Day 37 - Mother's Day Mutters

Weight 179.6

This is the first day I broke the 180 pound weight barrier.  I was stuck in the 182 zone for several weeks.  I'm not sure what made the difference because I haven't been exercising or working out in any way and I certainly have not been hunting or gathering much.  It's just been kind of a lazy regular weekend.  For breakfast I had two sunken eggs over easy and they were delicious.  It's really a shame that I don't feel comfortable eating any of the floaters but who wants to even think about getting sick from old eggs.  It was a very well intended gift but I'm not going to get sick experimenting with questionable eggs at this point in the challenge.

Sunken Over Easy Eggs

Normally I would be in the 'wind down' mode on Day 37 of the Survivor Diet.  But today seems like most every other day recently.  Actually, it's Mother's Day today so it is kind of a 'special occasion.'  We took our moms out for brunch at the Kitchen Witch in Monmouth Beach so that they could see Jamie in action at work.  I didn't order anything and I was content gathering the scraps from the plates of the rest of the family after they were finished.  This is becoming a common trend and many of my recent meals have come from scraps.

Jamie's first job

The scraps have a good and a bad side to them.  The bad part is that it's easy - almost too easy.  An additional bad is the fact that it could be any food - meaning bad/toxic/preservatives are making their way into my system by way of other people's garbage.  Another bad is that I have stretched this weekly reward from "Garbage my kids would throw away or waste," to include everyone else's scraps and throw away food.  On the good side I am not only learning a lot about scavenging foods and how much is really wasted but I am also consuming this food instead of wasting it.  I am also appreciating more of what is provided by others.

It's a new and strange feeling.  Sometimes it feels like I'm a hobo or beggar or homeless person.  The people around me must feel a little uncomfortable as well.  I sit there with no food and they feel guilty about eating their whole meal - knowing that I will take the scraps that would normally get tossed.  Then they 'pretend' to not want to eat their last bites of food.  Well, if anything it's a good social science experiment.  Yesterday's ideas about the benefits and drawbacks of modern refrigeration, and today's experience with waste have given me much to think about.

Interestingly, a question I find myself (asking myself) is whether or not food scraps destined for the trash should be part of my Survivor Diet Challenge at all?  I am left with a moral dilemma.  On one hand I am preventing waste of something that is still perfectly good to eat.  On the other I am now consuming foodstuff that is definitely not on the SDC's normal menu.  After some thought, I have come up with a compromise.  I will most certainly have to write an amendment to my SDC Rules and Rewards.  I have decided that food samples, food scraps from my kids, or any other properly scavenged food items (that would most certainly be destined for the trash) must be Survivor Worthy in their substance.

Definition of Survivor Worthy: For some form of food to be deemed Survivor Worthy it must originate from a whole food source, must not contain toxic chemicals or preservatives, and it must not be genetically modified.  ie. Twinkies going in the trash are a no no.

From this point forward I will hold my scavenging to a higher standard in an attempt to not deviate too much form the core goals of the Survivor Diet (Lose unneeded weight, get healthy, learn a bunch of new things and have a whole lot of fun in the process).

She's washing dishes?  Never knew she could! jk