Need help, again from the OB board.

I eat, a lot... and am trying to figure out how I am going to get my calorie count up while I am on the trip. We're going to have a stove and mostly have mountain house type meals.

Here is the problem, they're only like 400 calories for two servings... I'm going to blow through that boiling the water. Need help adding in stuff to add calories.

The best plan I have so far is the following:

Breakfast (eggs/bacon/oatmeal/dried fruit) - 600-800 calories
Lunch (jerky/high calorie snack bars) - 600-800 calories
Dinner (whatever mountain house meal + high calorie snack bar) - 1000 calories

Any recommendations? I'm fully expecting to drop about 10-15lbs just because my caloric intake will be significantly lower and my physical activity will be higher. I would prefer to keep the weight loss at a minimum and am looking for some advice.

Any advice on coffee, caffeine, etc. also appreciated too.

I can easily lose that much in a 10-14 day hunt.

Makes sense if you're out there for a couple of weeks. Must've missed that somewhere

6 days

All packed in on horses/mules. Weight isn't that much of an issue. Base camp 10,000 ft.

Red beans and rice was one of my staples. Pull the bags out of the cardboard boxes to save weight and space. Add extra rice.

Bring sausage. Spam works too. Or meat from your hunt as you get some.

Easy to cook, fills you up. Keeps you warm at night...

Last October, I dropped 12 pounds in 8 or 9 days. I was slamming water like it was going out of style (avoiding altitude issues, worked like a charm). We had a mix and match of Mountain House and MREs, and a crap load of energy bars. Thankfully we had a bunch of Mountain House and MREs, because right off the bat all 3 of us would each eat an entire Mountain House packet....then go rummaging through the MREs.

Not really a coffee drinker. I'm one of those oddballs that prefers to sleep to the last moment, get dressed, shove some energy bars in my pocket and be headed out in about 5 minutes. I did drink the MRE coffee twice, but it was more of a matter of it was there.

We covered a LOT ground. Base camp at 11,200.

Would love to let you tag along but I was invited and no more room on the hunt.

I could probably lose 10-15lbs and be just fine I just would prefer to limit the amount of weight I lose. I'm still young and in decent shape.

When we got ready to pack out, I had to get creative with a piece of rope. I couldn't tighten by belt any tighter. The wrangler made a semi serious semi joking comment about making sure my pants didn't fall down when going down the sketchy a-- trail.

What you described is exactly how I envision it. Eat a mountain home dinner and then stuffing face with high calorie bars.

Luckily the nylon/tactical belt I'm bringing goes down like 6 sizes below.

Peanut. Butter.

When I say get creative, I mean about 15 seconds of daisy chaining paracord. So I practically had a tactical belt.

For dinners we cooked chili and stew ahead of time then vacuum packed them into meal size packs and heated them up in a pot of hot water. Once hot dumped into bowls. Didn't have to clean a pot, and had a hot meal in about 15 minutes.

I know you said weight doesn't matter, but high calorie count per oz will probably still help out for stuff you're carrying with you as snacks.

Justin's almond and peanut butter packets are about as good as it gets for this. 1.15oz and 180-190 calories. Maple almond butter and Vanilla almond butter are my favorites. Granola is great, reeses are really good, trader joes dark chocolate pb cups even better. Having a variety of snacks that are savory, salty or sweet should help you keep eating.

A little bit of olive oil added to your MH meals would probably be good too, stuff is like 250 cal/oz.

Variety is a good thing, I got tired of eating the same stuff over and over and pretty much stopped eating my snack food the last day and a half. Pack out was tough since I didn't eat enough.

Edited to add that I might have had enough variety packed, but I ate little bits of everything every day. I will make bigger bags of stuff and eat one thing one day and switch it up the next.

One thing I will pack again was dates. Put some peanut butter in a baggie and add three or four of the big dried dates. Lots of calories and it was a nice change from granola or chocolate.

Whatever you decide to bring, eat some samples a week or so before to test out your reaction to them. Nothing like shltin your guts out for days because the new bar you brought doesn't agree with you.

If you want good coffee, get a small percolator or french press. For a percolator, you have to buy whole beans and then grind them. This can be done easily with a ziploc and a rubber mallet (both usually available on a camping trip).

Check out:
Heathers Choice
Green Belly Meals

I think you may be misinterpreting the labeling. Many Mtn House meals are in the 600+ cal range, if you consume the entire pouch. There are some that are higher. Almonds have a high cal/weight ratio and they're delicious. Rice seems like a waste of time, space and effort. You ever seen a fat Chinaman? No, no you have not. Cliff bars are just terrible. I will eat pine bark before I eat another cliff bar. Lara bars are tolerable, even decent. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna pack an avocado or two this year. They're just too damn tasty and it's something wildly different from the norm.

Most are 210-290 per serving, so a little less than 600 calories a pack. I eat lunches on a normal day that are 3x - 4x times that.... without walking/hiking for 6-7 miles. That's my concern.

dragons06 said:

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Check out:
Heathers Choice
Green Belly Meals

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I like almost everything about Heather's Choice meals - the ingredients, the idea behind the meals, and the fact that Heather is pretty easy on the eyes.

The thing I don't like is the fact that the entrees are $15. I'll go ahead and take 2 Mountain Houses and chance the gastrointestinal issues for that price.

For the OP, I have had good luck with the ProBar Meal bars. They are 3 oz and have 350-400 calories. That's pretty dense and some of the highest calorie/oz stuff you'll find.

Also, as has been mentioned, nut butters, jerky/meat sticks, and cheese work well.

Why don't you be a real man and only eat what you kill?



Kidding of course. But a challenge is a challenge. Just saying ....

My longer trips have consisted of 3 packs of instant oatmeal for breakfast, summer sausage and bagel sammiches for lunch and a full Mountain house meal for dinner (serving sizes be damned). I'll eat bars and fruit snacks in between. I've stopped eating super healthy bars and substituted Snickers which seem more calorie dense to me. I also bring propel or other drink packets and drink at least 32 oz of water upon returning to camp (in addition to the 3L I drink from my water bladder throughout the day).

Lungblood said:

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You're gonna lose weight. The end.

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I'm aware. Just trying to avoid looking like I went on Naked and Afraid