View Full Version : How many calories in foods?
From reading these forums I have learned a lot about many of the different foods carried by hikers. I have also saw many times that 4000 or 5000 calories are usually required per day on a long (thru) hike. But I haven't been able to find much on the caloric value of many specific foods. Does anyone know just how many calories a specfic amount (oz, cup, etc.) some of the more common food items have?
alanthealan
11-15-2005, 01:02
cosmic brownies 290
I just read the packages as I shopped for food. Two Poptarts are about 400 calories, so is a pack of ramen, energy bars tend to be 200-250 and so on.
Ramble~On
11-15-2005, 06:47
A good number of backpacking books relating to food have charts listing a breakdown of certain foods and there calories. Some even list %fat, %protein, % carbohydrate.
And yeah...I'll agree to 4-5,ooo calories a day while backpacking extended periods but don't look at it as "getting" those calories but more towards getting the calories and balanced nutrition.
when I was doing the Atkins diet I came across this USDA site which I find to be fairly accurate
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/
It takes a little getting used to but its not too hard
http://www.calorieking.com
Easy quick site, type in the food, lots of info!
the goat
11-15-2005, 10:30
honey buns---a whopping 500+ calories & 50-some grams of fat. the challenge is to not eat them all on your first day outta town!
try this link: www.calorie-count.com (http://www.calorie-count.com)
"The Complete Walker" by Colin Fletcher has calorie charts and an in depth discussion of the "Zone" dietary plan as it relates to increasing energy when hiking.
Thanks a lot for the info. I especially like the calorieking.com site from Smile, and I might try to get a copy of the book "The Complete Walker" as Mouse told about. Three cheers for Whiteblaze! Best site for hikers I've found yet.
jackiebolen
11-16-2005, 11:54
Go the grocery store and read labels. It's where I got most of my info about amount of calories in food. Plus, if you're thru-hiking and on the trail a while, the other hikers will be a wealth of information about high-calorie foods.
A neat little link with "calories per ounce" info for common backpacking food:
http://www.oc.edu/staff/phil.heffington/FoodCalories.htm
http://www.calorieking.com
Easy quick site, type in the food, lots of info!
This site has a book you can buy or software for palm and pocket pc that you can take with you.
It covers about 45,000 foods including fast foods like McDs, etc.
Excellent site.
l8tr, gumby
fiddler, remember you might not need that many calories early in the hike. adrenaline, excitement, all the other things going on, you just might not be that hungry for several days or as much as weeks. my hiker hunger didn't hit till maybe after the smokies, by VA i was figuratively starving to death....lol, state of mind i guess has a lot to do with hiker hunger.
icemanat95
11-21-2005, 10:20
I didn't sweat the nutrition so much. I popped a couple of multi-vitamins each day to cover my bases and worked on getting the calories. I ate a LOT of veggies when I hit towns.
It's hard to get anywhere close to eating the caloric output you require to thru-hike. You cannot carry that much food. So you lose weight. Most of us can afford to lose a bit. I lost about 35 pounds in 6 months and have since gained it all back. (I looked a bit cadaverous at 170 pounds).
* * * I lost about 35 pounds in 6 months and have since gained it all back. (I looked a bit cadaverous at 170 pounds). * * *
Well, I've heard about all the weight loss on the trail. I'm 6'2" and weigh about 170 now, and this is when I'm fat and lazy. I get down to around 160 in the summer when I'm out and active. Most I ever weighed was around 185 maybe 30 years ago. Don't know if I could stand to loose very much. Probably have to try to force myself to eat even when I don't want to. Can't imagine what I'd look like if I lost another 30 pounds.
honey buns---a whopping 500+ calories & 50-some grams of fat. the challenge is to not eat them all on your first day outta town!
Man sometime I wish I never worked on a farm when growing up. I unwrapped about 800,000 of these for cattle feed. :eek:
I can't stand any type of factory made breads. Maybe the trail will break me of that!
......unwrapped about 800,000 of these for cattle feed. :eek:
Wow! Another reason not to eat commercially produced beef.....bad enough we eat bread/yeast, but to feed to to cows, yuck! The Whiter the bread, the quicker you're dead...
http://www.amazinghealth.org/articles-general%20principles-diet-refined%20grains.htm
the goat
11-22-2005, 10:04
Man sometime I wish I never worked on a farm when growing up. I unwrapped about 800,000 of these for cattle feed. :eek:
that's awesome, honey-bun-eatin'-cattle.....they must've loved you man!
icemanat95
11-22-2005, 11:00
* * * I lost about 35 pounds in 6 months and have since gained it all back. (I looked a bit cadaverous at 170 pounds). * * *
Well, I've heard about all the weight loss on the trail. I'm 6'2" and weigh about 170 now, and this is when I'm fat and lazy. I get down to around 160 in the summer when I'm out and active. Most I ever weighed was around 185 maybe 30 years ago. Don't know if I could stand to loose very much. Probably have to try to force myself to eat even when I don't want to. Can't imagine what I'd look like if I lost another 30 pounds.
Picture someone at the end of the Bataan Death March.
You are going to want to lighten your load as much as possible to reduce your calorie output and increase your calorie density in your foods to keep weight on your frame at minimal weight in your pack. Make your resupply stops pretty frequent to reduce the weight you've got to carry while maximizing the available food to fuel your furnace.
I burned A LOT of calories because I was carrying a heavy pack in preparation for some longish winter trips I was taking when I got back that would require lots of kit. So I intentionally packed heavy to train up. Pack light, your body will thank you for it.
The Old Fhart
11-22-2005, 11:13
Icemanat95-"You are going to want to lighten your load as much as possible to reduce your calorie output and increase your calorie density in your foods to keep weight on your frame at minimal weight in your pack. Make your resupply stops pretty frequent to reduce the weight you've got to carry while maximizing the available food to fuel your furnace." Excellent clear explanation!