Death To Zombies

So, I gauged this for myself, atwo hundred pound man, and what I could eat and stay healthy for 9 weeks.  Now, under stress I would probably burn more calories but lets say that I might catch fish and shoot wildlife to make up for that.  My daily food list would look something like this:

1. 1c beans, dry
2. 2c cooked white rice
3. 1/4 loaf of whole wheat bread
4. 1c canned veggies
5. 2T peanut butter
6. 2T Fruit preserves(combine it with some bread and have a PB-N-J)
7. 3c UHT(Ultra High Temperature Milk)
8. 1 6.5 oz can of meat(tuna, spam, chicken, turkey, whatever)

These 8 simple staples are easy to store, inexpensive and tasty enough that you can stock up on then in one shopping spree or you can just pick up one item each paycheck and be stocked up in 2 months.  I stock up all sorts of other stuff to add variety, difference in vitamins and minerals, etc but this is the foundation for my food pantry. This list usually gives me 2100 calories and 115g of protein.

The expensive part of this is the canned meat.  And the UHT Milk can be a little hard to find.  But I think it’s well worth your time to set some food aside.

So the shopping list for one person would look like:

1. 25# beans, dry
2. 25# dry white rice
3. (yeast, 10# bag of whole wheat flour, 10# bag of white flour, 10# sugar)
4. 32 cans of veggies
5. 4 18oz jars of peanut butter
6. 8 9oz jars of  Fruit preserves(combine it with some bread and have a PB-N-J)
7. 47Quarts(16 gallons or 4 milk crates) UHT(Ultra High Temperature Milk)
8. 63 6.5 oz can of meat(tuna, spam, chicken, turkey, whatever)

If you’re doing planning like this, you know multiplication and I won’t waste time doing it for you.

You could go with dry milk or some ratio of dry milk:UHT if you’re tight on cash or don’t like the taste of UHT Milk.  Because with this amount of milk, you’re basically going to need to drink it all the time or it will spoil.  Alternatives could be something like a dairy goat, I guess.  I planned on stocking up some nesquick in order to help with the flavor.

Image courtesty of hfb

Honestly, it’s not like there’s really a time when fitness isn’t a good idea, but hear me out for a few minutes.

Many people take the time to prepare dilligently for emergencies.  They make their shopping lists, they learn to stockpile, they learn to rotate their stock so it doesn’t go bad.  They attend camps and learn new skills.  Maybe make some contacts with local CERT officials or the Red Cross.  This is a lot of time and energy but consider that a time of stress and greater demands upon your body may lead you to fail in areas if you prepared your body as dilligently as you prepare your home, financial investments, family and pets.

In my particular case the warning came when walking two flights of stairs was making me out of breath.  So I bought a Wii Fit and started exercising.  How embarrasing to find out that 10 minutes of hula-hooping would poop me out.  And not just in the muscles but my joints ached for days too.  So I’ve started on a triathlon training program.  I chose that because I have a background in triathlon and so it’s an easy way for me to get back in shape.

In particular I’m using a plan called the Couch to Sprint program that Michael Pates came up with.  He was a heavy guy who decided that he could do a triathlon even if he was still fat.  Then he wrote a book about it When Big Boys Tri.  But there are other programs for people who just want to run or bicycle.  Google it and you’ll find lots of interesting ways to get back in shape.

Now the swimming in triathlons and my general body type basically make me a strong person no matter what I do.  Adding muscle isn’t hard, it’s just hard to keep the fat off.  But if that isn’t true for you I also encourage you to look into some weight training or water aerobics.

Anyhow, I’m no dietitian or personal trainer and I’m certainly not a doctor.  I’m sure you should talk to a doc before you change your level of exercise.  But I urge you to add a physical training component to your disaster readiness plan.  It just may save your life!

The American Veterniary Medical Association put together this useful video.  Normally I avoid these, but it’s a short video and she makes points that are more useful than some of the generic tips you’ll frequently get.  Larger crates will be needed than expected as pets would have to stay in them at shelters.  Also great tips on ways to mark your animals.