It’s the last day. I can almost taste the chocolate that has been sat in the fridge since before I started this. Walked the dogs and did some more weights as I won’t be running again for a couple of days. I’m surprised how well I actually feel; I thought I would be worn down and totally fed up by today, but I’m not.
Lunch was a cheese sandwich; I was able to make the slices of bread nice and thick to fill us up. We only had the tiniest bit of cheese left for tonight. I have been impressed with how we’ve made 1 block of cheese last the week, it does make you realise how much of the things you like that you use. I really should eat less cheese as I don’t need the extravagance of just how much I usually use.
I had to go and do some shopping after work as we have visitors tomorrow. I bought a pack of sausages to add to the pasta with tinned tomatoes and onion, as this made a lovely meal and will definitely be something that I’d do again.
Reflection: I am extremely fortunate! I haven’t always been and because of that, I don’t think I would ever take for granted the fact I am able to make choices about what and when I eat. It made me realise that although I probably eat very similarly to how I did last week, when the choice is taken away from you it feels very different. I probably missed chocolate more than anything else, but I was determined to stick to it and didn’t touch the bars of chocolate that were sat in the fridge. I also realised just how much I snack throughout the day, mostly they are healthy snacks, but not being able to graze constantly hit me hard.
I am lucky that I was able to go out and do ‘free’ things like running with friends. Even going to the pub was not traumatic and I didn’t feel embarrassed about only having water.
It was interesting asking friends to try and do a shopping list for a week allowing a £1 per day per person. When they actually thought about it, they realised it was much more difficult that they initially thought. It also made them think about how much they spend each week and what would they change if they didn’t have the funds available that they have now. Hopefully it has opened their eyes a bit to the challenges that people face day to day.
Norwich foodbank blog 