Week 1 of "7" - Food

Over Christmas Break I was given the book Seven by Jen Hatmaker. I had heard quite a bit about the book, and anxiously awaited receiving it from a dear friend who had previously informed me she was giving it to me as a Christmas gift. The book is the result of Jen's "experimental mutiny against excess" she perceived in American culture. She chose 7 areas in her life where she realized she lived in utter excess, and decided to spend a month focusing on each area. My friend Lauren and I decided to challenge and grow ourselves by going through a 7 week version of the experiment. We chose a shorter time period because, being a college student, a 7 month endeavor would hardly be feasible for many reasons.
So, here I am, week 1. Realizing our obsession love for food, Lauren and I decided to focus on the excess of food first. Because we are attempting this over a shorter period of time, we decided we should probably make it a little more challenging during each of the 7 weeks. In her book, Jen chose to eat only 7 different foods for the entire month. She also focused on buying locally and organically. Lauren and I decided to choose 5 foods instead, and since I am in college, I am buying at the Walmart. 
My foods: grilled chicken, bananas, spinach, eggs, bleu cheese. Yes, I chose bleu cheese. Despite its lack of substantial nutrients, I decided flavor was more important than variety (non-salt spices are a no-go this week). Oh, and I get to drink water.
Day 1: I spent the afternoon at a friend's house grilling thin-sliced chicken breasts and hard-boiling a dozen eggs. I ate a spinach and chicken salad accompanied with my light bleu cheese, and it wasn't a bad meal! I'm waiting for my bananas to ripen a little more. For dinner a friend and I decided to go to Chili's. That was dumb. I told the waiter, "I just want lettuce and grilled chicken. And bleu cheese on the side. Nothing else." I ate it, and it was good, but it wasn't fun watching Meaghan eat a flavorful plate right across the table from me. They also tried to charge me $9 for the measly meal, but I got it down to $6 (shout out to the great waitress at Chili's!).  Even though I ate a lot of yummy veggies and protein, I'm still hungry. All I want are Oreos. And milk. And flavored water. And a milkshake. That's it. I officially decided that since I haven't eaten any eggs yet, I'm going to change my fifth food to something that actually has a flavor. I exchange eggs for fruit loops. I can't wait for breakfast.
Day 2: Breakfast was my personal version of Heaven.
Day 3: I just reread Jen's chapter on food and apparently she ate almost all-natural ingredients. I don't think she'd approve of my fruit loop substitution. You know what? I DON'T CARE. All day long I've been starving. I didn't realize until I started this how much I care about food. Sure, I know I think about it all the time. Immediately after eating a meal I start thinking about/planning what I will have for the next one. I've started to quit thinking that way because I already know what I'll have for my next meal: fruit loops and a banana. And at lunch I'll have a banana and chicken and lettuce. And for dinner I'll have the same thing. For the next 4 days.  Because I reread the chapter, I'm understanding I haven't been focusing on the things that will make this process actually worth something. Yes, I've acknowledged that we have an incredible amount of options to choose from and that I think about food in an almost idolatrous way. Maybe not even almost idolatrous. I think food may just be a god in my life. Ouch. Throughout the rest of the week, however, I'd like to use this as a fast of sorts. Instead of my rumbling tummy being an annoyance or a reminder of my hatred of this experiment, I hope to use it as a note of the blessings I receive in having delicious food and as a reminder to thank God for his provision. Also, I want chocolate. Any form. Just give it to me.
Day 4: Today I focused more on prayer as my stomach growled, but it was still difficult for me to do so. I don't have a ton of fasting experience, but each time I've taken part in a fast of sorts I always end up mainly focusing on my hunger, not on the point of the hunger. Maybe it's because of my lack of expertise. Maybe it's because I have a foreignness to the feeling of hunger. Maybe it's because I adore food. I wish I was becoming more attuned to what God was trying to teach me. All in good time, I guess. I also bought Walmart brand Fruit Loops (AKA Fruit Spins). There is a difference, people. Don't go off brand. But still, I opened the box in the parking lot of Walmart and didn't stop stuffing handfuls in my mouth until I unbuckled my seatbelt back at Milligan. I literally drove with a giant box of open Fruit Loops on my lap. Did I feel pathetic? Absolutely. 
Day 5: Lesson learned today? It's OK to be hungry. Usually I get so excited when a hunger pain hits, because that means I get to make it stop by filling my mouth with something delicious! Unfortunately, my stomach has not been adjusting well to this weird diet, and it's been pretty achy for the better part of this week. Maybe it's adjusting fine and it's just been achy because it's empty. My dear friend, Mandy, asked me the other day as I was complaining (yet again), "Is there a limit on how much of the 5 foods you can eat?" My answer was, "No." "Well then why are you so hungry?" I thought about that for a while, because it made sense as to why she'd ask that question. The answer I came up with was this: I've been hungry because, instead of quenching my stomach's desire for food, I've denied it. Not because I wanted to go hungry, but because the food options I had were less appealing than a belly ache. And guess what? I was hungry. And I survived. It's OK to not give in to your every desire.
Day 6: I'm kind of missing out on a lot of community due to this thing. It's probably the biggest downfall to this week. Sure, I've eaten healthier and learned some treasured lessons, but I've also not gotten to participate in many meals in the caf, planned any coffee dates, eaten meals out, gone on any Dunkin runs, or taken part in cookie dough consumption alongside friends. This experiment is supposed to save money and create more time to be with people that are important to me, but with the uniqueness of my college setting, this week has done very little of either. That's why I'm waiting for the full 7-monther (maybe) until I'm living on my own.
Day 7: I might have prayed that they wouldn't have any chicken breasts or salad at the ski lodge today. No such luck. $13 for two pieces of chicken. At least they were big! Also, this week ends in 4 hours and 19 minutes. Halle-freakin-lujah.
End: It's now 1:04 on Sunday morning, and I've eaten a large piece of chocolate cake and a handful of Sour Patch Kids. In hearing this you may think I gained nothing from this week, but your thoughts would be incorrect. Listed above are different lessons I've been taught through the simplicity of limited food choices and through the denying oneself of every wish. I think the most important one I'm going to take away is the one I hit on on day 5. Hunger isn't necessarily a problem we need to fix. Sometimes it can just be a reminder... a reminder that we have access to more foods (both in quantity and variety) than we can ever comprehend. A reminder that our life and sustenance comes from the mercies of God alone. A reminder that our momentary discomfort would be the grateful cries of 805,000,000 starving people on our planet.