Fast Completed

My 30-hour fast is up. 24 hours didn't make me feel the pain I felt back in my high school years were we were sometimes forced to fast during spiritual emphasis month and starved as a result of shortages. I decided to add some more hours so my belly can shrink and I desire to eat. After this post, it wont take me 20 seconds to put a spoon in my mouth. Its amazing when I read about people feeling the pain of starvation of this forum. Through out today, I asked myself this question, If world leaders could try this assignment, certain policies ( structural adjustment programs) won't be implemented on poorer countries to control their agricultural production. True, African countries are poor, why not make them rich by just allowing them eat?.  People go through this everyday in countries and that's the reason why " Fat/Obese" people are regarded as "FRESH" in my country.. Size is considered wealth ( eating more because you can afford quantity). I think Food is a human right and everyone ought to have a meal.  Politics in this context can only be fare if it has limits. 

24 hour fast pt.3

So I finished my 24 hour fast yesterday at about 4 pm, which was very quickly followed by a huge meal of oven baked chicken and mashed potatoes... which turned out to be one of the best meals of my life because I felt like my stomach was trying to eat itself! I had to work last night which was somewhat tough because I felt like my body was still pretty weak from going an entire day without food. When I look back at how I felt pretty poorly while at work, I think to myself how poorly must these under-privileged individuals that nearly fast on a day to day basis must feel. I cant even imagine having to live life hungry on such a routine basis. Although I didn't enjoy going without food for an entire day, it definitely has led me to think a little bit more about what we take for granted and how badly these people truly need someone's help.

Finished

My fast went a little longer than expected because I came home after class to Dry Ridge. After not eating for an entire day my body was really in a situation it's never been in before. I was very tired and groggy all day, my stomach actually stopped hurting at some point today because I had gotten used to it. I couldn't imagine living like that. Always weak and tired but still having a family to support or a crop to grow.  This challenge really gave me an insight on how it would be to be famished and malnourished, if even just for the day.

My first meal after this challenge was a fillet and scallops. Do I feel bad? Not really. I think I deserved it.

24 hour fast hunger challenge part 3

The third notable time I recorded my thoughts and feelings were the morning of November 5th, before and after I ate. Waking up was a real task. I was still very tired when my alarm when off and it was almost if I woke up with a vengeance against something. Every little thing that I would usually look past, annoyed me. I was so excited to have breakfast though. That's all I could think about. When it came time to eat after I had gotten ready for my morning class. I had planned on having cereal and a bagel with cream cheese. The most surprising part of this challenge happened when it was time to eat again. I ate half my bowl of cereal and none of my bagel and was stuffed. I was shocked to see that my stomach had already began shrinking in just 24 hours without food. I laughed looking back at some things I had written down because of the misery no food for a day did to me. I realize that this is how people across the world feel every day and I have a new perspective with the impoverished.

24-hour fast complete

Well my 24-hour fast is up. I couldn't wait to eat. During the fast I found it really hard to focus on anything and I was extremely drained of energy. This fast was a great eye opener to what people have to deal with when it comes to not being able to eat. It's amazing how fortunate we are and the fact that we take for granted the amount of food we eat everyday. I was starving after about 13 hours and if I hadn't of fallen asleep I wouldn't have made it through the 24-hours.

During the Fast

It is 1:30 pm on Thursday the 14th. I just got a break from work and am just now starting to hear my stomach's anger with me in the form of growls and rumblings. I haven't eaten since just before 9:00 pm last night and didn't have my normal breakfast this morning (I usually eat a banana or pop-tart etc. around 8:30 am). Because I thought it would give me a little edge, I made myself a cup of coffee in the workroom near my office- I followed Dr. Meyer's guidelines and left it completely black without sugar or creamer (it was pretty displeasing needless to say). I feel a little boost now, but I think that may have added to my hunger. My stomach realized that I was trying to trick it and it's not shy in letting me know.

....

I just finished work and it is now 5:00 pm. After my initial problems with my stomach, which lasted all of 30 minutes, I didn't really notice the lack of food in my system for the next several hours. That isn't to say I'm not ready to have a massive feast, but I feel like I've managed fairly well. (On a side note: I told my supervisor I was fasting 24 hours for a class I was taking, to which she responded: "Is that legal?" - I got a little chuckle out of that.)
During my break from work I set aside two thawed chicken breasts, some rice-a-roni and a potato to bake in the oven. I am excited to celebrate my accomplishment. While I am still very hungry, I'm not sure that I am able to appreciate the struggle that many people go through without food. They struggle day after day and I am taking a 24 hour break. I wonder how much worse I would feel if I did this two or three times a week.

Mission Complete

I just had my last meal of the subsistence diet tonight.  It was definitely a humbling experience, especially knowing that people have to do this on a daily basis.  Also, knowing that other people don't eat any food at all.  This made me realize that I should never complain about the food I eat and shouldn't waste any food either.

Tough Twenty-Four

Just like the title suggests, this was a tough twenty-four hours. Work was interesting, like I thought it would be, because I was probably the worst employee to grace the premises in over 20 years. Okay, aside from the humor, this fast taught me to really appreciate my life and being able to eat when I want to. I probably wont waste as much food as I did prior to this experiment because I now know that people have to endure this feeling I've felt for about 20 of the 24 hrs, for years at a time. I can't imagine not having access to food for an extended period of time. Even worse would be if there was no water. Enough of the talk here, I have burgers and fries waiting on me, I'll continue to be a spoiled American for now but eventually, when I am able to, i want to help with world hunger.

24 Fast Final Post

Somehow I managed to make it all 24 hours without eating a bite of food. It was much more difficult than I thought it would be. Whemever I got home today, I took a really long nap that I normally wouldn't take because I was so weak from not eating. I feel like I had no energy all day and I have never appreciated a meak more than when I finished my fast at 7 pm tonight. I cannot imagine living in a place where I had to live off of little to nothing to eat everyday. This fast really puts things in to perspective for me. We are so fortunate to live in a country where the standard of living makes the idea of starving on a daily basis a foreign idea to us all.

Finally Done

Just ate for the first time in 24 hours. I have to admit it was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. I think the most difficult part was not dealing with my stomach hurting but resisting the temptation to cheat and have just a little snack. This project has definitely given me just a little bit of perspective when it comes to how some people have to live every day. I couldn't imagine feeling that hungry on a daily basis. I have a new appreciation for how good we have it living here in the United States.  

Finally Over With

Well I officially ended my challenge at 9 this morning but haven't had time to post. I end my challenge the way i started and that as by having a chicken and cheese mcgriddle from mcdonalds. I didn't have to cook for my roommates as planned because they woke up in the middle of the night and ate. My biggest challenge in this challenge was making it through practice. If i could do it over I think i would do the 2 dollars a day or the other challenge because I can still eat something. This was a great experience but i hope i will never have to do it again.

24 hour fast hunger challenge part 2

My second notable entry into my journal was the night of November 4th. In my journal, I note that the thought of food wouldn't leave my mind and I could "almost feel my stomach eating itself. "Holding a discussion with my roommate was an actual strenuous activity. Unfortunately, my roommate commented on my mood as well. Looking back, I admit that being very hunger made me short and reclusive. I didn't want to participate or do anything. I can remember the struggle of trying to sleep that night too. I would lay there with my eyes closed, all electronics off, and things were still, but every noise outside would make me open my eyes and it felt like I'd be wide awake. I wasn't able to get to sleep until nearly two in the morning and it wasn't a quality nights rest.

24 hour hunger challenge part 1

For our fasting assignment, I chose to try the 24 hour fasting where I didn't eat any food from eight in the morning on November 4th. I ate again on November 5th at eight in the morning when I woke up for class again. To get a good grab on my mindset during this challenge, I decided to keep a journal of my feelings and thoughts.

I made my first entry when I was three hours into the challenge. I don't usually eat breakfast so at this point, I didn't think I was going to have a very tough time. I was feeling normal and my plan was to keep myself busy to keep my mind off food. I figured I would hangout at the agricultural building and catch up on some work for most of the day. If I don't do a lot of walking or physical activity, all of the survival shows has proven that I'd conserve calories. Lets go with this.

McKenzie, Philip #3

I'll have you know that the golden corral didn't kick us out considering we didn't go there. Let's just say that Chik fila filled us both up enough for a long 2 hour nap. My experience was not whether I could handle not eating but the perspective of knowing that my son was eating and provided for and fed properly. I was thinking the whole time whether I could live with myself bringing a child into this world and then saying well I can't feed you. To be a parent in a third world country with no true resources and a child who is starving has got to be the most helpless feeling in the world.  This experience has put me into another perspective that I've never felt until now. Enough said!

My 3 day diet has finally come to an end. This challenge has really put into perspective, what its like to go through each day hungry. My mind was not functioning the way it usually would. I felt tire all day. This has really made me think about donating in anyway i can to help starving people. Seeing the commercials about helping feed the hungry will have a whole new meaning to me. I hope to be able to help and volunteer with feeding the hungry in anyway I can. As much as it sucked, I am really glad I did this challenge. I hope to see in the news, more and more positive news about ending world hunger and hopefully we can find a way to end it soon. Unfortunately, that just won't be soon enough.