I had a surprising epiphany today which led to one, still more surprising, conclusion: Were I to find myself in a 'Survival' situation without food and/or water, not only would I be devastatingly unprepared to physically handle the situation but I would, without a doubt, be the first to resort to cannibalism.
This surprised me because I fancy myself to be ridiculously in shape; I exercise for 50 minutes 6 days a week, drink at least 2.5 liters of water a day and eat carefully formulated ratios of Fat:Carbohydrate:Protein every 3-4 hours in calorically appropriate packets. One might therefore assume that I'd be the most fit to survive based on this fitness profile. Not so. It became clear to me that the very habits that keep me in peak physical condition are actually my crux.
The source of this clarity: I attended a 2 hour seminar today, during which I'd have to listen to lecturers without the ability to conveniently grab a snack out of my desk or take a drink at my leisure. Worst of all, I had to sit completely still for 2 whole hours; the horror! Two hours of stillness without food and water was enough to push me to near panic attack levels of irrational fear; what if I started shaking from low blood sugar? get dry mouth? restless leg syndrome? get cold or an epic case of the sore heiny?
The lightbulb went on and I almost immediately rejoiced in the hilarious irony. To work so hard for health to be bested by my own good habits; beautiful! It seemed fairly obvious to me that someone who goes long periods of time without eating or drinking water (coffee and soda are not water) would be grossly more adapted to withstand the necessary fasting periods during survival mode. There is only one caveat that remains a question: Though the first day would be very difficult for me, would I adapt more quickly and eventually be able to last longer, overall, because of my superior health state? It's a short-term vs. long-term conundrum that I don't know the answer too, but it's fun to think about. Either way, and I'm not kidding in the least; I'm feasting on some tasty quadricep at the first sign of another's weakness. Yum!
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