phaedrus wrote:
> One of the "items" that probably helped him was a gut- he was pretty portly when the show started. But pretty skinny when it ended.

Since all you have to do is stay there the longest to win, one could sneak in tons of spare calories by gaining 150 pounds and almost guarantee winning.

He said he didn't regard it as a survival situation it's a homesteading situation.
Well yes; if you don't mind your homestead coming with a 6 month life expectancy......

wikipedia:
'The third season premiered on December 8, 2016. The winner, Zachary Fowler, had lost 70 lbs (a third of his starting body weight) before the end of his stay. The person who stayed the second-longest, Carleigh Fairchild, was pulled out because, at 101 lbs, she had lost nearly 30% of her starting body weight and had a BMI of 16.8. Participants were automatically "pulled" at a BMI of 17 or less. The fourth longest stayer, Dave Nessia, was pulled out when, due to inadequate caloric intake, his systolic pressure barely exceeded his diastolic pressure (80/60 mmHg), putting him in danger of death due to inadequate perfusion of the internal organs.'

Like all the Survivorman episodes I've seen. Trying to survive in the wilderness seems to be basically a slow death sentence.
qjs