5 Day Food Challenge - Day #5

It has taken me several days to determine exactly how I would conclude my blog series concerning Northeast's 5 Day Food Challenge. I've determined quite a lot about myself while eating 'beans & rice,' some of which I'm not too particularly proud of.

• I jumped into this challenge with previous fasting experience under my belt and felt like this diet didn't seem like a real BIG test of my will power. I self-righteously approached it with the attitude of "I can do this."
• I soon discovered that eating the same food -day after day- made me grouchy, discontent, short-tempered, and miserable. Go figure! Really, I think it was the monotony that almost drove me crazy. Food cravings are a trait I inherited from my father. I can eat something 24/7 for two weeks and love it. Then I'll wake up the next morning and a new food compulsion has overtaken my self-control.
• I'm still amazed that my girls didn't complain constantly. They were resilient troopers who ate what I served without grumbling. Each morning they would grab their Ethiopian measure and return in the afternoon...very hungry and ready for dinner. We've noticed too that leftovers are a thing of the past when portion size is reduced. Nothing was wasted in our household this week.
• Not surprisingly, dinner conversations were enhanced with meaningful discussions on such topics as: entitlements, starvation vs. hunger, and contentment.
• From my very first day, I realized I would need accountability from a friend in order to be successful in eating 'beans & rice' everyday. I definitely couldn't have done it by myself. I don't have the willpower. (A special thanks goes out to my friend, Karen who emailed me regularly to keep me in check!)
• My defining moment of the week comes from a friend of our family, Ronnie Cordrey. He shared his Food Challenge thoughts with these poignant words, "I was starving for what I wanted." That was my PUNCH in the gut.

When the entire week had finally come to a close, I was looking directly into the face of my own selfishness (that's scary)! My narcissitic interest in choosing foods I wanted filled me with disgust. I saw my own self-regard for hording foods I enjoyed. And finally, the PUNCH- the overwhelming desire to take no prisoners when it came to GETTING THE FOOD I WANTED each day. It was a sad but true reality check for me. I had not even tolerated one thought of continuing my diet of 'beans & rice' in solidarity with the Ethiopians. I wanted it to end and even plotted with my daughters to order pizza at 12:01am on Friday night.

Our family has returned to our ordinary routine of eating, but not without the residue of those less fortunate still floating through out minds.