a lot more than water. Drinking water leaves my
stomach grumbling while juice does more to quench the hunger.
5:30 p.m.
Want to know a real challenge? Try going into a grocery store to pick
up a non-food item while partaking in a famine. The smell of chicken
that lingered on the air outside Copps in Sun Prairie just about
broke me. But I managed to pick up what I needed while resisting the
sights of fruit, pastries and other baked and fried goods.
8 p.m.
Finally arrived back at my parents’ house in Antigo.
9:15-11
p.m. Watched Herbie: The Love Bug with my parents. I am not normally
a movie and snack girl, but popcorn would have been just great.
(Sigh)
Midnight:
Bedtime!
Saturday,
March 22
8 a.m. Wake
up, have a breakfast of kiwi juice. It is actually quite good.
Despite not having any substantial food, I feel less hungry now than
yesterday. It is like my body is adjusting to not eating. It was like
that my senior year of high school as well. I only fed it every 16-26
hours, so it adjusted to my eating schedule. Luckily I only have a
few more hours left, and things to keep me busy in the meantime.
11 a.m.
Leave for the US Cellular store to update my phone. I made sure to
fill my water bottle with some more juice before leaving.
1:30 p.m.
Return to my parents’ house from town. Only an hour and a half
left! I am drinking less juice and water than I did yesterday. Again,
I think my body is adjusting to not eating food because I have not
heard my tummy grumbling lately and I do not really feel hungry
anymore. Of course, I have also not gone running during this famine
either. The story might be quite different if I kept up my physical
fitness routine.
2 p.m. Here
is hoping that the last of the banana orange pineapple juice will
coincide with the end of my famine. Only an hour left. I plan to
break my famine with two rice patties topped with almond butter.
Supper will be pasta with alfredo sauce and chicken. I can hardly
wait...
3 p.m.
Famine finally over! I think the last 45 minutes was the hardest,
probably because I was acutely aware of the hunger in my belly and
the fact I was almost done. Rice patties and almond butter never
tasted so good....
In
conclusion: I must admit, the 30-Hour Famine was not easy. Although
my body adjusted to the not eating, my famine was actually a little
longer than 30 hours. On Thursday, March 20 at approximately 9 p.m. I
finished eating supper - a whole pizza. Although I started my famine
at 9 a.m. the next day, I did not eat breakfast beforehand, too busy.
So aside from the little Dove chocolate slipup - and let’s face it,
that is a tiny blip in the whole thing - I went without food from 9
p.m. Thursday to 3 p.m. on Saturday. So closer to 42 hours, or almost
two days. How did I fare? I lost about 3 lbs. That being said, I
would not advise this as a weight loss plan ladies.
So the
grumbling stomach that occurred around noon on Friday was because
aside from the singular Dove chocolate, I had not eaten anything in
about 15 hours. Could I have lasted longer without food? Probably,
but it is not advised. We need food and nutrition to sustain
everything we do on a daily basis, whether it is walking the dog,
cooking supper, working or running 5 miles. I am one of the lucky
ones: I have never had to go hungry. My parents worked hard to
provide me with a good life, and as an adult, I work hard to pay my
bills. Not everyone has that luxury though.
After
participating in the 30-Hour Famine - and there were times I was not
sure I was going to make it - I have an ever greater appreciation for
people living in poverty and in developing countries. Growing up, I
was used to eating three square meals a day, including a home-cooked
dinner or leftovers every night.
Aside from
dealing with anorexia my senior year of high school, where I ate
every 16-26 hours while being a 3-sport/year-round athlete, I have
never had to worry about a grumbling stomach, and I have never
wondered where my next meal was coming from, or when.
The
experience has made me even more determined to help Hope 2 Others
ministries in Tanzania, to give to people who have far less than I
do. We complain about not having enough money, but the truth is, we
do live like kings.
This
summer, I will be traveling to Tanzania with Hope 2 Others. While
there, we will be climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise funds for a
medical center we are building in Kisongo, Tanzania; doing home
visits to give food and supplies to needy families; and teaching
newborn resuscitation (I personally will not do that, but the medical
professionals with us will).
I am
blessed to be a part of an organization dedicated to helping and
enriching the lives of others. To find out more, visit
www.bringinghope2others.com.
