Ramengdan 6/30

9. I should really plot these rolls to see if I'm getting a roughly binomial distribution.

1020 cals of Soylent for lunch. I tried to spice it up again with this mustard-flavored honey I found. It made it super-gross when thick. It was tolerable when I really watered it down.

Dinner -- chicken + green beans + carrots. I was undexpectedly fond of the carrots. Then some vitamins.

Tomorrow, maybe another monomeal?

Ramengdan 6/29

10.
Chili and more of that sunflower seed bread for lunch.

I decided to incorporate the deer jerky I have into calorie inventory. Still need to get a better estimate of how many calories it is.

Dinner? One large can of kidney beans.

I have 3 1000cal meals of Soylent left to spread out over 20 days.

Went to Star Market and found a small cache of baby food in jars on the discount shelf. I'm gonna call it scrounged food. 85 cents for 280 cals.

Ramengdan 6/28

5. Woke up really creaky and sore from the ride. Still, feels good.

I ate the beef jerky, all in one go. Only 200cals.
Ton of oatmeal.

I realized I need to eat a lot of gummy vitamins to actually cash in all the calories in my inventory. The other reason to eat those is to get enough Vitamin C, which is lacking in the cross section of tins I have. At least I like gummy vitamins, unlike gefilte fish.

Ramengdan 6/27

6. I went on a 56mi bike ride to Providence with coworker Dan.

We rode the commuter rail back.

I knew it would be tough with the limited cals, but I couldn't really eat up the night before. It was pretty rough despite eating constantly throughout the ride. Still not in my best form this season.

I ate 1200 cals in gels, bars, etc. Worth it. I should really eat more to have my body recover properly, but a limit is a limit.

Taking stock of cals I've eaten and cals remaining, I need to go to 1750 if I want to eat evenly. That'll be tricky given the bizarre assortment of food left. Not to mention the gefilte fish lurking in the cal count.

Ramengdan 6/26

6.

Back on the cans. I feel fairly full off of that feast, so 600 cals for lunch was no sweat.

I have a ton of calories in the for of oatmeal, and I haven't decided if I want to even it out or if I want to have oatmeal-heavy days. Lunch tonight was 5 packs of oatmeal, corn, and chicken. Prettyyyyyy basic.

Ramengdan 6/25

8.

I decided I'd go for scavenging that matzo. Seems fair. More importantly, it seemed fun and in the spirit of surviving in the wastelands.

So how will I spin this whole "eating real food at a real restaurant" deal? I think the scenario I invented is that I'm finally leaving the main survivor camp on an extended mission into the wilderness. I always thought that if I did end up in such a community, that I'd volunteer to become a motorcycle scout. To go out into the wastes and try to find other survivor outposts. To try to negotiate trade deals. I don't even know how to ride a motorcycle, but I'm sure I could learn it if I had to. Roaming the country, sort of like in The Postman.

The story, then, is this: The Apocalypse has happened, we hoarded up all the food we could in the near term, but now we have to figure out how to survive long term. Need to go find farmland, farmers, food crops, that sort of thing. So everyone is disbanding to go exploring. We're gonna have one huge fancy sendoff meal before departing into the unknown.

And I'm gonna drag the rest of my cals with me. Obv, no more outside food after this luxury.

Lunch was the matzo I scavenged and 500 cal of Soylent. I'm going light in anticipation of a feast to honor all feasts for dinner.

Dinner was... amazing. Hungry Mother is almost done, with just 7 services before it closes doors. The chefs were really on their best game tonight. I had the 4 course dinner:
- calamari
- deviled crab
- smoked pork shoulder and some cornbread with sorghum butter on the side
- yogurt cheesecake, which reminded me of Beijing yogurt from my old childhood
Probably 2000 cals or so.

I passed on some desserts with rhubarb in there. It made me wonder, if this were really the post-Apocalypse, if I'd ever taste rhubarb again. As it is, I have it maybe once a year, even though I really love it.

That does it for real cooked food for Ramengdan. Back to doling cals out of the hoard.

Ramengdan 6/24

9.

Lunch -- decided to go in on this exotic halal turkey spam I found in the international aisle. Paired it with a really sourdoughy German-style sunflower seed bread. The bread is one of those things that is not to my taste and will take some effort to finish off.
Oh, and by "go in on," I meant that I thought about this all last night and packed the cans accordingly.

Dinner -- chicken + peas, cold of course. Mildly warm water on instant oatmeal. Nailed the cals limit. Chicken has 45g protein for just 225 cals. The spam is 1020cals but only 42g protein, not to mention 200% of your RDA sodium. Still, you don't always get your choice of nutrition. Some cals is better than no cals. That could be the title of my post-Apocalyptic book.
This reminds me of that hermit who hid in the Maine woods and pretty much ate candy the whole time.

Tomorrow, I'm going to an actual restaurant to eat real food. Yes, I know, such a violation. Hungry Mother in Kendall Sq is going out of business, and I got a reservation when I heard the news, before I'd settled on doing Ramengdan. I have the following thoughts on this whole monkeywrench:
- great opportunity to stock up on protein
- I still have a 3500 cal deficit to close up
- I can prob skip lunch tomorrow, but will I?
- it's probably more realistic to eat real food closer to the start of this than toward the end
- need to come up with a convincing backstory for having this feast fit into my post-Apocalyptic scenario

One more thing came to mind -- can I scavenge? Rooting around looking for a scale at the office, I found a box of matzos with just one matzo left. It feels legit to be able to eat this found food. I'll think about it.

Ramengdan 6/23

Rolled 8. Today my goal was to eat just Apple Jacks and the rice milk I had not opened from before Ramengdan. The idea is that if I have something that needs refrigeration, I eat it as soon as possible to simulate avoiding spoilage. I already cheated on the spam going into the fridge overnight, but I wanted to really keep it honest where possible.

So today I'm having cereal for the whole day. This might have been fun when I was 9, but now I'm really paying for it. The sugar spike is a major departure from the sodium hazes I've been having. Today I'll be under the sodium RDA for once.

Lunch was so unsatisfying. Dinner, less so. Despite being hungry, I didn't pour the sugar dregs at the bottom of the bag into my bowl. I haven't thrown the nearly empty bag out, either. Maybe I'll get desperate?

edit: went to the gym after dinner (suboptimal without any followup cals, I know) and felt pretty good. I guess some kind of cals is better than no cals at all. Good to be on an uptick after that long cold I had.

Ramengdan 6/22

Rolled a 5.

Today, I definitely felt the hunger. Even going easy on the salt today, I end up drinking a ton of water.

For dinner, I finally finished off the spam I started yesterday. Tomorrow I think I'm gonna do the Apple Jacks + Rice Milk as a whole-day meal. It'll be fun, maybe.

Ramengdan 6/21

Rolled an 11, then a 6 for missing yesterday.

Opened up a can of spam (well, store-brand spam). It's 1020 calories with great fat and decent protein content, but 200% of your sodium! I only got into about 1/3 can for lunch. This concerns me a bit, because I have quite a bit of my calorie supply locked up in high-salt canned meat. I think I need to get a ton more of the canned chicken stuff, which isn't quite as salty.

My shopping list looked something like:
5000 cal protein heavy foods
5000 cal oatmeal
5000 cal veg (this will be a crapload of cans)

I ended up getting more meaty stuff and less veg. I got two perishable items to up the risk factor -- this ultra dense pumpernickel and a box of saltines (with reduced salt).
For the real gross-out factor, I got a jar of gefilte fish. Not sure how hungry I'll have to be before I crack that open. Decently hungry, hopefully.

Tonight was the first night that, after dinner, I still felt hungry. Hmmm.

Ramengdan 6/20

Calorie intake is ok, but protein is really problematic. Most canned foods have too much sodium for how much protein they have. Saturday was a miscellany of food.
I decided to decant one of my big bottles of superfood drink. I think I'd taken a sip before Ramengdan started, and this stuff goes fast. I was taking a risk drinking half the bottle, but I didn't end up getting sick.

Tomorrow, I think I'm gonna try to seal the deal and get the remaining calories.

Ramengdan 6/19

Rolled an 8.

For lunch, I brought the corned beef hash tin. 760 cal of super salty (something like 80% of the RDA) minced meat and potatoes. It would have been good heated up. I should try that. As it was, I just felt like a sponge for the rest of the afternoon. The no-salt corn is a godsend, as far as avoiding sodium. I also had a Gatorade protein bar just to try. It was good.

Thanks to a bit of buffer, I had a lot of cals left for dinner. Had the usual chicken+veg stew, then oatmeal. Peaches and cream oatmeal, to be exact. This is the fakest thing I've smelled in a while. I feel like I'm back in elementary school and girls are experimenting with weird fruit perfumes. Also, my "tea kettle" doesn't really bring the water to a boil, so the oatmeal has a wonderful parboiled texture to it.

Re: instant oatmeal --
I got a variety of flavors -- various fruit+cream ones, maple sugar, apple cinnamon. Each packet is 130cal. I always eat at least 2 packets. I've NEVER mixed two flavors together. Even after the apocalypse, I'm sure I wouldn't lapse on that vanity, until it was down to the last 2 packets.

Hunger levels are ok.

I think I need to prioritize what are desirable/tasty foods and what I don't want to eat, so I can mix it up evenly.

unrequited cravewaves

Throughout a normal week, I'll plan out next meals. Like, "I should convince people to do Indian on Friday" or "I could really use some of those chicken medallions at Crave Mad for Chicken."
Now, with only the food supply that I have, those are simply unattainable dreams.

Ramengdan 6/18

Rolled a 10 this morning. Safe.

I had to go to the dentist at 1, so ate a late lunch by my lonesome in the kitchen:
chili, no-salt corn, veg-all (corn, peas, potatoes, ???). The veg-all is kinda gross. I guess I need to stock up on that. The corn and chili reminds me a lot of my diet on the road biking down the west coast. The food didn't taste all that bad, and the TV was on the golf channel. It felt almost indulgent. I think I might have to get more drastic if I want this to be the kind of change of pace I was hoping for.

It was Hack Day, so lots of engineers staying late. A few of us went out to Taiwan Cafe. I just sat there looking at the food and drinking tea. It was a good time, maybe too good of a time if I'm trying to cast myself into some sort of ridiculous Puritan mindset. Sitting at the table and not eating the food is not the most realistic survival scenario. It sorta reminded me of South Africa, in that poor blacks in the service industry could be surrounded by relative wealth but could not indulge in it.

After getting back from lunch, I had a can of chicken and green beans. I promise you that you already know exactly what those two tins taste like. I've found that I have to drink the can water after spooning out all the solids. I don't really mind it, but I can imagine it would be gross to some. I ended up light thanks to doing more work and hanging out more. 300cal "in the bank" for tomorrow.

Finally, I randomized things a bit more. I have some more shopping to get up to the full calorie supply. So I thought, why not leave the exact amount of food I get to have up to chance? I rolled for the last 12k calories with 2 dice -- so I'd get anywhere between 2k to 12k, depending on what numbers I rolled. Got 7, so my final target calorie supply is 55k. I need to shop for 17k more calories. I think I'm gonna double up on some of the meat tins and get the rest in vegetables.

opening a can of chicken

Tonight's protein was canned chicken. As I cranked the can opener, listening to the ever-rising ringing of the can lid, I remembered how my adopted cat Callie used to flip over the moon for chicken out of a can. I would always give her a few bits. As is typical for a cat, she would be in the kitchen mewing within seconds of the can hissing open. That's how I knew she was really sick -- when she wouldn't come running. I miss her a lot.

Ramengdan 6/17

The first day. Rolled a 4. Decided to ease into it a bit with some Coke Zeros for caffeine. As I'm not a big caffeine junky, and I did fine for several months completely off caffeine, I think I'll make it more realistic by avoiding all sodas. Just water, with flavoring if I can scrounge any.

For lunch, I kept up the indulgence theme by making 500cal worth of Soylent. Same familiar vanilla/salty taste. I spiked it with a bit of garum, but it got too salty. Still, can't afford to turn away any calories.

In the afternoon, the Engineering team went out to CBC in Kendall Square to have a hangout before Hack Day tomorrow. I studiously avoided eating anything, but got a diet Coke before the softball game. I definitely felt a little weak, but I think that was from a minor adjustment from getting back on Soylent.

Softball was 7:45 to 10 or so. We got destroyed, but we'll keep trying. I snacked out of my supply a bit.

I rode back and carefully ran the spreadsheet to figure out what I could eat. Dinner was: oat granola bars, oatmeal, a little cheese, a can of chicken, and some leftover drinks I had in the fridge.

I'm not being hardcore about the fridge -- I'm not gonna avoid using appliances to make it fully realistic. I have the fridge just in case, but I'll try my best not to have leftovers. Whatever I open, I ought to finish on the spot. I also have a tea kettle to heat water for the oatmeal.

Overall, the variety of food was pretty high, so I didn't feel like I was being punished just yet.

wanna see 27,000 calories?

This is about half my total calorie supply for Ramengdan:

I've got Soylent at work and several packs of instant oatmeal elsewhere. I still need to buy the other half of the inventory.

Ramengdan

Last year, I tried to observe the fasting rules of Ramadan. Over the hottest and longest days of the year, I didn't eat or drink in daylight. I'd been intrigued by one of the core principles of Ramadan -- taking time to think about being a better Muslim. Well, in my case, just a better person.
I found the experience a bit lacking -- I had no one to commiserate with during the hungry days, and really no fellowship over the course of the experiment. I wasn't sure if I'd do it again.

Over the year, I watched this movie, Letters from a Dead Man. A small group of survivors eek out an existence at the very bleak end of the world. They struggle daily to come to grips with their impending deaths. There's a scene where they eat an extremely small meal.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xqk75f_letters-from-a-dead-man-04_shortfilms
At 8:55, you can see the priest sit down to what looks like a couple spoonfuls of chickpeas and 2 olives.

Having always been a fan of post-Apocalyptic settings, I loved the whole movie, but I was especially moved by that meal scene. Not only because of the farewell speech given by a living dead man, but also the sheer frugality required to survive in the face of nothingness.

This month of Ramadan (6/17 - 7/17), I will build up a stockpile of nonperishable food. My daily calorie limit will be 2000. The rules:

• I can eat throughout the day; there's no time rules like Ramadan.
• I can drink as much water as I like
• if anyone wants to share a meal with me, I'll be glad to include them, but it'll come out of my rations
• at the start of every day, I'll roll 2 dice. If it comes up snake eyes, I'll skip a meal that day
• I'll take some multivitamins to try to get normal levels of essential nutrients. I'll also try to balance the fat/carbs/protein calories

Here's a link to my food supply:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Sf0Mu9KulieNV-2-Fdoj-rpbimNaGvAZ03bq-yItnyU/edit#gid=0

I pretty much fatted myself up for this challenge, getting lots of cravings out of the way.

I'll be blogging daily to run down what I eat and what my thoughts are as the month goes by.

See also:

• Fallout 3
• Oryx and Crake trilogoy
• Book of Eli
• The Night Land
• When the Wind Blows