30 Hour Famine

On Thursday and Friday this week I participated in my school's thirty hour famine. It was an interesting event, as I had only ever done a 24 hour famine before. I found that overall, I wasn't that hungry, I was just weak and tired. I can't imagine how, feeling like I did, those children in Africa do it. Throughout the famine I drank 6 L of water, 3 L of diluted juice, and got 9 hours of sleep. Personally, I had a good experience with famine, and plan to do it again next year!

Famine Log:

(famine went from 7:30am on Thursday to 1:30pm on Friday)

9:30am: Two hours in and I'm not hungry yet. I usually don't eat at this time anyways. This morning I had a nice big breakfast with grains and protein which is supposed to take a long time to absorb into your body so you won't get a crash. I'm really excited for the day!

12:30pm: Five hours in and I'm beginning to feel the hunger. Nothing intense, just a normal, between-meals kind of hunger. I've been drinking loads of water, probably more than I need, but I really don't want to get dehydrated. Also, I'm still excited!

2:30pm: Seven hours in and I'm hardly feeling it. It is fascinating to see how little we actually need the food we consume, and how eating at certain times is often just a habit, not a necessity. I am beginning to feel a bit weak and a little distracted from lack of energy, but otherwise I'm good!

4:30pm: Nine hours in and I'm feeling more hungry, but I'm keeping distracted in the school gym that was opened with all the equipment for the famine-rs. My friend, Akina, and I have been having a great time swinging on ropes and jumping on high jump mats! Going good!

6:30pm: Eleven hours in and I'm still feeling alright. I'm not so much hungry as weak. If it keeps going like this, sleeping is going to be easy.

8:30pm: Thirteen hours in and I'm feeling okay. A few minutes ago I was feeling desperately hungry, but then I had a diluted juice, and I'm feeling much better. Now that I'm just 2 hours shy of the halfway point, I'm not excited for tomorrow, but I'm definitely still glad to be doing this.

9:30pm: Fourteen hours in and I'm off to bed. I don't feel hungry, but I'm so tired I can barely keep my eyes open.

(*Added note: I usually go to bed at 9:30pm - 10pm, but I'm not usually as tired as I was.)

7:30am: Twenty-four hours in and I am HUNGRY! When I woke up I was alright, but now my stomach is like ghnagkiovake, if that makes sense. I also cannot concentrate to save my life right now.

10:30am: Twenty-seven hours in and I am still really hungry and just waiting for 1:30pm. So far school hasn't been much of a distraction because I can't think very straight.

1:45pm: YES! FOOD! This was a fun experience, but right now my stomach is totally weird and bloated. Time to try to get my body back into regular swing.