How are people defending bases so long?

Iv played a little and will come back eventually but from what i gathered you need to be on the hunt constantly for food , water, meds , weapons , decent clothing all of which get worn down over time. So how are folks making these elaborate bases with hidden weapons and traps and such without leaving? And starving to death? something im missing here. Not to mention all that stays online even if u log. I couldn’t do that because i would be 200% paranoid