How I finished off the 80 hour famine, and I'll address your concerns.

Hello Guys! I haven't posted for two weeks. As you probably guessed, I finished my 80 hour famine on Friday at 8:30 pm. I couldn't eat the supper the kids had at youth group because it contained West African Cocoa, so I went to Mac Donalds afterwood and bought a grand angus burger. I couldn't finish it all.

For my famine, I was originally going to go eighty hours eating nothing but root vegetables, but, before the famine began I changed this to 'vegetables'. A few of you came to me and discretely suggested that in doing this I had made it too easy, or that it was more like a healthy diet choice. Now I'm going to talk about why I changed my mind, what it is that makes these challenges hard.

Believe it or not, even before partaking in the famine I had a pretty good idea what it would be like. Last year I did Live Below the Line. In Live Below the Line, you spend 5 days buying food for the same amount of money people in extreme poverty have to live on.  But anyway, you see it is hard enough  So last year when I did it I expected I would just be feeling hungry for five days. On the first day I realised this wasn't so. I had put together my diet well enough that I actually didn't feel THAT hungry. The hardest thing was actually something that doesn't happen when your sucking on barley sugars; sugar withdrawal. We've all heard of lab studies showing that rats prefer sugar to cocaine and are more likely to become addicted to it. Sugar is a highly processed substance. And I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm guessing almost everyone who ends up reading this is certainly addicted to it. If you don't believe me, then I invite you to try giving up processed foods and sugar for just a day and a half. If you don't have any cravings, I'll apologise.

When I did the 80 hour famine, It took about four hours for me to begin going through withdrawal symptoms. That was pretty much what I'd expected. One thing I didn't expect, however, was that I felt hungry. I had digested the high fibre vegetables of my potato salad quickly and afterwards felt hungry. Every meal in the next day was like a war. I had to battle to shove enough vegetables down my throat to stop me from feeling hungry. Most of the time I failed, but I had the most success with root vegetables, so that was what I ended up eating a lot of. I ate root vegetables to fill me up, and green vegetables to eat something different. At one point I tried to make a soup. I ate one bowl out of respect for the chef. Then I realised I was the chef and tipped it down the drain. It just didn't taste right without salt or meat. Or perhaps I'm just terrible at making soup, I guess we'll never know. One thing I found was that variety is good. I would cut up two potatoes, three yams, half a turnup, a carrot, half a red kumara and half a purple, then mix them all up together and it would be the best thing I ate in a day. I started to feel particularly sorry for all the people in the world who don't get a variety of vegetables. The people with less than $1.25 US per day, which is literally nothing. I wondered, as I was eating my salad, if any of them say thanks to God before they eat.

Did I lose weight? NO WAY! Have you never heard anybody tell you not to suddenly change your diet? Eating this few calories set my body into survival mode ready to store on all the fat of the first few days back on a normal diet. Eating only vegetables isn't a balanced diet. Please don't think that just because everyone seems to think they are healthy you can replicate this diet for health.

Did I eat better than people in extreme poverty? Yes.

Would the diet have been harder if I did go only root veggies? I'm going to say probably, It might not have been of course, since the hardest thing was sugar withdrawal, which is the same with a variety of vegetables as it is without. Possibly it would have even been easier since eating only root vegetables I would have eaten more kumara and gotten more sugar from that, but for the most part, variety was the reason I didn't give up on the whole thing.

Was hardness and replecating exact conditions of extreme poverty the point? How about I leave this one to common sense? Do you guys want me to carry water from the river to my house in plastic containers and then drink it? Would you sponsor more money in that case to help put an end to this kind of thing?


*Or, that is, the amount of money people living ON the extreme poverty line have. 'Extreme poverty' is a title used by governments to specify a social class. Basically, if anyone is constantly living (Food, Water, Shelter, Clothing, Transport, and Entertainment) for less than $1.25 US per day, they are in extreme poverty. It is estimated that two point four million, (that's a two, then a four, and five zeros) people live in extreme poverty today. It's important to note that most of these people live on LESS THAN $1.25 per day, they don't sit on the line, they live below the line. I must also point out, that these are not the only two million people in poverty, they are the bottom of the heap, but there are many who have a little more than them and still live in atrocious conditions. When you do Live Below the Line, you can continue to spend as much money as you want on water, shelter, clothing, transport, and entertainment. It's just the food you change. Which is the easy bit. So your really living slightly above the line.

If you haven't yet, and would like to sponsor me, use the link below to do so online or talk to me in person.

https://www.worldvision.org.nz/portal/famine/member.aspx?mid=52653037&cid=c0a0f311-06cb-e211-86aa-00155dc96f61&id=7ed8db03-0f0d-449e-8fab-314b23ffe7ef

57 Hours

If you have just joined me, I am spending 80 hours eating only vegetables and water. The point of this is
1; to simulate how boring some peoples diets are. 2; to show that people in poverty aren't there for a couple of days, it's permanent for them. 3; so that people I know can sponsor me, and the money can go to world vision. Specifically to do work in Bogainville in Papua New Guinea.

The first day of my famine was terrible. I seemed to feel hungry no matter what I ate. I hated the taste of everything. I just wished I hadn't decided to do this stupid thing for sooo long.

The second day was worse! By this time I was well and truly sick of vegetables. Every time I saw someone eating some other food, I wanted some. What I missed most was bread. For the first time in my life, I wanted to just give up on the famine.

Today is the third day of my famine, and I have had a change of heart. Now, I think that I am lucky to have vegetables. What changed my mind? I watched a couple of videos on you tube. Yes, you tube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bEtqZoD4V4&list=HL1371717159
In this video, a world vision worker is shown the three hour journey some people have to go through in order to get water. It looks to me like torture.  Annother video;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2INwynf3kI&list=HL1371717159
In this video a nine year old girl from Scotland who has raised money (With her blog NeverSeconds) for a kitchen where porridge can be cooked for school children in Malawi. The video explains how it is that people can possibly be thankful for a mug of porridge each day. How the children come to school so they can have it, and how that will motivate them to stay in school. Ok. I'm not going to complain about my vegetables ANY MORE

Meals today!
Today for breakfast I ate a very bland vegetable soup. I wasn't even allowed salt.
For lunch I had baked mixed vegetables, it's becoming my favourite meal out of everything I've eaten during the famine.
For dinner I baked some mixed green vegetables wrapped in a baking paper parcel. along with this I used a recipe I saw on The Erin Simpson show this afternoon. I had to change it a bit since it had chease and sour cream. I had potato with fried finely chopped onion and chilli and coriander. I didn't really like it but like I said, who am I to complain?

Please sponsor me!

Thursday dinner, potato salad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9HD__y-KpE

5 hours, one carrot

This is the first post of the famine. I began the 80 hour famine at 12:30 noon today. I got to eat a 100g bar of chocolate before it started. That will be the last sweet thing I eat for a while. Since then I have eaten one carrot which I stuffed in my school bag in case I wanted to nibble on something in the afternoon. Since then I haven't eaten anything because I'm not yet hungry enough to get up and prepare it. Most of the processed foods we eat are the ones that seem to take the least preparation. There are some exceptions, like raw carrots. But why should I make myself bored of carrots when I'm going to be snacking on them for the next three days and three hours?

For dinner, I am going to have potato salad, except just without the mayonase. I am going to write annother post then.

Something I noticed at school today was that a surprising number of Te Karakians don't even know what the 40 hour famine is. I might make a post about it dedicated to them. 

Eat up, Tomorrow I die

I'm not expecting to die tomorrow, but I am expecting to begin my 80 hour famine, and that's pretty close. Instead of doing the 40 hour famine sucking on lollies and drinking juice, I'm going to spend 80 hours; that's three days and eight hours, eating nothing but vegetables and water.

I spent my spare time today making a menu, shopping, and trying to remember weather I had a concussion when I decided to do this. I am going to try to take a photo of or make a video of each meal I eat during the eighty hours. I will be putting all of this onto this blog.

Here is the menu I have planned. I will probably change most of it, but this is what I have.

Tuesday lunch time before the famine starts; One block of chocolate and a sandwich.

Tuesday snacks; Salad of two potatos, half a red onion, a chopped leaf of lettuce, and boiled beetroot, and parsley.

Tuesday dinner; one and a half baked Kumara in cabbage leaves

Wednesday breakfast; two carrots

Wednesday lunch; Lettuce, carrot, red onion, lettuce. baked potato with herbs.

Wednesday snacks; baked kumara chips

Wednesday dinner; soup

Thursday breakfast; boiled asparagus, calliflower, and carrots.

Thursday lunch; boiled yams + salad

Thursday snacks; raw carrots

Thursday dinner; salad and soup

Friday breakfast; potato with herbs of soup

Friday lunch; boiled asparagus, carrots, and calliflower.

Friday snacks; boiled yams.

Friday dinner; baked Kumara.

So that I can show a difference between what I normally eat and what I eat on the 80 hour famine, I am going to tell you what I have eaten today since I got home from school;

Carrot sticks with home made mayonase,

Pikelets with icing sugar and maple syrup,

The dinner pictured below.

Know the issue; What is cocao?

In order to help people understand issues, I am beginning a series of blog posts which I hope will explain exactly what I am waffling on about.

The trunk of a Cocoa tree, picture from Wikipeadia

Cocoa pods are fruit that grow on trees. The trees are called cacao trees or cocoa trees, and were first cultivated by the Olmecs in what is modern day Mexico. The trees grow up to 25 feet high. Cocoa pods were an important commodity in early South America. At one point they were used like a currency. 

Cocoa pods don't ripen all at the same time, they turn from green to orange, and have to be monitored carefully and harvested individually using knives on long poles. After the ripened pods are cut, the beans and pulp are removed and left to ferment either in piles covered in banana leaves or in wooden boxes. Organisms and bacteria like yeast produce acids and gases that partially break down proteins and sugars in the bean. After about a week, the beans are dark brown. From there, the beans are sold to factories. Then they are roasted to remove bacteria and break down acids that would make the beans taste bitter. 

After roasting, the nibs of the beans are ground into a paste called 'mass' The mass then goes through a powerful press, where it is separated into butter and powder. The powder can then be further refined, and occasionally anti caking agents are added to make cocoa powder for baking. Sugar and other flavourings are added to make drinking chocolate powder. To make solid block chocolate, hot cocoa butter is mixed into coco powder and other flavourings.

We are surrounded by cocoa, it is used in just about every product on supermarket shelves. From block chocolates and baking powders, to biscuits and muesli bars dipped in it and ice creams, yogurts, slices, cereals, and drinks that use it as flavouring.

A dessert my class made in school using cocoa

Today it is estimated that between 69% and 95% of the world's cocoa are grown on trees in West Africa. (In Ghana and The Ivory Coast)

References; http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/edible-innovations/chocolate1.htm
http://nz.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AkC7IXQ3fxmdwPazK5dWdqHJZwx.;_ylv=3?qid=20130417115735AATM5xF
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theobroma_cacao