Flawed logic?

[Jake T]

This is all stemming from a trip I have coming up where water will NOT be plentiful.

I was looking at calories per gram for different bars and different freeze dried meals. The freeze dried meals were the most calorie dense…until you factor in the water. Then they drop significantly.

Example, peak refuel home style chicken and rice. 740 cals per 146 grams. 5.1cal/g but add in the water needed (8oz, weighs 265 grams) so now it’s 740 cals per 411 grams, or 1.8 cal/g.

Another way to look at it, it takes 411 grams of weight to access 740 calories. But if I were to eat a Big Sur Bar, it only takes 142 grams to access 600 calories. 1.8 cal/g vs 4.2 cal/g

So is it flawed logic to include the water needed for these meals? Because I’m thinking I could save some weight while also decreasing the water I’ll need each day.

Thanks for your thoughts

 

[OutOfMyMind]

Another way to think is that you're going to need to take in that water in regardless. Water helps food digestion and nutrient absorption. I'm not sure if you're planning on eating only meal replacement bars, but that can lead to problems as well, such as constipation. If you're going to go this route, I'd look at how the macros break down and compare to your dietary needs. Butter is also calorie dense but that's not going to keep your body in peak form.

There's a couple options you could do with the freeze dried meals since water is a concern on this trip. 1) eat them dry. 2) add just enough water that makes the meal palatable. 3) can be combined with option 2, is cold soak them. This would help reduce the small bit of water lost through evaporation. Plus, if this is an arid location you're going, its nice not having steaming hot food.

 

[Marbles]

Water intake is water intake whether it is through solid food or liquids. If you need to consume a hypothetical 5 leters (5000 grams) of water a day, the .265 leters in a Peak Refuel counts towards that total. The much smaller water content of a bar just means you need to drink more to reach 5 leters.

It also depends, if you must carry 10 days worth of water from the start, I would just bring wet food like MRE pouches. If you will be able to get water every few days, then freeze dried food makes more sense from a weight perspective.

If you would truly be happy living on Big Sur bars, go for it, but sounds miserable after a few days to me.

 

[Stocky]

Water intake is water intake whether it is through solid food or liquids. If you need to consume a hypothetical 5 leters (5000 grams) of water a day, the .265 leters in a Peak Refuel counts towards that total. The much smaller water content of a bar just means you need to drink more to reach 5 leters.

It also depends, if you must carry 10 days worth of water from the start, I would just bring wet food like MRE pouches. If you will be able to get water every few days, then freeze dried food makes more sense from a weight perspective.

If you would truly be happy living on Big Sur bars, go for it, but sounds miserable after a few days to me.

This! I've come to this conclusion and water separate to the food is far more versatile that stuck in food. Freeze dry usually is quite soupy and you are less thirst after vs a bar where you are usually more thirsty.

A note to the above about eating freeze dry uncooked cant find the source but i swear there was something about this messing up your guts pretty bad due the food fermenting. Ill try find the source.