Surviving a starvation diet

[Corny]

look at the links that i provided above. there are better ways to do this ..

 

[altlover85]

It may be psychological, but if you're almost starving you probably aren't thinking clearly, so that doesn't make quitting any easier.

 

[altlover85]

^ So that...justifies the continuation of the smoking?

C'mon now...there's no reason for him to continue smoking. None. Zip. Period. Nada. End of story.

It's money..that's needed for food...going towards something that provides no benefit whatsoever.

We can help him dig his hole and stay in it, or give the tough love that's needed.

I vote for tough love.

I'm saying the focus of the thread is on the health of the diet and not on telling him what he already knows.

 

[navidzurender]

he wants to go on a starvation diet. Do you think that's healthy?

I don't think want is the right term for it, he's just going through it.

about the smoking thing, dissensitization may help i think, it's like instead of quitting smoking right away its better if he reduce the frequency time after time. Its not purely psychological, trust me nicotine plays a big part in being addicted.

 

[Alistair]

Has anyone actually looked at Corny's posted link? The answer is right there. It's a balanced diet with enough calories to sustain a body.

I agree with the quitting smoking. Being stressed is just an excuse for continuing smoking. If you can't afford to eat you can't afford cigarettes.

 

[mbamike]

I just learned over the weekend about chia seeds and their benefits, one of which is they make you feel full longer along with nutritional benefits. I thought you can use these seeds to help stretch your food supply. They cost about $8.00/lb at nuts online.

 

[bankside]

Ashy, if you pick up some vegetables from the food bank and it looks like they won't stay fresh, cook them right away in a quick stir-fry or something. You can then reheat it when you're ready to eat it.

 

[bendted]

Nicotine is an appetite suppressant, though.

I don't know him on a personal level, but I wish desperately that he would not smoke especially considering he rolls his own and they are filterless -- very bad news.

 

[Corny]

Nicotine is an appetite suppressant, though.

and expensive one though. and unlike with alcohol you CAN quit cold turkey. physical addiction to nicotine is gone within a few days. the psychological component requires you to break with old habits though .. but probably a good time to do this.
and yes, i do know two smokers who did it to save money while they were just living from welfare.
if you start with a "it's too difficult" or "i won't make it" attitude it won't work of course.

 

[Corny]

^ if you are physically addicted it will likely cause cramps, unpredictable dangerous seizures, delirium tremens and/or death (untreated DT has a mortality 25%)

i have seen people falling flat on their face and slapping their head against the wall because they were getting too low doses of clomethiazol (because they lied to the doc)

 

[Harke the Boeotarch]

So, with all that out of the way, here's my question: What's the average amount of essential nutrients that I absolutely must be eating in order to not end up in the hospital? Any and all input is welcome, of course.

Your post tells me your brain is starving; after drinking water, food should be your first priority.

You might get some help at a local church or monastery. Another thing you could do is ask a baker if he'll keep some old bread for you and give it to you/sell it to you at a reduced price.

You could raid garbage cans for almost fresh food, and/or you could sell your body for a few extra bucks.

Pasta is cheap, but excellent food.
Potatoes can also be easily made into various things, and eaten.

Stay off the weed. It never helped anyone.

 

[Harke the Boeotarch]

Onions are also cheap, good and keep well.

Stock up on eggs (get them in cartons of 30) and get lots of milk that keeps.

 

[Supersix]

Clip coupons, look for sales, freeze extras to keep them for as long as needed. Someone I know used to make a meat sauce and eat the cheapest pasta they could find with the bits of chop meat in the sauce, and they ate almost nothing but that for a long time. It's cheap, prolly not healthy in the long run. Dreamfields pasta is low carb and tastes great, but kinda expensive.

 

[luckyp]

What's the average amount of essential nutrients that I absolutely must be eating in order to not end up in the hospital?

To answer this specifically about what it takes to prevent you from dying of malnutrition -- the human body requires enough calories to cover energy expenditure, sufficient intake of all 8 amino acids that the adult human body cannot itself produce and sufficient micro-nutrients to prevent diseases such as scurvy and so on.

The average young man who doesn't exercise besides some light walking will burn about 2000 - 2200 calories a day. This can, for the most part, be any fat or carbohydrate. The body can process these about equally.

Most grains and vegetables do not, by themselves, form a complete protein -- containing adequate amounts of all 8 proteins. Meat that has not been heavily processed is a complete protein. Unprocessed grains and beans form a complete protein as well. Corn is seriously lacking in a couple of amino acids and you cannot survive on corn alone. The different sources of protein don't have to be eaten at the same time... variety over the course of a couple days is sufficient.

As for micronutrients, an assortment of fresh foods will normally cover the requirements. If the diet is going to be monotonous (rice and beans every meal for more than a couple weeks), a multivitamin supplement will usually be sufficient.

A total starvation diet (no food, just water) will usually lead to death in a healthy adult of average weight in 2 to 3 months.

A diet sufficient in micronutrients and amino acids but lacking in calories will result in gradual weight loss, first of fat, then muscle mass, ultimately leading to organ damage if continued indefinitely. The rate of loss is corresponding to how much of a deficit between food intake and expenditure is.

A diet lacking in micronutrients or amino acids with or without sufficient calories will result in a variety of nutritional disorders, most of them rather unpleasant. Scurvy, for example results from vitamin C deficiency and would set in within a few months of eating a solely corn or rice-based diet.

There's a lot of good posts above that show you how to meet your minimum requirements for as little as $1 - $2 dollars a day. Combinations of rice/corn/potatoes and various beans and vegetables can be very cheap and filling, they can even be quite tasty. Potato/bean stews can be very cheap and fairly simple to make. If you have any more money, very cheap cuts of meat can be cut up small and cooked on low in the stew for 6+ hours to soften it up.

Avoid eating the same thing every day because it's possible an essential nutrient is missing from that particular combination. A daily multivitamin and a single can of salmon a week will eliminate any concern of nutrition deficits, in which case you can concentrate on covering your daily caloric need.

Good luck.

 

[wooffy]

Poor guy - posts here for some info on how to do survive with little food, and people jump the shark. This is why I never ask for personal advice online!