Yay. It's the last day. This week has been crazy.
Yet again I had porridge for breakfast and then sat around the house waiting for the rugby to come on. Very glad I didn't have a matinee today as the break in between the shows is quite long on the new show and so would end up being very bored.
After eating the rest of the fried rice for lunch we went to make dinner so I could take it into work later. We had various things left over so Guy had the genius idea to make potato and carrot cakes as couldn't face rice again. We were not too sure how they would turn out by hey what the heck. If they went wrong we would have turned it into a mash. Fortunately they turned out really well and so for dinner we had chicken thighs, mashed potato, frozen veg and the potato and carrot cakes.
It was a really decent portion of food but unfortunately I had to eat my dinner at had five as again wouldn't have time to eat while the show is on. Although I did finish at half nine so got home early which was great. Actually didn't feel that hungry either which was even better.
I was however very tired and ended up going to bed by eleven.
My energy levels this week have been really low I assume due to lack of food so I was very glad to have been off work for most of the week.
It's been a hard challenge and I only had to limit my food budget. Had I wanted to I could have gone to the cinema or swimming or any number of fun things. Also if the worst had come to the worst if things had gone wrong, e.g had I become sick I could have stopped the challenge at any point. For 1.4 billion people this is not a challenge it is life and it is very wrong we are allowing this to happen. It needs to end now.
Visit 'Our LBL Page' to sponsor us!
Sunday, 13 February 2011
Saturday, 12 February 2011
1/2 a day to go
Can you tell I'm counting down the hours?
So, am now regretting adding the challenge of a weekend day below the line. On the plus day I was able to sleep in, and so with an extra hours sleep under my belt I'm hoping to have enough energy to survive the day.
Strangely enough this morning's porridge actually tasted quite good. Maybe it's the knowledge that this is my last bowl for a long stretch...
Staying at home with precious little distraction is NOT the way through LBL, especially on a Saturday morning when all that seems to be on is cooking programmes! However, with our left over fried rice lunch now eaten, I'm setting in to the challenge of watching the England vs Italy game without the aid of beer. England better blooming well win - losing to Italy without any beer to drown my sorrows will be unbearable. At least it'll distract me for a while
So, am now regretting adding the challenge of a weekend day below the line. On the plus day I was able to sleep in, and so with an extra hours sleep under my belt I'm hoping to have enough energy to survive the day.
Strangely enough this morning's porridge actually tasted quite good. Maybe it's the knowledge that this is my last bowl for a long stretch...
Staying at home with precious little distraction is NOT the way through LBL, especially on a Saturday morning when all that seems to be on is cooking programmes! However, with our left over fried rice lunch now eaten, I'm setting in to the challenge of watching the England vs Italy game without the aid of beer. England better blooming well win - losing to Italy without any beer to drown my sorrows will be unbearable. At least it'll distract me for a while
Day 4
Whoo hoo so nearly there. Today was probably the toughest day so far as being in work was so difficult.
Had my usual porridge at about 11 and about 12 I began to make fried rice for our dinner and our lunch tomorrow. Needed to make it then as left for work before Guy got home. Realised half way through that because we only had one egg it probably wouldn't make much difference but was hopeful.
I had my pumpkin soup at about 2pm which was very nice but very hot. As I'm not that good with chilli I had a lot of water with it which helped fill me up. Also unlike the chicken soup this was thicker opposed to brothy. Very tasty and was nicely full.
I headed into town to do some errands before work and got them done a lot quicker than I thought which meant I was over an hour early for work as I couldn't face walking past any more restaurants and cake shops. The temptation was too much!!
Instead I sat in work with my water and my banana.
Realised about 5pm that I needed to eat my dinner then as wouldn't have any time during the show as first preview is always really crazy.
Dinner was nice and filling but I was right when I thought that egg would make no difference. Ah well it is food and food is good.
Work was crazy and although I was glad I had eaten my dinner earlier by 9pm I was starving and had to go and set out all the snacks for first night drinks. One of the hardest things EVER!!! Putting out crisps, cheese straws and dips but not being able to have any of them.
Finally finished work at half eleven. Very tired and so hungry it hurts. At least I got a taxi home so I wouldn't have to walk past any shops as think I may well have caved. One more day to go.
Had my usual porridge at about 11 and about 12 I began to make fried rice for our dinner and our lunch tomorrow. Needed to make it then as left for work before Guy got home. Realised half way through that because we only had one egg it probably wouldn't make much difference but was hopeful.
I had my pumpkin soup at about 2pm which was very nice but very hot. As I'm not that good with chilli I had a lot of water with it which helped fill me up. Also unlike the chicken soup this was thicker opposed to brothy. Very tasty and was nicely full.
I headed into town to do some errands before work and got them done a lot quicker than I thought which meant I was over an hour early for work as I couldn't face walking past any more restaurants and cake shops. The temptation was too much!!
Instead I sat in work with my water and my banana.
Realised about 5pm that I needed to eat my dinner then as wouldn't have any time during the show as first preview is always really crazy.
Dinner was nice and filling but I was right when I thought that egg would make no difference. Ah well it is food and food is good.
Work was crazy and although I was glad I had eaten my dinner earlier by 9pm I was starving and had to go and set out all the snacks for first night drinks. One of the hardest things EVER!!! Putting out crisps, cheese straws and dips but not being able to have any of them.
Finally finished work at half eleven. Very tired and so hungry it hurts. At least I got a taxi home so I wouldn't have to walk past any shops as think I may well have caved. One more day to go.
Friday, 11 February 2011
Day 4 - a chicken free day!
Porridge for breakfast with a cup of coffee, as ever. Seriously starting to consider mixing the two just to get some flavour into the porridge!
Lunch today was great though - a nice bowl of pumpkin soup (with a bit of a kick from the chilli!). The flavour of this (not chicken!) really put a smile on my face, plus as an added bonus I had some pumpkin seeds to add texture to it - keep the seeds from the pumpkin when preparing it for making soup, toss them in a pan and dry fry them until they're brown and toasted, or alternatively chuck em in the oven for a short while if you're already cooking something in there.
Luckily I was so busy at work that I didn't have time to feel hungry, but unusually I left on time and by the time I got home hunger was really striking, and obviously I had to wait for a couple of hours before I could make my dinner (fried rice - egg, pepper, veg, carrot, onion NO CHICKEN!).
The exhaustion is still hitting. Imagine living on less than this per day because you've got to pay for all the other things, there's no way to get enough food into yourself to give yourself the fuel you need to be able to get through the day, or at least be useful an able to work effectively for the day. It's not possible, and it's not just that 1.4 billion people have to face these trials every day.
By the way if you haven't sponsored us yet - you still can at http://bit.ly/eLwdAu. Thanks to everyone who has so far - we're approaching the half way mark to our target now!
Lunch today was great though - a nice bowl of pumpkin soup (with a bit of a kick from the chilli!). The flavour of this (not chicken!) really put a smile on my face, plus as an added bonus I had some pumpkin seeds to add texture to it - keep the seeds from the pumpkin when preparing it for making soup, toss them in a pan and dry fry them until they're brown and toasted, or alternatively chuck em in the oven for a short while if you're already cooking something in there.
Luckily I was so busy at work that I didn't have time to feel hungry, but unusually I left on time and by the time I got home hunger was really striking, and obviously I had to wait for a couple of hours before I could make my dinner (fried rice - egg, pepper, veg, carrot, onion NO CHICKEN!).
The exhaustion is still hitting. Imagine living on less than this per day because you've got to pay for all the other things, there's no way to get enough food into yourself to give yourself the fuel you need to be able to get through the day, or at least be useful an able to work effectively for the day. It's not possible, and it's not just that 1.4 billion people have to face these trials every day.
By the way if you haven't sponsored us yet - you still can at http://bit.ly/eLwdAu. Thanks to everyone who has so far - we're approaching the half way mark to our target now!
Thursday, 10 February 2011
Day 3
Ok so we are onto day three and it's going ok. I haven't caved which is good as really want chocolate. After my usual porridge for breakfast I started to distract myself around the house as had to wait in for the virgin man to come and set up our internet. He was due to come between 1 and 6pm so was house bound. This turned out to be hell as there is a difference between having nowhere to go and not being allowed to go anywhere.
Had my chicken soup about 3pm and still no sign of the virgin man. Slightly irritated by this point but I suppose he still does have another 3hrs in which to turn up. On the up hand, due to Guy making loads of chicken soup I had a bowl and a half available to me so had a bowl with the intention of having the other half later.
6pm I had my banana and still no sign of the virgin man so called them up to be told they would be there within half an hour. Very bored in the house by this point but at least I wasn't that hungry which is good.
Virgin man finally turned up at 6:45 and Guy came home shortly after and we began cooking our lovely dinner of...wait for it...chicken, rice and veg shock horror we are having that again. At least it was warm and filling. Guy also made the pumpkin soup for lunch tomorrow using the last of chicken soup and some chilli (told him to go easy on the chilli) to give it that extra kick.
At least now I am not going to bed hungry as I think my body is finally accepting that it is not getting any snacks but am very grateful I only have two more days to go.
Had my chicken soup about 3pm and still no sign of the virgin man. Slightly irritated by this point but I suppose he still does have another 3hrs in which to turn up. On the up hand, due to Guy making loads of chicken soup I had a bowl and a half available to me so had a bowl with the intention of having the other half later.
6pm I had my banana and still no sign of the virgin man so called them up to be told they would be there within half an hour. Very bored in the house by this point but at least I wasn't that hungry which is good.
Virgin man finally turned up at 6:45 and Guy came home shortly after and we began cooking our lovely dinner of...wait for it...chicken, rice and veg shock horror we are having that again. At least it was warm and filling. Guy also made the pumpkin soup for lunch tomorrow using the last of chicken soup and some chilli (told him to go easy on the chilli) to give it that extra kick.
At least now I am not going to bed hungry as I think my body is finally accepting that it is not getting any snacks but am very grateful I only have two more days to go.
3 days down, 2 to go...
So, I've discovered I really don't like porridge.
However, it is filling and it is warm which is a godsend when your surviving on £1/day.
Today was challenging though - I had meetings scheduled from 11-1 and then 1.20-3 (both external). My usual response would be to duck into a coffee shop or similar and pick up something to eat on the go, but obviously that wasn't an option today! So getting back to the office at quarter past three I could finally have my lunch (chicken soup) and relieve the hunger pangs. It did, however, provide fuel for some interesting discussions during the meetings, whilst I watched them sip an array of coffees and teas.
Dinner was chicken, rice and veg again (it's getting so boring now!), but on the plus side, I prepared my soup for tomorrow (pumpkin) and was done with everything by 10.30!
A major side effect of the challenge I'm noticing is how much of a struggle it is to keep my energy levels up during the day. It's simply because you can't get enough food to properly keep you sustained throughout the day on just £1. I am just so thankful that I can get as much as I do because we don't have to stretch out our budget to include all other bills or any other family members.
However, it is filling and it is warm which is a godsend when your surviving on £1/day.
Today was challenging though - I had meetings scheduled from 11-1 and then 1.20-3 (both external). My usual response would be to duck into a coffee shop or similar and pick up something to eat on the go, but obviously that wasn't an option today! So getting back to the office at quarter past three I could finally have my lunch (chicken soup) and relieve the hunger pangs. It did, however, provide fuel for some interesting discussions during the meetings, whilst I watched them sip an array of coffees and teas.
Dinner was chicken, rice and veg again (it's getting so boring now!), but on the plus side, I prepared my soup for tomorrow (pumpkin) and was done with everything by 10.30!
A major side effect of the challenge I'm noticing is how much of a struggle it is to keep my energy levels up during the day. It's simply because you can't get enough food to properly keep you sustained throughout the day on just £1. I am just so thankful that I can get as much as I do because we don't have to stretch out our budget to include all other bills or any other family members.
Day 2
Felt slightly better today as in didn't wake up hungry. Had porridge again for breakfast with water to drink about 11am. Think today may get better than yesterday.
Lunch
Went to a friends house for a couple of hours which was a lot of fun until she asked if I minded if she had lunch but I was welcome to stay. Not wanting to eat mine until later I stayed and sipped on a tap water while she ate fried rice which smelled really good. She did feel guilty and kept apologising though.
Headed home about 3pm for lunch. The distraction if a friend worked well as didn't really start to feel really hungry until the bus journey back. Distractions are good!! Had chicken soup which was really tasty.
Dinner
Had my banana about 6pm while waiting for Guy to get home so we can make dinner.
He didn't get home to late thank goodness as getting hungry now. Much to my joy we discovered that we decided that the chicken soup had needed to give us 2 meals each but there was a lot more so we were able to have a stater of chicken soup followed by 1 and half stuffed peppers each filled with rice, veg and chopped up chicken wings.
For the first time in this challenge I was able to eat at my normal slow pace opposed to wolfing it down which meant I was full and was still full at bedtime. Although watching a film on tv in which the adverts were mainly for chocolate was not fun.
I cannot believe we allow 1.4 billion people live like this. These people are wondering on daily basis if they will get food at all because they have to make their money stretch for everything from food to medicine and here's me doing this challenge for five days and I'm moaning about not being able to have a chocolate bar or a glass of orange juice. It doesn't make you feel too good and I hope to raise as much awareness as possible doing this.
Roll on day 3.
-Emily
Lunch
Went to a friends house for a couple of hours which was a lot of fun until she asked if I minded if she had lunch but I was welcome to stay. Not wanting to eat mine until later I stayed and sipped on a tap water while she ate fried rice which smelled really good. She did feel guilty and kept apologising though.
Headed home about 3pm for lunch. The distraction if a friend worked well as didn't really start to feel really hungry until the bus journey back. Distractions are good!! Had chicken soup which was really tasty.
Dinner
Had my banana about 6pm while waiting for Guy to get home so we can make dinner.
He didn't get home to late thank goodness as getting hungry now. Much to my joy we discovered that we decided that the chicken soup had needed to give us 2 meals each but there was a lot more so we were able to have a stater of chicken soup followed by 1 and half stuffed peppers each filled with rice, veg and chopped up chicken wings.
For the first time in this challenge I was able to eat at my normal slow pace opposed to wolfing it down which meant I was full and was still full at bedtime. Although watching a film on tv in which the adverts were mainly for chocolate was not fun.
I cannot believe we allow 1.4 billion people live like this. These people are wondering on daily basis if they will get food at all because they have to make their money stretch for everything from food to medicine and here's me doing this challenge for five days and I'm moaning about not being able to have a chocolate bar or a glass of orange juice. It doesn't make you feel too good and I hope to raise as much awareness as possible doing this.
Roll on day 3.
-Emily
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)