Best survival weight?
Best survival weight?
Last edited by sjj; 03-24-2011 at 06:54 PM.
Well, I'm 6 foot and 203 lbs...I'm rooting for that guy! Is there a real answer? I would guess the summo wrestler and the runner would both have a higher metabolism then Joe outdoorsman and that might mean they will succumb to hunger quicker. Of course, the summo dude might just kill the other two and eat them....
At just over 6' 2" and 225lbs, I am hoping the outdoorsman wins.
I also look at this situation a little different:
An outdoorsman is put into a room with to other mammals (total weight 450lbs) and all the water he needs to survive. What will he use for seasoning?
Or since the door wasn't locked...
Or wait untill the sumo is starving and tell him that on the otherside of the door in the guards pocket is a deluxe double cheeseburger. Got some fries in his back pocket...
We actually had this conversation quite some time ago. Sadly, I can't find the link. If I recall the gist of that thread, there was no real decision reached but some very good dialogue on mental toughness and physical abilities. There are a lot of variables to consider even if all three are sitting in the same room staring at each other.
1. Mental toughness
2. Genetics
3. Underlying health issues
Personally, I think all three would succumb about the same time. The human body has to have nutrition regardless of size. If you are lean and tough then chances are you have a faster metabolism, which means it must be fueled quicker. If you are overweight then a slow one. Either way, it sort of equals out.
Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.
The summo wrestler will survive the longest. As they all weaken from lack of nutrition and the long distance runner can no longer run - and the outdoorsman has just finished with the shelter and collecting fire wood - the summo wrestler will eat them both.
Outdoorsman always. Lean meat and plenty of lard. A good man, trained around 200lbs could easily get the runner, no place to run, the sumo might be a little problem but without the them or me attitude of a man bent on survival they wouldn't have a chance. Old men are sneaky, don't fight fair and usually have been in tough situations before.
Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he's too old
to fight... he'll just kill you.
It's a shame chubby guys weren't listed. We'd typically wait until the other three killed themselves off then just take advantage of whatever was left. Scavengers, I think they call us.
Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.
I'm kinda thinkin along the lines of ole WV coot, but if it were a non cannabalistic contest I'd say sumo wrestler. he's got the most stored energy and probalby the lowest metabolism of them all.
Regardless, the distance runner is toast. Too skinny, high metabolic rate and no where to run.
There is nothing counterintuitive to this question's answer. Barring the two lighter guys ganging up on the biggest killing and eating him he will be the last to die.
This will most especially be true if the heaviest man has what is commonly called "the thrifty gene." I have it.Not all fat guys are created equal. There are the big puffy buckets of lard and then there are those that are fat padded muscle men. The former have lower testosterone and are responsible for most of the stereotypes about fat guys. The latter are those with the thrifty gene. The thrifty gene does remarkable things. To start with A 300 pound man without the gene must eat about 3000 calories/day to maintain his weight. If I eat 2000 calories/day I gain weight. I don't eat more than 1500 calories a day and that maintains my 300 pound weight. I actually have to eat just above starvation caloric intake to lose weight AND those 1250 calories have to come from protein, fat and green vegetables with mininal carbohydrates and those MUST be complex carbs except for fruit. I also have to expend 3 times the calories of the average person in exercise and work to reap weight loss benefits from it. I'm much more likely to build a pound of muscle thsn lose a pound of fat. One of the reasons I am 300 pounds but can ragdoll a 200 pound man.
I vote for the 200# guy. Nothing scientific, just gut feeling. The runner has no reserves, to make it through the hardest times. The 300# guy....well he has reserves, but it just takes too much fuel, to keep that big machine running.
Writer of wrongs.
Honey, just cuz I talk slow doesn't mean I'm stupid. (Jake- Sweet Home Alabama)
"Stop Global Whining"
Since my friend Ken isn't here....I'll answer for him.
Ken would say- "Why does it always have to be a 6' tall guy? Not everyone is 6' tall, you know!"
Writer of wrongs.
Honey, just cuz I talk slow doesn't mean I'm stupid. (Jake- Sweet Home Alabama)
"Stop Global Whining"
A Lesson Learned by the Brits in the Falklands was the soldier with low body fat did not have the endurance that those with somewhat, not obese, higher body fat ratios.
When Wealth is Lost, Nothing is Lost;
When Health is Lost, Something is Lost;
When Character is Lost, ALL IS LOST!!!!!!!
Colonel Charles Hyatt circa 1880
I've seen a lot of big strong men in my time and you may be correct. The most dangerous fighter(next to me) I have ever seen was around 6' and weighed about 180. I wouldn't underestimate anyone, mainly because I hurt more now and don't seem to heal as quickly. I still go with the 200lb guy, which is 5 more than I weigh.
Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he's too old
to fight... he'll just kill you.
Yeah, me, too. Now step over here and I'll show you the room they were locked in. Come on, come on don't be slowin' things down. Move along.Originally Posted by Coot
Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.
Does the military put something in the food to make people fat? Just about everyone I know who has served ends up coming out porkier than when they went in.
I weighed less when I retired than when I went in. When I changed to a more sedentary lifestyle I put on weight.
Yeah. In the Navy they call the big guys ballast...just sayin'....
Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.
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