Day 17: The New Normal

Today I think my body kind of resigned and accepted this as the new "normal." I'm just not getting as hungry as I was in previous days. I'm also feeling a lot more energy in general. My wife says it's due to the weight loss. On that front, I continue to be shocked. As of this morning I've lost 13 pounds! However I will say that my cravings are still in place. At the same time I am feeling more acclimated and less hungry, I am starting to think about some of my favorite foods I've not had access to. I'm even starting to make plans in my mind about what I'll eat on April 29th. I think I'm also looking forward to not having to think about what I'm going to cook each day. That's been one of the more stressful parts of this challenge, but at the same time I am enjoying the puzzle of it all-- trying to figure out how to combine the few ingredients I have to keep the variety flowing. Assuming I have time, I am going to do a little more experimenting later this week or over the weekend. I've had a couple of friends email me some great ideas like seasoned roasted potatoes, and vegetable stir fry! Not sure why stir fry had not occurred to me, but definitely looking forward to trying that out!

As for today, I was not all that creative. I had my usual oatmeal in the morning, no tacos, a new soup, and my triple portion pasta (hard to believe it's already been 3 days since I had pasta). For the new soup, I hard-boiled an egg, chopped it up and added it to a soup chock-full of ingredients: Beans & Rice, Ramen Noodles, Potatoes, Carrots, Cabbage and bean broth. It was good, but it's always better when you're able to eat it right after cooking. I made it this morning and reheated it for lunch. Never quite hits the mark that way. I made corn tortilla chips again, but just enjoyed them as a snack separate from the soup. Anyhow, not sure how interesting this photo will be to anyone, but wanted to document it nonetheless: 

Prayer focus: Pray today for all of Peace Gospel's native pastors in India. It is not uncommon for an Indian pastor to shepherd 5 or 6 congregations, and for him to reach these locations in remote areas by foot or bicycle. These are some of the hardest working men I've ever met. Pray for their safety, health and strength, and that they will receive supernatural ability to yield fruit in their ministry by means not imaginable. 

Estimated Savings for Day 17: Today was kind of back to a normal schedule for me. So if I were not doing this challenge, I would have been back over to my usual once or twice weekly stop at Sri Balaji Bhavan. I would have probably spent about $8. Our internet and phones were down at the office, so I would have taken that as a great opportunity to get some free wifi signal down at Fioza or Starbucks, while enjoying a hot tea for about $1.60. Add this to my normal estimated daily grocery cost of $7, subtract $1 for today's actual cost, and I've got $15.60 saved for my orphanage donation today. This puts my running total at $261.21, which is almost equivalent to 9 months' wages among the poor of South Asia.