Starvation Mode, Less Yhan 1, 300 Per Day?

natskedat
natskedat Posts: 570 Member
edited September 26 in Food and Nutrition
*than*

I am not trying to stoke controversy with this post. I am trying to illustrate, with a stark, horrid example of human deterioration, the danger of too-few calories and overexertion.

There have been a few posts recently about starvation mode vs. survival mode. I get it. "Survival" is a more pleasant euphamism for "starvation."

However, take this into account when you consider your diet.

"The feeding of the prisoners:

Prisoners in the camp received meals three times a day: morning, noon, and evening. Factors influencing the nutritional value of the food included the official nutritional norms in the Nazi concentration camps. In practice, Auschwitz prisoners with less physically demanding labor assignments received approximately 1,300 calories per day, while those engaged in hard labor received approximately 1,700. After several weeks on such starvation rations in the camp, most prisoners began to experience organic deterioration that led to the so-called "Muzulman" state, extreme physical exhaustion that ended in death."

This is from http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/auconditions.html, an online resource for those researching Auschwitz.

Look at your food diary. Ask yourself what you are doing to yourself.

Replies

  • husker_gal
    husker_gal Posts: 462 Member
    interesting...so how many calories are you eating?
  • Britt22706
    Britt22706 Posts: 97
    Wow this is a hard message to take. And I'm definitely not arguing the correctness of the article, but we do also have to think about how everybody's body is different. Women can withstand a lower calorie intake than men, but even some women can withstand even lower calories. I'm not saying that a 1000 calorie a day diet is healthy, nor am I even saying that a 1200 calorie a day diet is healthy, however, many people live a great energetic life on 1300 calories, doing a lot of physical activity.

    We also have to think about the fact that we don't know the exact physical work they were conducting. A less strenuous assignment to the Nazis could have been digging holes for 8 hours every day, with little breaks, while the more strenuos workers had to lift 30 lb boulders for 10 hours a day. I'm just saying, we don't know the exact duties they were performing.

    I would also imagine that a lot of the ones who parrished due to this low calorie intake were men, because scientifically speaking, men should not consume under 1400 (so I've heard). Of course, this is just a thought.
  • Angiebug1969
    Angiebug1969 Posts: 152
    Thank you for sharing the information!

    I became so frustrated with a 10lb weight gain the past 2 years... this past January, I put myself on a 1250 daily calorie budget!!! I maintained that for nearly 3 months. I actually gained about 2 lbs during those 3 months!

    So, I went to my doc & he said I absolutely HAD to have more calories in my nutritional plan... so I up'ed my budget, and my weight is beginning to move down a little!! Also, I'm more alert & not as worn out at the end of the day!!
  • dbredenberg
    dbredenberg Posts: 15
    Not sure the baseline of comparison for most of us is concentration camp victims. In photos I have seen most Jews rounded up for the camps did not have a lot of extra fat to begin with. I'm guessing most of us on this site started out as technically obese. And I'm guessing most of us on this site have sedentary lifestyles.

    My calorie budget is 1800 calories plus whatever exercise calories I burn in a day. Far from doing hard labor, I sit at a desk. I don't think I'm going to enter the Muzulman state any time soon.
  • millerbrco
    millerbrco Posts: 1
    Consider the quality of the typical American on a diet. Foods rich in vitamins and minerals, many of us take a supplement. Nearly all of us are probably eating fresh greens and vegetables. Fruit. High quality proteins. There's simply no comparison to the camp rations that were served -- I'd imagine that it was a lot of potatoes, very little meat, basically a gruel with plenty of calories but devoid of nutrition.

    And you'll notice that this website uses "net calories" which includes exercise. My number coincidentally is 1300. On a workout day (one hour), I eat around 1800 calories. 1700 is way too low for anyone doing hard labor.

    So there's no reason to bring in the Nazis to this discussion, let alone any discussion that doesn't include the topic of genocide. Your diet doesn't even compare to the pain and suffering in a Nazi prison camp.

    If you're having trouble, take AngieBug's advice -- see a doctor or nutritionist.

    And good luck! Whatever your goals, I hope you can reach them.
  • Moolieloo
    Moolieloo Posts: 28 Member
    I was just going to post a question about what could be causing my extreme exhaustion every afternoon that lasts til bedtime. My MFP goal is 1200 calories a day, which I stay pretty close to and I always eat my exercise calories. I am a vegetarian, so I can eat a lot of healthy food for that amount of calories. I'm not hungry; I eat 3 meals (200-300 cals) and 2 snacks (150-200 cals). My carb and protein levels are good and I take a multivitamin. I work out 5 days a week, but not excessively...3 days short runs and 2 days strength training. I feel like I'm doing everything right, but still I'm just sooooo tired that I find it hard to cook supper, do evening chores, etc. BTW, my job is not strenuous or physically demanding and this has only been a problem for the last week or so. I've googled it and there are so many different things it could be, and I just saw this post and wondered if I should try to up my calorie level...any ideas?
  • natskedat
    natskedat Posts: 570 Member
    I usually eat somewhere around 2300-2400 to maintain my weight. When I'm training for an event, I've eaten as many as 3700 calories in a day. I weigh 138 and I'm 5'6" tall.
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