Ouch. I actually don't recommend that anyone do this task.

The meat of this proof is here: the video diary of my 24 hour stupidity, thanks to youtube

8:59 am I began by getting up early and having a hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon, hashbrowns and an english muffin. With a full belly, I began my day.

11:55 am Things went fine until lunch, when I started to feel hungry. Instinct took over, and I almost ate a jellybean without thinking about it. Bad instinct!

I chose a friday, because I knew it presented the most opportunities for temptation. I was not disappointed.

Every friday, my friends and I go out to an large lunch at one of the local restaurants in the marina. This friday, we went out to a Japanese restaurant, and I ordered a tall glass of water. I watched my pals devour some of my favorite foods: eel, gyoza, tonkatsu...

By this time, they were onto me, as I was filming everything as it happened. So they got into the spirit of it, and began taunting me, offering me food, and making a great show of enjoying it. I had 5 glasses of water.



1:12 pm They went next to the local ice cream parlor. The owner knows us and serves us large portions accordingly. I was surrounded by shakes and cones, and the sound of enjoyment.



1:51 pm The internet, I learn, has a wealth of pictures of food. I try to focus on work, but start to realize how many video games revolve around food.



Cameron Suey needs food, badly.

2:25 pm I go for a walk to take my mind of the burgeoning hunger. I head to a local convenience store with a friend, where the contents of every shelf and plastic wrapper mock me, mercilessly.

2:47 pm On the way back, I am met by several friends from lunch. Those who did not partake in ice cream earlier are now having gelatto. They again make a show of enjoying it, which I suspect was not difficult.

The most disturbing part of the experience comes here: I was showing how brittle the organic corn composite plastic spoons are by breaking it into many chunks. I cut myself on a sharp edge and immediately bring the wound to my lips.

The blood begins to taste... good.

I get a napkin, and tried not to think of steak tartar.

3:51 pm A coworkers going away party means a wealth of cake has been deposited in the break room. Thinking only of my best interests, they bring me a slice, and leave it on my desk. I give it to one of my neighbors, who eyes it and me with suspicion.

5:49 pm Time to go home. I stand for an inordinately long time in front of a vending machine. A "Take Five" bar winks at me. I get in my car

6:21 pm Outside my house, I barely resist an impulse to reach up and pull a flower of a bush. It looks delicious. I begin to realize, that I am not tired, but devoid of energy, and my brain is sluggish. Like I said, I almost ate a flower. The stairs to my house drain me.

I go to get the mail in the garage and instantly forget why I am there. There is a heavenly smell, like a rain of sugar cookies.

My roommate comes home and finds me there. He asks, with a wrinkled nose: "Who the hell is burning toast?"

I can't trust my senses anymore.

7:51 pm My roommate asks if I want to order a pizza. I say yes, suggest my favorite combo (Spinach, garlic, red onions, chicken, meatballs), and then sit and watch him eat. He is initially unnerved, but very quickly learns to taunt me.

8:20 pm I pass the long night by watching terrible movies. It helps, until the unlikable characters start eating. Then I became angry. Or as angry as I have the energy to be.


11:47 pm Bed, and a long, fitful, dreamless sleep.

10:01 pm I wake, like a kid on christmas morning, ready to unwrap presents of grease and protein. Not yet. My roommate will join me for breakfast, and he's still out running.

11:35 pm We arrive at the Bashful Bull. Although I want to get there with some haste, I am still devoid of energy. My legs begin to cramp after just a few blocks.

11:35 pm We arrive. I supplement my original meal with Biscuits and Gravy, Ham, Sausage, and Pancakes.

It would be trite to say it was a great meal. My bodies desire for calories made each bite glow with a divine aura, and if these be earthly eggs, why then, they come from the queen of all chickens.

I finish my meal in mere minutes, cleaning the plate.

12:01 I begin to feel very ill, as my body processes the sudden dump of awful, wonderful food. Later meals this day consist of lettuce, and fruit.

Things what I done learned

My whole day revolves around food, and without a center, it seemed ambling, and strange. I felt without purpose and strangely cagey. There was nothing to set my watch by, little to look forward to. Regular meals are the clock of the day

I only see my friends at work to eat: For lunch, coffee, or snacks. I never realized this but it seems so obvious to me now. We bond over food, we talk over food, and when we aren't eating, we're talking about where to eat next week, we talk about dinner plans, and share restaurant reviews. Food is our social glue.

I love food. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Water is your saving grace. And urinating every five minutes helps pass the time.

I don't cook a single thing. I work all day to get money, to pay someone else to prepare my food. It's almost a barter system, only everyone gets taxed

The ever-presence of food in art and culture is never so apparent as when you aren't eating. It infuses everything, and when you aren't hungry, it's nearly invisible background noise.

Your body needs food, as my lethargy and apathy showed; but not nearly so much as I thought. After 3 days of fasting, supposedly, the sensations of hunger and torpor go away, as your body rewires to draw energy purely from stored resources.

If anyone wants to try and take it that far, I'd love to hear about it...