I used to be one of those happy (read: sad) people who consider food as the one and only love of their lives. However, there came a time when I had to sever ties with my not-so-skinny love and go on a brutal diet. My days were really messed up, as you'll see. The struggle was real.

BREAKFAST
I woke up in the morning expecting some crunchy toast, two eggs-sunny side up, mashed potatoes, some sausages, a glass of homemade orange juice and a cup of coffee on a nice wooden tray on my bed-stand, only to realise I did not have a bed-stand. Walking up to the dining room, I found this scary looking, soggy bowl of sugar-free oats laid out for me and some bland sugar-free tea that tasted nothing like tea but more like a three day old sock that had been chewed on by Mr. Snuffles. It took me one whole hour to stuff that horror down my throat.

LUNCH 
The guy at the school canteen cast me weird, heartbroken looks because this was the first time I did not buy something from the canteen. While the samosa, shingara and oh-so-delicious shawarma teased me, I sat there at one corner of the canteen with a lunch box full of sliced cucumber and another smaller box containing eggs that looked as if they had been run over by a truck. My friends suggested we bunk classes and go to this new dessert place just across the street, as they supposedly had the best mango cheesecake in town but I refused. I just sat there with the sad cucumber slices and the sad eggs and contemplated life. I figured I could actually find happiness in healthy, fat-free food. But capitalism taught me happiness does not come from free stuff.

EVENING SNACK
I thought of the times when I would go out every evening and have a brownie with a latte or a slice of tiramisu with jasmine tea, and then realise I couldn't breathe because my pants were too tight. However, my mother made me these almond and oatmeal cookies to go along with my evening tea and they were delicious. I realised this was for my own good, that one day I'd be able to go back to what I was before all these cafes and restaurants mushroomed around town. One day my thighs would be thinner than my crush's entire body and he'd finally see the beautiful face that hid behind a triple patty burger all this time. 

DINNER
I had hoped I'd find some warm chicken curry with some rice and my mother's special daal with butter for dinner, but in vain. What I did get for dinner were mashed bitter gourd, sticky rice (not that it was meant to be sticky but it turned out that way), a lentil soup that tasted somewhat like my grandmother's plastic shower cap and two pieces of boiled fish. And when I asked if there was anything for dessert (even a teaspoon of sugar would do honestly), I was promised an Alpenliebe and I couldn't be happier. However, I passed out before I could get to dessert.

Shreyosi Endow is a tea addict who likes to read poetry and is obsessed with plants. Send her a mail at endow1211s@gmail.com