11-23-10 serious stuff!

It has been a couple of days since my last post. I had finals and some family engagements to do that prevented me from posting. I did get back on last night, but I was just too tired to do this. I apologize if you missed me, and I thank you for being there.

I have had a lot of need for  introspection lately. I have been wanting to fix a few other places in my life now, as well. I have no sleep schedule or life schedule to speak of, and I know how beneficial this is for every aspect of your life. I am also very aware of the political atmosphere we are stuck in, and yet I am still not as prepared as I would like to be in case of the worst happening. So for this post, I want to talk about my diet and integrate some survival plans that I believe everyone should be looking into. This is the "just in case" scenario that everyone should be preparing for now. You will be surprised how easy it is once you start.

The topic of diet and the topic of survival food preparation are very closely related. Dieting is learning about eating properly and budgeting your food intake, as well as making the right kind of foods available for consumption. Well, I say that this is exactly what you do for survival preparation as well. Above all, get educated on the foods you eat! I have a few questions for you to consider before we get too much farther. First, we all know that the economy is bad. We all know that natural disasters happen and there is nothing you can do about them. So, in the interest of keeping our sanity during this discussion, lets start there. Lets consider for a moment the possibility of a natural disaster knocking out your utilities, as well as possibly isolating you from the rest of the world for a time, like in Katrina. In an economic collapse, whether you believe this will happen or not, the living situation is very similar in both. How would you deal with that? How would you feed your family once the store is out of food? What does it take for your body to survive, stay clean, or even stay sane? What if your not prepared?

Now, I am not trying to freak everyone out here but I think there are some things everyone should do to prepare for the worst, all the while stay hopeful for the best. If that means adding a few extras to your shopping list every time you shop, then why not? I have a few suggestions that would also work in a diet. Complete protein is as simple as red beans and rice. Sprouts need very little light or water, and no dirt, and this is a nutrient dense food, that grows very fast. You can loose weight on these items, as well as provide life for your family in an emergency.

You only need approximately 1 cup per meal of the right foods to survive, as a larger person I know I am eating way more than that, so I would definitely loose poundage sticking to this. This also allows for a workable budget for food consumption and purchasing. Two cups is about what a comfortable diet is, so if you have the room and the budget you could and should prep for that. So how do you prepare? Start canning, buying in bulk, and bottling clean water. Bulk buying should include toiletries, spices, medical supplies, canned or can-able food, and some tools like camping gear. Actually, camping is a great survival test. Do you have everything you need to go on a two month camping trip, (or even longer if you want to go that far)? OK, so that's where you start, now that is also a great way to diet. Meaning, you can start prepping for a long diet with canning and this kind of prep, and start budgeting your food. But planning for no utilities is a bit more elaborate. For example, I live in an apartment, what would I do with my waste, fun thought right?

Budgeting your food for diets is a trial of recipes that you like, why not for survival as well? Many think of survival food as bland, all about energy and not taste. Well in a seriously long term situation for even the most prepared, this could end up being all that is available. Otherwise, in the short term situation, which is much more statistically possible, there is no reason you shouldn't have good, hearty, flavorful foods. That is, if you are prepared. Diet food used to be called cardboard, or at least rabbit food, now look at it. Diet food is undetectable nowadays, in the issue of taste and variety. The recipe's for Raw "rabbit" foods are vast now and very tasty. All I have to say is that raw food is incredible diet food, and in a survival situation, it uses almost no energy to make a great meal. Dehydrating meat, canning veggies, as well as complete meals, and stocking up on essentials is a great idea for family health, and disaster preparedness. Why would you not prepare for the worst and still keep your hope strong for the future? Those who are not prepared in a disaster are the ones who suffer the most, are you going to give shelter, or seek shelter? By integrating it into a diet you have a reason to study proper nutrients as well as food budgeting. Everyone needs to consider the great depression. What did people do back then? How did your parents and grandparents look at food? Food, over anything else equals freedom, think about it. Canned food and extra supplies are great bartering tools as well.

I believe the times we are in are not coincidental. We are here, now, for a reason. Are YOU ready?

I have current facts that support my belief that we are now in need of this kind of prep. If you would like to know more, let me know. As always, you are highly encouraged to respond to this post.

11-23-10 Progress Report. Diving deep, obviously...lol. I have found that fear and anger are triggers for my emotional eating and I am attempting to uncover the beginning causal issues that started my poor eating habits. I am considering finding a way to get the Kinect system with an X-box for working out, but that is $500 dollars that I will not have anytime soon, so if you have any ideas for fund raising or even sponsorship let me know...lol. I am also planning a healthy eating attack plan for Thanksgiving, this will be a real test of my new way of eating because I love Thanksgiving. I love you all, thanks for caring. James.