Posted on 10/11/2021 7:15:54 PM PDT by Roman_War_Criminal
Calories are an important part of your daily life. Your body needs calories just to operate, with even the most basic functions of your organs, such as the beating of your heart, consuming calories.
But how many calories you need in a day to survive is different from how many calories you usually eat on a day-to-day basis. That’s because, in a survival situation, your priority is staying alive until you can better your circumstances and eat more enjoyable foods. Until then, you may not get all the nutrients your body needs to stay in top shape.
Determining the minimum calories needed to survive isn’t an exact science due to factors like age, sex and weight. However, it’s possible to get close to an ideal range that you can aim for in an SHTF scenario.
Read on to learn more about the minimum calories needed for survival. (h/t to Survivopedia.com)
Minimum calories needed for survival Surviving on very few calories for a brief period is possible, but it’s not exactly sustainable. For instance, eating fewer than 1,000 calories per day is said to have the same effect physiologically as total starvation.
Experts recommend a much higher calorie level to maintain optimal health. Sedentary adult females should eat 1,800 calories per day, while moderately active ones should eat 2,000 calories. On the other hand, sedentary adult males need about 2,400 calories per day, while an active man needs up to 2,600 calories.
That said, you can survive on 1,200 to 1,500 calories per day if you’re in a pinch. However, this amount will only help you barely survive. If your resources are limited, your goal should be to survive on that minimum amount of calories while working towards improving your situation so that you can get back to your normal calorie intake.
It’s crucial that you don’t eat a low amount of calories for long because you’ll miss out on the health benefits of various nutrients. Vitamins, minerals, fiber and other essential nutrients are key to helping your body and brain perform at peak levels. If you don’t get enough of these nutrients, you risk experiencing health problems, including fatigue, constipation and weaker bones.
Another downside of only eating the minimum calories to survive is the impact that it has on your metabolism. According to experts, if you’re not taking in enough calories, your body will go into survival mode and slow down your metabolism in an effort to conserve energy. A slowed metabolism can lead to weight gain.
That said, spending a few days only eating the minimum calories needed to survive is unlikely to cause any long-term damage.
How to make high-calorie survival energy bars In a survival situation, eating high-calorie foods is key to maintaining your energy levels. You likely won’t be at liberty to eat your fill of enjoyable foods. Therefore, you’ll want to go for compact, high-calorie foods that get the job done. Energy bars are an example of such foods.
Energy bars are meant to keep you nourished in a pinch. Their very name indicates that they provide energy, which comes from macronutrients like carbohydrates, protein and fat. (Related: Micronutrients and macronutrients: 6 Essential nutrients and why you need each one to stay healthy.)
However, most store-bought energy bars are no better than candy bars. Despite marketing claims that they are good for you, many commercially made energy bars are chock-full of added sugar and other harmful ingredients. Therefore, you’d be better off making your own survival energy bars.
Try making some today by following this recipe for survival energy bars with rolled oats:
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups powdered milk 2 cups rolled oats 1 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup water 1/4 cup dried fruit powder 3 Tablespoons raw honey Preparation:
Combine the oats, milk and sugar in a bowl. Combine the honey, dried fruit powder and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and pour into the dry ingredients. Mix until a dough forms. The dough will be stiff, so use a food processor or heavy-duty mixer if needed. If the dough feels too stiff, add a teaspoon of water at a time and continue mixing until you can spread the dough evenly onto a baking sheet. Cut the dough into bars, then bake at 200 to 250 F for 1.5 hours. Store in airtight containers.
Here’s one I ran across awhile ago. Don’t know how long they stay fresh and edible:
Survival Logs Recipe
1 cup peanut, almond, cashew or other “nut butter”
1/2 to 3/4 cup honey, corn syrup, maple syrup, or homemade sugar syrup
2-3 cups crushed corn flakes, granola, crispy rice cereal, cookie, dry bread, pretzel, cracker or cake crumbs
Optional flavorings—dried milk powder, chopped dried fruits, sunflower seeds, chocolate chips, gumdrops, m&ms, candy sprinkles, chopped nuts, coconut
1 .In a saucepan, heat syrup to boiling, remove from heat.
2. Add nut butter, stir until melted and blend well.
3. Stir in enough cereal or crumbs to form a stiff dry dough
4. Knead in optional flavorings; form into candy bar size logs.
5. Roll in additional crumbs, coconut or sprinkles as desired. Wrap individually in wax paper or foil for travel or hiking food. Makes 10 logs.
Stacey Abrams: “Oh, no. I knew I picked the wrong week to diet. And to quit drinking. And to....”
You get weaker and weaker and more and more mentally foggy.
Your heart begins to beat oddly, your circulation slows, your muscles cramp and shake.
No one has taken it beyond 100 days.
Not going to work for me. I don’t eat sugar, syrup or other sugary products, no wheat, no chocolate. Recipe looks uber yuk to me.
Calories are relative. I’m a very small person, do not need “average” anything.
Also, I detest pizza, beer, chocolate and football. They rescinded my citizenship last year :). Drink red wine with dinner. Have yogurt for dessert.
My doc says I’m super healthy and will definitely live to be 100. I may need a few more years to see my uber-bitchy kitty through her life, because no-one else would put up with her.
I do eat beef, chicken, salmon, eggs, drink a little milk, just a wee bit of fruit and lots of organic veggies. Potatoes are my main starch. Love tiny red potatoes, steamed, and sliced into omelets, and with dinner. I have two meals/day. Who needs more when you get up late?
It’s not calories that count, but which foods you eat. A vegetarian diet of 2000 calories will lead to starvation while a 2000 calorie diet of meat and fat is plentiful and healthy.
Remember, this is for when you are up against it, hiking a 20 mile trail or on the run for some reason.
My Nutrisystem diet was 1200 calories/day.
Sounds yummy - maybe add some protein powder? My dad has four or five gallon size containers of it; one scoop of it has 30 grams of protein.
Don’t put a ‘best use date’ on it - should last couple of years if you vacuum seal it.
How To Make Survival Ration Bars At Home
https://www.askaprepper.com/how-to-make-survival-ration-bars-at-home/
Ping
I haven’t share this in some time, but here is my Preparedness Manual I put together some time ago
https://www.mediafire.com/file/nita0e562aytg1b/Preparedness_1j.pdf/file
I know media Fire is not the best host but its free. I am looking into other services, but MediaFire will have to work for now.
Good recipe. The drier it can be made, the longer it will probably last.
It is both.
For an active, large male, in a cold climate, 2000 calories a day of meat and fat is a starvation diet.
flr
bkmk
Some Scot fasted for a year monitored by a hospital. I’ll find one of the articles later.
Mix 50% meat powder, 45% tallow, 5% berry powder by weight.
Make into five ounce logs.
Each log is about 1000 calories.
Lasts pretty much forever if you use a food saver.
If you have fat reserves, you’re good to go for energy. You don’t need to eat large quantities of fat, protein, or carbs. You do need vitamins, minerals, and essential amino and fatty acids — five hundred calories a day of the right stuff would easily supply those.
If you don’t have fat reserves, you’ll need to add a thousand calories or so, of anything. Your body will turn it into energy. If you’re big or active, you’ll need more than a thousand calories. Skinny is not a good survival tactic.
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