Preparing for Pick Five

So, here's where it starts:

I was watching Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) for the 10,000th time last week and watched Charlie bring home a loaf of bread to feed his family. They called it a banquet. I don't know why this scene waited until this most recent viewing to punch me in the gut.

Then, my teenage cousins just came back from Africa. One of the many reality-checks they were faced with was the simplicity of the Zambian diet. Basically, nshima, a corn/water porridge. And most of the kiddos that my cousins encountered were lucky to get two small bowls a day. Most lived off one.

And then, there's me. Yesterday I ate:

Breakfast: Coffee with cream, two large bowls of Oh!s cereal with milk.

Lunch: Peanut butter and jelly sandwich, applesauce, pretzels, leftover beans & rice.

While making dessert for a barbecue I ate the equivalent of 3 pieces of cake.

Dinner: Three different kinds of chips, baked beans, broccoli salad, sausage, a hamburger with all the toppings, one and a half pieces of carrot cake, one piece of chocolate cake.

Before bed: One more piece of carrot cake.

Conservatively, 4300 calories. And roughly 17 different foods.

I am sick just thinking about it. But instead of shoving another piece of cake down my throat to deal with my anxiety, I have made a decision. For 40 days, beginning August 1st, I'm going to limit my diet to five things. I get to pick the five, but only five. For 40 days.

More on this later.