Today marks one week since the END of our food strike on behalf of prisoners of North Korean labor prisons. Laura and Euna have been reuinted with their families!
Jackie and I continued our food strike to remind everyone (including ourselves) that there are many other victims unjustly imprisoned and starving in labor prisons. Today, after a brief hiatus, we have decided to embark on a program to eat modestly. By this we mean we are limiting our daily caloric intake to almost double what we had while on the food strike -- a meager 600 calories per day. We won't be eating beans, rice, and corn exclusively. Rather, we'll be eating healthy, unprocessed foods--lots of fruits and vegetables, whole wheat breads, eggs from home free-ranged chickens, etc.
Today, I'm making some pasta for us for dinner. I made pasta sauce from my garden tomatoes (no oil, just tomatoes and herbs with a dash of salt). I also have some healthier pasta from Trader Joe's and a spaghetti squash I picked up yesterday to mix in with the pasta. My breakfast a few minutes ago was one free-ranged "home-grown" egg scrambled and mixed with a tablespoon of low fat cottage cheese on half of a toasted whole wheat English muffin.
Wish us luck! I will be having one day every week where I can have one small indulgence (like a treat from a yogurt shop). I'm very excited to start this program. In the one week that I've gone off my food strike, not only have I gained weight, but my stomach has not felt good.
Now, I realize many people will proclaim that 600 calories per day is not healthy. We'll monitor ourselves closely and likely take a multivitamin, just to be safe. But remember - we're eating 600 calories of fresh, whole foods -- with lots of fruits and vegetables. We're not eating empty calories. In fact, if you google "calorie restriction and aging" you'll find a plethora of articles that show the benefits of a severely calorie-restricted diet (as long as the diet is packed full of nutritious foods). In fact, my undergraduate thesis analyzed that very subject.
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