Today was Day 3 for my test of Mountain House food packets as emergency food, The Thirty Day SHTF Test Diet. Lots of preppers recommend storing food for a disaster; this series tests it out. As detailed yesterday, this diet has turned into a weight-loss diet too.
Day 3 has been a lot like the two previous. Once again, the packets tasted like real food. Despite the restricted calories, there were no symptoms or indications of health concerns. Again, I was peppy; I had enough energy to do what I had to during the day. It's possible that my pep has been caused by an adrenaline jag.
Today's Meals
As with Day 1, a packet of granola with blueberries.
Unlike the other, this packet reconstituted with cold water. No boiling or heating needed.
Despite its messy look, it did the trick taste-wise.
Dinner was chicken teriyaki with rice:
One interesting facet of the dinner packets is that they're prepared in the same way, with two cups of boiling water and the same procedure. That could come in handy if someone's tired at the end of the day and has to fall back on routine.
After sitting and cooling, the dinner had liquid thick enough to be a sauce:
which is what you're supposed to get for teriyaki. It tasted just like the real thing.
Effects, So Far:
It's Day 3, and my energy level is still a bit higher than before I started. As broached above, this could be my excitement jacking up my adrenaline level. So or not so, I'll find out soon: adrenaline jags last three days at most.
No symptoms, no malaises, only normal hunger. I had to do some physical work today and the work was not a drain.
Curiously, my pep defies common sense; given the calorie deficit, I should be on the sluggish side. My weight, though, has not bucked it:
If you're keeping track, I have lost a few pounds since I started.
Conclusion For Day 3
No hard-learned lessons for today, only a mystery. According to the calorie counts, I'm on a fairly strict weight-loss regimen. The drops in my weight confirm it. And yet, my pep is still there: no sign of sluggishness or even unusual tiredness. I even managed to hum along despite a spell of insomnia last night. Moreover, my health is as okay as it was when I was eating fully.
Right now, the best answer to this conundrum I have is that it's due to pumped-up adrenaline from excitement about this experiment. If this is the case, I'll find out tomorrow; adrenaline jags last at most three days.