On Oct 21, 2004, at 4:21 pm, Jim Swayze wrote:

> Ashley > Incidentally, does anyone have an idea what the starvation
> point (ie minimum number of calories) would for an active 22yo male?
>
> This is of course much more complicated than the daily caloric
> "needs."  Remember that the average human can go at least a month with
> ZERO calories -- just water -- before true hunger and starvation
> starts.  So you could probably last a very, very long time on 1500
> cals a day, depending upon your activity level.

Jim,

This is what I am after- a rough idea of the minimum energy intake that
would *not* lead to long-term starvation, even if it took 12 months.  I
would also like to avoid losing muscle mass, which I'm guessing is a
risk on a low-cal diet.

I do kung fu and yoga in my spare time- an average of about 10 hours a
week, although a lot of that is concentrated on one monthly training
weekend.  So I guess I will need to eat more than 1500 calories to
survive- maybe 2000 is closer.  But I will try to trust my appetite as
I reduce the amount I'm eating slowly.

Ashley