Interesting enough I have through the process of elimination figured out that the body needs approximately 100 calories per hour to function on a basic level. I learned that during a running event, I need to consume a certain amount of calories per hour and if I do not do so, fatigue sets in really quickly. Taking the same basic concept, I have been playing round with how many calories do I have to consume in order to carry on basic functions while sitting at a desk and doing nothing but typing.
Now, I could go with nothing. You can probably survive for 30 days or more without eating. However, there is a point where the body starts consuming all remaining blood sugar in the blood stream and starts to look for other sources. It starts to rob glucose from the muscle tissues and when that goes out, will eventually turn to mostly fat consumption. I started to try to figure out when the switch happens. When does the body no longer have a readily available glucose or protein stream coming from digestion and needs to start scrounging around for sources of energy? Not sure the exact timing, but I know what it feels like.
So after awhile, I started to notice that it would drain out, I would get that feeling. Then I would eat a 100 calorie snack and sure enough, that feeling would come back after about an hour. So basic function is 100 calories per hour and if you go for 3 hours between food sources, you would need about 300 calories at various intervals throughout the day. Using this information, I started to look at what I normally consume. In some cases, 1200 calories is quite possible for main meals. That is way over consumption.
What is interesting if you could actually see what your body consumed versus what it did not, you would be amazed out how little you actually need to function. Amazing really, how incredibly efficient the human body is.
Guy Reams
