on the food you have in your house right now, how long would you last?

I could probably eat for two weeks, and survive another 10-12 days on my body fat

or should i try to survive on fat and eat later?

3/23/2009 10:43:19 PM

chit chat?

What all would you be doing every day, in terms of activity?
at 3500cal/lb fat, 11 days (on a 2000cal daily expenditure assumption) is only an extra 6lbs of fat. If you've done that well on your weight loss, congrats

I don't know how far off base this figuring is though. In terms of staying alive as long as possible, I think it'd be more prudent to stretch out food as long as possible. Maybe stay in the 600-???cal range: low enough to force your body into starvation mode, but enough to give you at least periodic mental clarity.

If you choose one or the other and stop eating first, your body will go into starvation mode and hang onto as it can of the food you eat later. Seems like you'd get more mileage out of it that way.

[Edited on March 23, 2009 at 11:05 PM. Reason : fdg]

[Edited on March 23, 2009 at 11:05 PM. Reason : lk]

3/23/2009 11:03:58 PM

ibtmtcc

3/23/2009 11:06:13 PM

I just hope the nuclear apocalypse occurs when I'm at work. There are tons of fallout shelters all over the place there.

3/23/2009 11:06:59 PM

I'm thinking I'll sell the food for beer. I don't really want to prolong the inevitable.

3/23/2009 11:11:02 PM

I was actually just this weekend learning about long-term food storage.

(I like to buy stuff in bulk, but haven't got storage down to a science yet We've got grain moths or something. So my mom sent me a thread from a scrapbooking board where there are lots of mormons. It was a thread about stockpiling and such. Apparently, a part of the mormon emphasis on family involves making sure that one can provide for them, no matter what. To that end, the church says each family should have 3 months of food laid in. Except the calculators online for this sort of stuff say crazy shit like 300lbs of rice for two people, in addition to various other grains and other stuff. It's kind of nuts. She sent me the link for storage options.)

Apparently, people plan for 30 years of storage for some of their stuff

3/23/2009 11:11:12 PM

Two days

I need to go grocery shopping.

3/23/2009 11:12:31 PM

Oh yeah

If we say "fuck it...let's live well", 3 weeks, if we try and deplete everything. 1.5 weeks, if we only want to eat the good/tasty stuff.

If we ration, I could see 5-6 weeks.

we're each carrying a LOT of blubber, so...I dunno.

3/23/2009 11:14:43 PM

Depends...

I might run out of insulin before I run out of food. Or maybe I'd just off myself by inducing a hypoglycemic coma...

In case of any "end of society" type situation I'd be lucky to die quickly and immediately rather than try to survive. Diabetics don't stand a fucking chance.

3/23/2009 11:15:43 PM

Hrm....Just for starters ...

We have 13 boxes of cereal. 15 cans of tuna and tons of canned veggies. I think we still have 1/2 of a 50 pound bag of rice and 10 pound bag of black beans downstairs. He is a manager at a gas station and is forever bringing home Frito Lay products that expire on the day of. So I would guess we have ~12 full size bags of Cheetos (I normally give these away, but in a nuclear winter I would make an exception). Oh and I forgot the Christmas presents! I asked for granola bars for Christmas. I got 3 boxes of ~100 bars (the ones from Costco). I still have a good many of those left.

I just looked for drinks. We have 4 64 oz. juices and 5 12 packs of soda.

So if we ate out the perishables first. I would say we would be good for quite some time. Holy Good God! I don't think I would last as long as the Mormons, but Eddie and me would do just fine.

I am most concerned about the fact I have 20 rolls of paper towels. I know they were basically free, but still.

Oh and blubber calculations. I have lost about 30 pounds this year, but I am sure that in the time of need I still have enough that would allow for survival awhile.

[Edited on March 23, 2009 at 11:25 PM. Reason : ]

3/23/2009 11:22:53 PM

Quote :

"but Eddie and me would do just fine."

I won't lie. I had to go read about just exactly what nuclear winter is, to make sure I was framing a proper response.

What exactly do you think constitutes "just fine"?

3/23/2009 11:24:17 PM

Unless most of you all are reasonably heavily armed you will die when packs of scavengers start raiding your neighborhood and taking your shit.

This is assuming that the US government and any law and order gets proper fucked by the nuclear war.

3/23/2009 11:26:23 PM

If you are at the point where you are calculating how long you will live, you are doing much better than your neighbor.

3/23/2009 11:26:25 PM

^I'm gonna disagree.

[Edited on March 23, 2009 at 11:30 PM. Reason : and ask why you hold that opinion]

3/23/2009 11:28:29 PM

I'd be fucked

3/23/2009 11:51:50 PM

< Well armed crew here. Can I join a well fed crew and we share

3/23/2009 11:53:46 PM

You all want to see some people who are seriously obsessed with surviving something like this?

http://zombiehunters.org/whatiszs.php

Read more than the first paragraph to get an idea of what they're actually doing with their time and money. There's lots of good ideas on there in the forum as well as far as preparedness, food storage, backup plans, etc.

3/23/2009 11:59:42 PM

Quote :

"3 months of food laid in"

laid in

3/24/2009 12:13:09 AM

1 month eating at about normal-level. About 2-3 months going light.

3/24/2009 12:52:32 AM

^^^

Quote :

"When the zombie removal business is slow we focus our efforts towards educating ourselves and our community about the importance of disaster preparation. To satisfy this goal we host disaster relief charity fundraisers, disaster preparation seminars and volunteer our time towards emergency response agencies. Our goal is to educate the public about the importance of personal preparedness and self reliance, to increase its readiness to respond to disasters such as Earthquakes, Floods, Terrorism or Zombie Outbreaks. We want to make sure you are prepared for any crisis situation that might come along in your daily life which may include having your face eaten by the formerly deceased."

3/24/2009 1:57:27 AM

probably about 2 months eating extremely light...beginning of february eating extremely light i could probably have lasted about 5 months

extremely light= somalian

3/24/2009 2:23:49 AM

It's a bit of a loaded question. I effectively have two roommates. If I had to feed both of them, not long, maybe a month or two on a starvation diet. If they weren't around, roughly twice as long. If I could kill and eat them, at least four times as long. If you include their pets, add another month or so.

3/24/2009 2:29:16 AM

Not very long. I really need to do some grocery shopping. I do have a lot of cat food laying around though. And two cats

3/24/2009 3:07:21 AM

I'd be fucked proper.

3/24/2009 3:37:10 AM

Using the guns and ammo, I'd join a group of renegades that would set up and maintain a small area of influence as peaceably as possible. All wildlife would have to be quickly and extensively harvested and packed in salt. Warehouses would be jury rigged to be used as hydroponic greenhouses, shelter would be where it can be, the grid will have failed so all fuel that can be collected will be for generators. Preferably I would have been killed in the initial war.

Related:
http://www.postnukecomic.com
http://www.carloslabs.com/node/16

3/24/2009 6:12:51 AM

Quote :

"survive another 10-12 days on my body fat"

huh? don't you mean like 30-40 days?

3/24/2009 6:22:30 AM

i've got enough MRS to last a month

3/24/2009 6:40:26 AM

I'm doing my part. I decided not to exercise this year.

3/24/2009 7:10:38 AM

there are two dogs, two puppies, some saltwater fish, a stocked pantry, a stocked fridge and freezer, and non-perishables in the garage at my house.

lets just say we could survive for a while

3/24/2009 10:21:43 AM

I already made a similar thread. Its been determined that you need to invest in a few pets and some good recipes for them if shit really hits the fan.

3/24/2009 10:23:05 AM

nordic tuesdays FTW

3/24/2009 10:23:12 AM

3/24/2009 10:24:55 AM

probably a month if i killed off my roommate so he wouldn't be taking shit

3/24/2009 10:50:13 AM

I could probably last a year on the frozen and non-perishable food I've got right now

But wait, does that count hydroponically grown veggies?.... I've got plenty of seeds, and could probably learn how to collect them to continue the cycle... Also, I raise crickets. I'd keep doing that, as they only need water and a very small amount of food waste -- stuff I'd otherwise compost into fertilizer for the hydroponic systems.
Conceivably, I could sustain myself for many years.... (self-sufficiency for the win)

(There was an earlier thread about whether or not you'd eat your pets.)

3/24/2009 11:03:04 AM

^you might be the weirdest motherfucker on this message board

3/24/2009 11:04:48 AM

hahaha. this thread reminds me of my dad. in our basement motherfucker has 6 months of food and water. including mre's. he's paranoid as fuck

3/24/2009 12:19:05 PM

does this include the dogs? I could survive at least a month just on those 2 motherfuckers

and then probably another 2 months based on the pantry and fridge. I just went to Costco this past weekend

[Edited on March 24, 2009 at 12:28 PM. Reason : a]

3/24/2009 12:27:52 PM

about a month on food in house.

Quote :

"and survive another 10-12 days on my body fat"

no you fattie. skinny people can survive that long on just water.

you can go at least 6 months.

3/24/2009 12:58:49 PM

Quote :

"you might be the weirdest motherfucker on this message board"

lol...why? ...because I raise crickets for my lizard? ...or because I'm experienced in hydroponics and gardening?
What's weird about that? (I'm not disputing that I'm weird.)

3/24/2009 1:23:53 PM

Speaking of MRE's, is there anywhere around here I could get some? I've been wanting to get my hands on a few for years.

3/24/2009 1:35:28 PM

perhaps I'm mistaken but don't hydroponics need some sort or light/other large source of energy? maybe not. you would be better off growing potatos, radishes, carrots, types of vegetables that remain a majority in the ground. they require the least light and can thrive in undesireable conditions (ex. Ireland).

crickets seem like a pretty good idea. rabbits would be a fairly plausable option as well. they reproduce like crazy and can live off the garden you already have going.

^I don't know about in Raleigh but here is a place online
http://www.thereadystore.com/mre?gclid=CPOCiLeOvJkCFQHHGgodFlSM7A

[Edited on March 24, 2009 at 1:43 PM. Reason : gh]

3/24/2009 1:41:10 PM

^^
Good idea... I ate all of mine years ago. You can still mail order them from a lot of places, I think.
But no... I'm not sure who has them locally.

^

Quote :

"perhaps I'm mistaken but don't hydroponics need some sort or light/other large source of energy?"

Yeah, I guess sunlight would be mostly gone in a nuclear winter, so unless you had electricity, your options would be limited...

[Edited on March 24, 2009 at 1:47 PM. Reason : ]

3/24/2009 1:43:24 PM

You'd all die from thirst way before you die from starvation.

3/24/2009 1:43:39 PM

I've got probably 2 months of food if I rationed it out appropriately, and that's for keeping me and both my room mates alive...

After 2 months, well... I've got two room mates...

I think I could last six months.

3/24/2009 1:44:36 PM

6 months, granted I do have a nice supply of MREs in the closet.

3/24/2009 1:46:34 PM

For those of you with MREs. Do you throw them out after 5-10 years? Just try to go ahead and eat them before then. Sell them. What?

3/24/2009 1:48:08 PM

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11219554

3/24/2009 1:49:08 PM

Quote :

"You'd all die from thirst way before you die from starvation."

If there was snow, you could melt it...
....but yeah, good point -- I need to build a huge cistern....

Quote :

"Do you throw them out after 5-10 years? Just try to go ahead and eat them before then. Sell them. What?"

Eat them.
I also do that with my hurricane kit that only lasts 2-3 years.

[Edited on March 24, 2009 at 1:54 PM. Reason : ]

3/24/2009 1:53:44 PM

Where is the water going to go? I'm a little lost on that one. Are you going to steal it? It will be a little dirty but nothing some filters couldn't take care of. If it is radiation you are worried about then go ahead and stock up on Protectan and you should be ok.

3/24/2009 2:00:23 PM

The Road pretty much brings reality to the situation - no matter how much food you have, its going to run out, then you're going to die.

3/24/2009 8:46:39 PM