Does anyone have experience with high calorie supplements?

[heavyfoot]

Thinking about food and calories and pack weight... has anyone tried using something like this while they hiked? It seems like it'd be healthier than ODing on Poptarts and Snickers.

http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3687533

[Odd Man Out]

According to the label, it is artificially flavored partially hydrolyzed starch (i.e. malt), powdered milk, powdered eggs, and a vitamin pill for $5.67 per pound.

To call it a "high calorie supplement" is really a stretch. Given that it is low in fat, it's calorie density is an unimpressive 3.7 cal/g.
In comparison, Peanut butter has 5.9 cal/g. Uncooked rice has 3.65 cal/g.
My favorite snack, Quaker Oat Squares, has a slightly higher calorie density than this product and a nice balance of carbs, fat, and protein (and naturally flavored).

[aaronthebugbuffet]

Just take more nuts.

[kayak karl]

it's only 104 calories per oz. many other things will match this. it is a dairy product and on the trail this can be a sanitation problem. the container will need to be cleaned very well. it also reacts to humidity if not in sealed container.

[heavyfoot]

I hike with whey protein and powdered milk, I've never had a problem with them.

I wasn't asking about that product specifically. I just listed it as an example. I'm less concerned about weight and cost issues and more interested in health ones. Maltodextrin isn't my favorite additive, either, but that ingredient list is preferable to Pop Tarts or Snickers. I was hoping to hear about experiences with supplementing with a similar product on a long hike and how it went.

[Wise Old Owl]

Add Propel singles to the above post.

[Odd Man Out]

I hike with whey protein and powdered milk, I've never had a problem with them.

I wasn't asking about that product specifically. I just listed it as an example. I'm less concerned about weight and cost issues and more interested in health ones. Maltodextrin isn't my favorite additive, either, but that ingredient list is preferable to Pop Tarts or Snickers. I was hoping to hear about experiences with supplementing with a similar product on a long hike and how it went.

I guess since the original post referred specifically to pack weight, I assumed that was the issue. If not, then there are plenty of foods which are healthy (i.e. not processed artificial foods, like a Pop Tart). I guess I can't answer since it seems to me that the GNC product suggested is just as artificial and processed. My last trip I ate a lot of curried rice and lentils and oatmeal.

[leaftye]

If you're lactose tolerant, you're better off drinking Nestle Nido powdered whole milk instead of the weight gainer and whey protein.

As was noted, the weight gainer has lots of maltodextrin...the complex carb that acts like a simple carb. If you're worried about type II diabetes at all, then you don't want to take something like this for long periods of time.

Don't worry about the whey protein either. If you're eating as much of almost literally any food, you'll get bodybuilder levels of protein. A while back on this forum I showed how this applies even with a diet consisting exclusively of Snickers. You'd have to try pretty hard to get low levels of protein.

Now I did recommend Nestle Nido, but I do realize that drinking a lot of that while hiking can be a serious gastrointestinal challenge. Fortunately there are other decent calories that you can put into your shakes. Try powdered oats and essential fatty acids from www.proteinfactory.com. That's what I put into my shakes. 3,000 calories a day from it. Add something else for flavor, like cocoa, kool aid, tang or even some of your protein powder.

[heavyfoot]

Weight is a concern but health is more important, thus the desire to move away from junk food for calories.

leaftye, do you know how their protein compares with Now Foods?

[sbhikes]

If you want to add calories, consider Organic Creamed Coconut or Coconut Manna or Coconut Butter. They're all pretty close to the same thing. Tastes good added to sweet and savory things and has almost as much calories as butter:

Coconut Manna: 200 calories per oz.

Coconut Butter: 81 calories per oz.

Creamed Coconut: 220 calories per oz.

Could be messy in hot weather.

Supplements are not food. Food is food. So if you are trying to avoid junk food you should avoid supplements made of stuff you could never make in your own kitchen. To make coconut butter you just need a coconut and something to grind it up.

[Feral Bill]

"Supplement" = scam. There are endless real food combinations that are healthy, Calorie dense, tasty and economical. Think peanut butter, powdered whole milk, dry whole grain products, nuts, dry fruits, lentils, etc. Or go with Snickers for high energy on the go snacks.

[leaftye]

leaftye, do you know how their protein compares with Now Foods?

They have many grades of protein, but even their bulk whey concentrate digests very well for me. It's not like a decade ago when even the premium powders would cause bloating. I haven't tried Now Foods. I suppose you could compare amino acid profiles and chain lengths. If you have specific questions about a product, Alex, the owner has been very responsive to inquiries in my experiences over the past few years.

[leaftye]

Supplements are not food. Food is food. So if you are trying to avoid junk food you should avoid supplements made of stuff you could never make in your own kitchen.

I can only make things that are burned.

[Derek81pci]

Clif bars rock. Millennium bars are a little more expensive, but higher in calories and taste a lot better.

[aaronthebugbuffet]

If you're lactose tolerant, you're better off drinking Nestle Nido powdered whole milk instead of the weight gainer and whey protein.

I love the Nido.

[leaftye]

I love the Nido.

I just had a bunch as part of my PWO shake.

[bushcraft]

About 3 years ago I use to pack MRE's and a snicker bar or two. High calories with low pack weight if you stripped them down out of their boxes and re-organized them. Worked great but my stomach just couldn't take them on year 4 so I went to MH and Wise Foods.