Calories per day?

[Brandon Pattison]

Last year I took 2500/day and had food leftover. Is 2200 calories per day too little?

What do you take?

 

[Becca]

For hiking/packing heavy loads or regular life??

We usually allot around 2400 cal/day for trips, but the rest of the time I aim for around 1400-1600....I don't have the height to support a higher cal diet if I am not working hard.

 

[Brandon Pattison]

I meant with a pack on and going uphill.

 

[fillthefreezer]

i pack 3000/day but should cut back as i usually pack food home. i just hate being hungry and im paranoid.

 

[Becca]

i pack 3000/day but should cut back as i usually pack food home. i just hate being hungry and im paranoid.

Me too, and I used to bring a lot more....but I got tired of always bringing loads of food home at the end of the trip. 2400-2600 seems to be about how much we eat, and then I always being a little extra for weather days (on fly in trips) or if we have a crazy long day packing super heavy loads.

Often find we end up making up for it once the trip is over, that calorie deficit catches up to you eventually...I once drank a regular 24oz coke (i never drink soda) and a box of donuts on the drive home after we packed an entire caribou and camp 21 miles in a single, very long day.

 

[swat8888]

I'm probably under 2000. 2x 400ish calorie bars, 300 calories oatmeal, 700ish mountain house...and some from candy, nuts, etc. I usually have a hard time putting down the entire MH.

 

[HellsCanyon]

Last trip I took two weekends ago I packed and ate around 2500 a day. And I'm only 6' 165 lbs... Fruit bars as well as Cliff Bars add up quickly especially when you're eating 700 cals for dinner, and 500 for lunch, and have 16 hours of daylight. I have around 8% body fat so I need a lot of calories to keep me going.

Mike

 

[BuckSnort]

I'm probably under 2000. 2x 400ish calorie bars, 300 calories oatmeal, 700ish mountain house...and some from candy, nuts, etc. I usually have a hard time putting down the entire MH.

This is about identical to my food intake... However I will be switching things up this year I bought a dehydrator and have been experimenting with FBC cooking toi replace most of the mountain house meals..

 

[dreamingbig]

I took about 2800 calories per day last year and had food left over so I am targeting about 2200 to 2500 this year also. In 2009 we shot 3 cows on the same day. That year I had a LOT of food left over. Tenderloins for 2 straight days!

 

[Slim Jim]

I try to eat about every three hours throughout the day so that I don't get hungry or tired and make wrong decisions. I start off with 1st-oatmeal, 2nd-1/3 cup of nuts, 3rd-peanut butter and honey bagel, 4th-pop tarts, 5th-whole wheat tortilla with or without 3oz of tuna, and 6th-mountain house dinner. This is my daily backcountry backpack archery hunt diet.

 

[HellsCanyon]

Man I don't know how you guys choke down that oatmeal in the morning... for some reason I used to be able to eat it, now its dang near impossible, even as a late breakfast. One thing I tried this last trip that I REALLY liked was a single serving peanut butter package spread out over a Cliff Bar... 450 Calories of goodness!

Mike

 

[swat8888]

I eat oatmeal every single day for breakfast anyhow...so obviously I like it. Also a mood lifter to be sucking down some hot chow in my puffy jacket and still in my sleeping bag. Chase that with my Via and I'm ready to hop out get cold and start moving.

 

[CtP]

I typically run hot thanks to my family genetics of a fast matabolism. This year for our fly in I'm packing 26-3k cal per day, with some extra snacks.
I'd rather pack it out than run out of food. Expecially if the weather sets in and were delayed.

 

[littlebuf]

posted this on another forum.meant to post it here to as food is one of the biggest challenges in my opinion. so if i think ive got a good system i like to share/

goal is 100+ cal per ounce

item- oz- cal

mountain house- 4.06- 440
Snickers- 2.07-280
jif single-1.5-250
powerbar energy gel- 1.44- 110 (exception made on ratio for caffeine)
pure protein bar-1.76-180
cliff builders bar- 2.4- 270
pure protein bar-1.76-190
kind bar-1.4- 210
kind bar- 1.4- 180
shot blocks- 2.1-200
shot blocks-2.1-200
shot blocks-2.1-200


total- 24.09 oz- 2710 cal
roughly 20 dollars per day
weeks worth of food (7 days) right around 10 pounds and its a pretty compact load,at least broken down per day.its basically junk food but i find myself having to force myself to eat on extended trips and this is stuff i know ill eat.also Ive subscribed to the mind set that I'm not going up there to eat or sleep real comfy.I'm going to hunt and survive in the wild.Ive made several cuts and upgrades this year.

 

[littlebuf]

i am however going to try and keep weight below 24 oz after a few test trips with this menu. i think i can still get around 2600 cal for 22oz with careful preparation

 

[littlebuf]

one days food

 

[broncoformudv]

posted this on another forum.meant to post it here to as food is one of the biggest challenges in my opinion. so if i think ive got a good system i like to share/

goal is 100+ cal per ounce

item- oz- cal

mountain house- 4.06- 440
Snickers- 2.07-280
jif single-1.5-250
powerbar energy gel- 1.44- 110 (exception made on ratio for caffeine)
pure protein bar-1.76-180
cliff builders bar- 2.4- 270
pure protein bar-1.76-190
kind bar-1.4- 210
kind bar- 1.4- 180
shot blocks- 2.1-200
shot blocks-2.1-200
shot blocks-2.1-200


total- 24.09 oz- 2710 cal
roughly 20 dollars per day
weeks worth of food (7 days) right around 10 pounds and its a pretty compact load,at least broken down per day.its basically junk food but i find myself having to force myself to eat on extended trips and this is stuff i know ill eat.also Ive subscribed to the mind set that I'm not going up there to eat or sleep real comfy.I'm going to hunt and survive in the wild.Ive made several cuts and upgrades this year.

This is a great break down. I started a project like that a while back but have yet to finish it.

 

[fillthefreezer]

posted this on another forum.meant to post it here to as food is one of the biggest challenges in my opinion. so if i think ive got a good system i like to share/

goal is 100+ cal per ounce

item- oz- cal

mountain house- 4.06- 440
Snickers- 2.07-280
jif single-1.5-250
powerbar energy gel- 1.44- 110 (exception made on ratio for caffeine)
pure protein bar-1.76-180
cliff builders bar- 2.4- 270
pure protein bar-1.76-190
kind bar-1.4- 210
kind bar- 1.4- 180
shot blocks- 2.1-200
shot blocks-2.1-200
shot blocks-2.1-200


total- 24.09 oz- 2710 cal
roughly 20 dollars per day
weeks worth of food (7 days) right around 10 pounds and its a pretty compact load,at least broken down per day.its basically junk food but i find myself having to force myself to eat on extended trips and this is stuff i know ill eat.also Ive subscribed to the mind set that I'm not going up there to eat or sleep real comfy.I'm going to hunt and survive in the wild.Ive made several cuts and upgrades this year.

how are you doing with the chalkyness of your 5th or 6th builders bar? just power through it or ?

 

[dreamingbig]

I find that backcountry food for a 10 day backpack hunt is more about minimizing weight, maximizing calories, and getting well balanced nutrition over how it tastes or if it is what I want to be eating. I don't eat the food that I take on a backcountry hunt much throughout the rest of the year so that it is a bit more appealing in September. Give me rutting bulls to chase though and I don't get very picky about food. Mountain House meals are just fine as are honey stinger protein bars!

 

[fillthefreezer]

I find that backcountry food for a 10 day backpack hunt is more about minimizing weight, maximizing calories, and getting well balanced nutrition over how it tastes or if it is what I want to be eating. I don't eat the food that I take on a backcountry hunt much throughout the rest of the year so that it is a bit more appealing in September. Give me rutting bulls to chase though and I don't get very picky about food. Mountain House meals are just fine as are honey stinger protein bars!

agreed. i just find a couple days in im looking at that builders bar more than eating it