Day 2 - Post-Post-Apocalypse

The results are in!  I looked over all of them and they seem pretty consistent - no huge drops or significant changes.  I wouldn't say my health suffered and I wouldn't say it was optimal, but I'm also not a doctor.  One surprising result is that I gained weight.  I am not sure if it was food choice or maybe shift in metabolism due to irregular eating patterns.

There are a few things that I have come to appreciate/notice/understand having transitioned back to buying food:

1. Transitioning felt a little like that scene in 'The Shawshank Redemption', where the guy gets out of prison and he just can't cope with life out of the pen.  I felt a little lost and reluctant to purchase food at first.  Fortunately for me, it was 3 months and not like 20 years, so the feeling passed within a day.  Truly, lasting new habits only require a few months to take shape and form. 
2. Being able to choose the food you eat is so much better for your spirit than being confined to a certain set of choices.  This seems obvious.  Some days it was like this great adventure and others I looked to food for comfort; the latter days were the most difficult.  There is a discipline that arises from making do with what you have and being grateful that you at least have something.  Sometimes my body would ask for fresh veggies and that wasn't something I could always provide.  I could feel that voice get a little smaller, as if it had decided there was no use in speaking if the request couldn't be fulfilled. 
3. I completely understand why some food banks have a list of items they want and don't want.  My sister has a food bank project with Langley this year and the list explicitly says 'no boxed Kraft Dinner/Mr. Noodles' and 'no soups without vegetables'.  Last year, I was of the mind-set that they should be grateful to receive food.  This year I see how variety and nutritional options can be helpful to opening possibility space and encouraging growth.
4. Fresh foods that I have selected taste fantastic!  Deprivation increases sensation, for sure.  Yesterday I had lettuce with balsamic vinegar and olive oil - it felt like after 3 months of camping, I had just taken a shower at home.
5. Would I do it again?  Yes.  However, I don't think I can ever really repeat this unless something external forces me to no longer be able to purchase groceries.  A big part of it was being unprepared for the experience.  Not stocking up on food beforehand.  If you know you will do this, you subconsciously prepare and plan, I think.

December blood test results