Day 6: Weight Loss Sets In

Here I am at the end of day 6, also at the end of my first of 5 rations of cooked pinto beans. Today I learned that another miscalculation wound up in my favor. I had mis-measured the original quantity of beans, and so now on the next 4 rations I will get an additional 1/2 cup of dry beans for each ration, which comes to about an extra 1 & 1/3 cups of cooked beans per 6 days (I've discovered you get about 2.75 cups of cooked pinto beans for every 1 cup uncooked). 

On the health front, I was surprised by an unintended side-effect of the challenge: weight loss. I guess I knew I might lose a few pounds, but not so fast. As of this morning, I've lost 6 pounds. Kind of a nice bonus, as I could stand to loose a few pounds. I feel like I've cleared the initial hurdle of the shock to the system. The headaches are completely gone and I'm getting used to the hunger pangs I start feeling about an hour or two before meals. There was also a bit of irritability going on for the first few days, and that's now gone-- I'm in a pretty good mood. One thing that remains is the fatigue and with that, a bit of absent-mindedness as I recorded earlier. I think it has to do with the fact that I've probably cut my caloric intake by about 50%, but I'm not exactly certain of that stat. I hope to find time in the next few days to do the math and really figure out how many calories I'm consuming per day with the food I have.

I thought I would include a photo of the ingredients of my Ramen Noodle Stew. I must say, it looks quite healthy, doesn't it? Thanks to the seasoning, it's quite tasty as well. Here's the list:

• 1/3 ramen noodle block
  
• 2.6 oz. potatoes
  
• 1 oz. carrots
  
• 1 oz. cabbage
  
• 1/2 cup cooked brown rice
  
• 3/4 cup pinto bean stock
  
• 4-5 dashes of Season All
  
• 1/3 ramen seasoning pack
  

Prayer focus: Pray again for the Indian government leaders today, that they may be more committed to tackle the serious problems of their society -- in a culture of corruption at many levels of government, that they may find ways to free up the economy to reduce poverty, improve the national infrastructure, deal with the widespread use of child labor, female infanticide, the rapid spread of AIDS and overwhelming stress on the environment.

Estimated Savings for Day 6: Today we took a family road trip. As is almost tradition with any Trapolino family road trip, we typically stop at Starbucks on the way out. I probably would have topped off my trusty tumbler with a hot black tea & a splash of half and half, at about a $1.60. On the way back into town, we stopped at an old favorite restaurant of ours, Taj India on Highway 6. They have one of the more affordable Indian buffets in town, at $7.95. I abstained of course, and just tried to busy myself with helping the kids and the time passed without me thinking too much about what I was missing out on. Add in my normal estimated daily grocery cost of $7, subtract today's actual cost of $1, and I came up with $15.55 saved for the orphanage today. My running total is now at $90.23 in just 6 days, about equal to 3 month's wages among the poor of South Asia.