Maintaining Muscle Mass while Malnourished
I'm working on a character who is homeless and relies on stealing and cheating just to get by. Obviously, not having a steady/reliable source of food or income (in a small village nonetheless) means they're probably pretty malnourished (at least to the point where their ribs are somewhat visible). The problem comes with the fact that their weapon ( Read more... )
In medieval Europe, not enough food was produced and especially not enough high-protein food. Peasants doing heavy labor day in and day out would've been universally malnourished by contemporary standards.
There's multiple examples of underfed prisoners being forced to e.g. quarry rocks. I'm sure you've read Holocaust stories. It seems like it wasn't uncommon for people to die of starvation (e.g. heart failure) before being beaten to death for not being able to work. Similarly many people survived forced marches like the Trail of Tears.
And haven't you seen photos of ribs-showing, wiry old farmers from e.g. Asia or Africa who could possibly beat a leopard to death?
I almost starved to death when I was 12 and I remember one time having tears in my eyes from the weight of carrying my school books in arm. Exercise, especially cardio, HURT, like fire in my lungs/chest pain more generally. That was the only thing that really hurt. People have wildly varying reactions to malnutrition, and what would kill one person could leave another still able to labor. I think it would definitely add a touch of realism to have the character struggling (getting a pulled muscle, feeling super-exhausted or trembling while trying to pull the bow, having chest pain), but malnourishment that's not actually a threat to his life probably isn't going to stop an otherwise able-bodied man from using a bow.
Another thing to keep in mind is his history. If he was malnourished as a child/teen, he's likely stunted. I only starved for a few months but my teeth and bones stopped growing totally for 2.5 years, and I only ever got an inch taller. Stunting is an adaptive response and would leave him with more energy to feed his muscles since his body would be smaller.
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