Member-only story
Intermittent fasting reminded me of when I was poor
“Fasting” had been a necessity when I was younger.
I like to remind myself every now and then that I need to be grateful for where I am. You forget how much has been accomplished when you’re looking at the big picture and you’re not seeing the little details that made up where you are today.
There was a time in my life where I didn’t know when my next meal would be. I didn’t even know what it would be. For one reason or another, I had about a year of time when I was right out of high school where I was homeless. I didn’t know about all of the resources out there that could have helped me so I survived off free individually wrapped crackers from a gas station. Pride kept me from asking anyone for help and I only broke down if I was offered food. Obviously, my friends didn’t need me to tell them what was going on. They would suddenly have extra food at their house or there was a “coupon” for a free meal at a restaurant.
I didn’t want to lose the one thing that told me I wasn’t going hungry anymore.
I was 5'7 and 115 pounds, my hip bones would be so exposed that if I leaned against a counter I’d have bruises on my body for days. I probably had undiagnosed anemia from having an inconsistent and malnourished diet.
