Eating on a Bangladesh budget: Day five

Inspired by a visit to Bangladesh with Save the Children, I’m trying to eat on 40p per day – like the villagers we met.

Too few calories

I was feeling faint and dizzy last night as I went to bed and much worse this morning.  I am sure this is directly related to eating too few calories, although the almost complete absence of vegetables in my diet may be a factor.

I’ve decided I won’t learn enough new insights on this last day to justify the potential harm, so I’ve wimped out and had my normal breakfast of a large bowl of muesli with a whole chopped banana on top. 

A couple of hours later I’m still feeling unusually weak, so it may take a bit of time to get back to normal.

Energy intake vs exertion

The factor which pushed me over the edge was the exercise yesterday. Balancing effort and energy intake is something I’ve only ever bothered with on long backpacking trips in the mountains, or when cycling more than 80 miles in a day. It’s obviously much more significant if you’re already on a marginal diet. 

Yet again, the skills of the Pailakandi villagers in surviving on their very limited incomes has become apparent.