Ultralight Food
Disclaimer
The following information includes common products and practices used by backpackers.
These products and practices may violate food handling practices or expose the handler or consumer to pathogens or chemicals that may be unhealthy.
2nd Disclaimer
The following information is NOT intended for Scouts! There is far too much geeky math here for normal Scouts - and Adults for that matter.
The following is intended for those looking for a deeper understanding of all things Ultralight.
Ultralight Food
With proper planning, you can reduce your food weight by more than what you will by replacing your tent with an expensive ultralight shelter. In fact, for long distance hiking, the weight of your food can weigh as much as the rest of your gear combined. So shaving off 25% of that weight is going to make a huge difference.
Summary of Concepts
The material on this page is a bit much
The following summary notes sum up the basics of what's covered in the following sections
Calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate and Calories you expect to need for your trek
Combine these calculations to determine your daily Caloric needs
Some seasoned trekker will plan for intentional Caloric Deficits on the trail
This saves weight on shorter trips (week or less)
May result in significant muscle wasting on longer trips
NOT acceptable practice for Scouts
Optional: daily Caloric needs can be roughly converted into pounds of food
This allows you to pack without counting every Calorie on your menu
125 Calories per ounce (if you pack reasonably smart)
4,000 Calories per day = 2 pounds of food per day
Watch these videos
Review this Menu Planner:
Hiker Food 2.5 by GearSkeptic
Ideal ratio of trail food:
65% Fat
35% Carbs/Proteins at a 4:1 ratio
14% Complex Carbs
14% Sugar
7% Protein
Use information on this page to help you plan out Breakfast, Snacks, Lunch, Recovery and Dinner
These are ONLY Guidelines - not the rule of god
Most importantly, you need to pack enough food for your trek and only food you are willing to eat
Performance and Food
There is a LOT of voodoo information when it comes to nutrition and what to eat for performance. Depending on who you talk to or what resource you use for information, you can get some pretty differing "expert advice" on what to pack.
Number One Rule for Performance Trail Food
Your food must be palatable (taste good)
If you can't eat it, it doesn't mater how nutritious it is
Second Rule of Performance Trail Food
You have to have enough calories to cover your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) AND the activities you do in a day
This is covered further down on this page
Third Rule of Performance Trail Food
Food needs to be nutritious enough to enable you to complete your outing without incurring significant damage to your body
For basic weekend Scouts Outings
Missed meals, poor food choices and inadequate serving sizes have minimal long term significance
On Very Strenuous Outings
Especially High Adventure Outings spanning several days, what you eat can have a significant impact on performance and long term health
Planning for and consuming nutritious foods is vital for optimal performance
Nutrition
Important Disclaimer: Before diving into the math and tricks of minimizing food weight, view the following videos the by the GearSkeptic on performance nutrition. We have communicated with GearSkeptic. He is an interesting person and does not report having any medical or dietitian credentials or training.
As with all information, take these guidelines with a grain of salt. They were NOT put together by a dietitian but do seem to be well thought out and somewhat reasonable. They should raise your awareness of many of the considerations that go into menu planning.
Trail Food Notes from the GearSkeptic
Use this menu planner:
Hiker Food 2.5 by GearSkeptic
Carbs are important
Primary fuel when running and doing marathon events
Proteins are important
Needed for recovery - rebuilding damaged muscles
This is HUGE for long term treks (greater than 10 days)
Important for growing bodies (Scouts)
Needs to be consumed with carbs to help promote glucose metabolism
Ideal carb/protein ratio: 4:1
Protein causes more thermogenesis than carbs
These take longer to digest and produce more heat per gram than other fuels
Eat right before bed to help warm you up a bit before sleep
Fats are important
There are twice as many calories in a gram of fat than a gram of carbs or protein - 9kcal/gram vs 4kcal/gram
The thermic effect of food (TEF) is the energy used to digest and metabolize food
More TEF is needed to digest carbs and protein than fat
Fat TEF is 0-3%
Carb TEF is 5-15%
Protein TEF is 20-30%
Fats are not only twice as dense as carbs and protein, it is notably more efficient to absorb
The extra weight needed for TEF of carbs and protein is significant for a 1 week trek
The majority of the energy you use while walking is from fat calories
Your Activity Level determines the ideal fuel you need
For backpacking, Fats seem to be the most important fuel
Ideal Ratio for Trail food:
65% Fat
35% Carbs/Proteins at a 4:1 ratio
14% Complex Carbs
14% Sugar
7% Protein
Examples of Trail Snacks with "Ideal Ratios"
Kind Dark Chocolate Bars (basically all of them) have fat percentage of 61-64%
Cliff Bars (Nut Butter Filled) have a fat percentage of 40-42%
Hike Recovery Notes from the GearSkeptic
To maximize performance the following day, it is important to consume a recovery drink right after your daily trek.
Recovery Window
There is a limited window where recovery is optimized
Increased insulin sensitivity in cells
Consume within 15-30 minutes after exercise
Consumption of the right combo of carbs and protein:
Can reduce muscle damage
increase muscle glycogen replenishment
Stimulate the repair and rebuilding of muscle protein
If nutrients are consumed after the recovery window, benefits are greatly reduced
Protein/Carb Balance
For optimum recovery, your body needs both carbs AND protein
Optimum ration of carbs/protein is somewhere between 3:1 and 4:1
Insulin helps enhance recover and protein helps with insulin production and release
Carb Types
High Glycemic Index Carbs work better for recover than Low Index Carbs
Glucose and dextrose is ideal for muscle glycogen stores
Fructose potently stimulate liver glycogen resynthesis
Sugar is a good carb for recovery
Ideally - 75% Glucose, 25% Fructose
1:1 Dextrose and Sucrose
Dextrose is more or less glucose
Sucrose breaks down into 1:1 Glucose/Fructose
1:1 Dextrose and Sucrose breaks down into 3:1 Glucose/Fructose
Examples:
Dextrose Powder
Fructose
Protein Types
Want a Fast-Digesting Protein, ideally in liquid form
Top 2
Whey (significant increase in protein synthesis over Casein)
Whey Isolate is the most concentrated (over powder and concentrate)
ON Platinum Hydrowhey (Hydrolyzed Isolate)
Collogen
seems to be a reasonable choice
Example: Frog Fuel
Expensive
Others (not has good as Whey or Collogen)
Casein
Soy
Your body can only absorb between 20-30g of protein for muscle synthesis in one meal
Make sure you get at least 20g of protein per meal
Beyond this, you are better off using fat for calories
Caffeine
May result in 66% higher glycogen resynthesis (with high dose of caffeine)
Recovery Options
Drink mixes are better than solids
DIY Recipe
1/2 scoop chocolate Platinum HydroWhey (15 protein)
3 tblsp Dextrose powder @10g each (30g glucose)
1 Starbucks Via sweetened Iced Coffee (25g sucrose + 1g protein)
Carb/Protein ratio: 3.4:1
Clif Bar (Nut Butter) and Clif SHOT Protein Recovery powder
Tailwind Rebuild Recovery
Mike's Mix Recovery Drink
Melissa's Mix Recovery Drink for Women
Gatorade Whey Protein Powder and Starbucks Via sweetened Iced Coffee
Tailwind (with or without Caffein) Endurance Fuel and Frog Fuel Power Protein
32oz Gatorade and Frog Fuel Power Protein
Use day one and you get a nice bottle
Hydration Strategies from the GearSkeptic
Water weighs a LOT and you need to figure out how much to carry. Carry too much, and you have extra pounds on your back that you don't need. Don't pack enough and you can take a serious hit on performance or even die. That's a real thing.
You need to replenish all the water you lose each day through sweating, urination and breathing
You need water to digest food
Backpacking food is often VERY "dry"
You will need ABOUT 4 liters of water per day
Hiking results in about 0.5L of sweat per hour on a warm day
Hiking at 2MPH means you need about 0.25L of water per mile
Hiking at 2MPH for 2 hours requires ABOUT 1 Liter of water
If the next water hole is more than 4 miles, you should pack a second bottle
What if the next water hole is dry?
As you dehydrate, blood flow is reduced to mucles and your brain
Dehydration of 2% body mass = aerobic exercises performance or endurance becomes impaired
For a 165lb Scout, this is about a 1.5L water deficit
Your body will use up glycogen stores in your muscles
As you further dehydrate, lots of bad things happen
Higher temperatures worsen performance loss with dehydration
Planned vs Drinking to Thirst
Over and underestimating water intake is a problem
Drinking to Thirst is problematic
Works well at rest
When active - you are less sensitive to thirst
Inadequate for
Significant sweating - people tend to under drink
Events longer than 2-hours
When consuming foods during exercise
Your body and ONLY absorb about 1L of water an hour
Consuming more than a liter of water can result in hyponatremia - potentially lethal
Overdrinking is dangerous
Planned Drinking is preferred for High Adventure
Do so logically
Urine should have a slight ting of yellow
If your urine is clear, you are over hydrated
Dark urine = dehydration or worse
You should be urinating every 3 hours or so during the waking day
Plan out the day
You will need about 0.5L an hour
More on hotter days
Less on cooler days
Fit and people acclimated to the heat will sweat MORE
Map out water sources and make sure you have enough water between stops
Electrolyte Balance from the GearSkeptic
NOTE: Use of Electrolyte supplements is Dangerous
Consuming TOO much electrolytes or inadequate amounts are both dangerous
The general recommendation is to NOT mess with electrolyte supplements
The following is based on notes by a popular YouTuber and is NOT medical advice
When you sweat, you lose salt
Electrolyte losses affect muscle contraction, cardiac function and energy metabolism
Measurably impacts trail performance
Heavy sweating = high sodium loss
As you sweat more, the concentration of sodium in your sweat increases
Amount of Sweat varies a LOT between individuals
Concentration of electrolytes in Sweat varies a LOT between individuals
Sodium 10-90 m mol/L
Potassium 2-8 m mol/L
Magnesium 0.002-0.40 m mol/L
Calcium 0.02-2.0 m mol/L
If your hands start to swell - it is possible that you are low on sodium
When looking at dietary guidelines on electrolytes keep in mind
These are recommendations for average people in average circumstances
These may not apply to athletes, workers, soldiers and other physically active people
It MAY be necessary to increase the amount of increase your intake of electrolytes during strenuous activities such as High Adventure
Consult your Health Care Provider before taking supplements
Sodium
Drinking too much water
Leads to hyponatremia
Can lead to swelling of the brain and all the bad stuff associated with it
Not drinking enough
Leads to dehydration and hypernatremia (high concentration of sodium)
Hypernatremia is usually for dehydration and NOT over consumption of sodium
Drinking just the right amount of water - but NOT replacing electrolytes
Also leads to hyponatremia
Potassium
Heavy sweating can lead to low levels of potassium
Lack of potassium slows or stops nerve and muscle action
Plays a critical role in helping transports glucose into muscle cells
When glycogen in cells is broken down cells are depleted of potassium
Releasement needs about 75-150mg/hour
Magnesium
Depletion results in increased energy needs
Depletion adversely affect cardiovascular function during work
Calcium
Believed to play a multifactorial roe in performance enhancement of endurance events
GearSkeptic Approach
Calculate all the sodium and potassium in your diet with food calculator
Supplement electrolytes based on weather and extension per day
GearSkeptic has a special calculator for determining electrolyte needs
Keep in mind, these are based on HIS calculations and what HE thinks your body needs
There are many variables to consider - weather, exertion, heavy or light sweater
His Recommended Daily Allowances are for Adult Men (19+)
Scouts and Women have different recommendations
Supplement options
Sugared Electrolyte Mixes
Used by GearSkeptic his recovery mixs
Multiple types of glucose may help electrolyte transportation
Gatorade mix (with sugar)
Pedialyte
LiquidIV
Tailwind
Gatorade Endurance line
SaltStick tablets
Oral Rehydration Packets
Ideal ratios of electrolytes and glucose
Use if really dehydrated
Use for Emergencies
Avoid
"inverted Na:K ratios" where the supplement has more potassium than sodium
Supplements missing key electrolytes
Supplements with low sodium amounts
Food Calculator 2.5
Excel version: dropbox.com
PDF version: dropbox.com
Calculating how many Calories you Need - Rough Estimate
The first step in planning what to take is determining what you actually need.
This tool provides a VERY rough estimate of what you will need based on your wieght and activity level;
Backcountry Nutrition Calorie Calculator
Very simple system for rough estimate of caloric needs per day
Source: Backcountry Nutrition (Stackpole Books, 2008)
Less active (rest day)
Body weight (lbs.) x 13.5 to 15 calories per pound = range of calories used per day
Moderately active (60 minutes of easy day hiking, climbing, or skiing with no pack)
Body weight (lbs.) x 16 to 20 calories per pound = range of calories used per day
Very active (60 to 120 minutes of hiking, climbing, or skiing that involves hills and carrying a pack)
Body weight (lbs.) x 21 to 25 calories per pound = range of calories used per day
Extremely Active (long strenuous day of hiking, climbing, or skiing with a heavy pack)
Body weight (lbs.) x 25 to 30 calories per pound = range of calories used per day
Calculating how many Calories you Need - More Precise Estimate
Units of Measurement
There are a few ways to scientifically express a unit of energy. We generally use "Calories" for measuring energy in food, but there are several other units that you might see used in formulas to measure energy use.
Calories
Derived from the obsolete scientific theory referred to as Caloric Theory
a Calorie and a kcal represent the same unit if measure
kcal is the preferred unit of measurement for American nutritionists
To further complicate maters, there are TWO types of calories
Large Calorie (aka food calorie, dietary calorie, or kilogram calorie)
Energy from food is generally referred to as a "Calorie"
Amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one liter of water by one degree Celsius
May be referred to as "C" or "Calorie"
In the US, you may see this printed as calorie (lower case) or cal
Small calorie (aka gram calorie)
Amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one milliliter of water by one degree Celsius
May be referred to as "cal"
1 large Calorie is equal to 1000 small calories
1 Calorie = kcal
Because temperature increase depends on the atmospheric pressure and the starting temperature, there are several variants of the "small calorie" - this is NOT important for determining food weight
American and European Usage
In the US, you will see "Calories" on nutrition labels
In the US, you will often see "calories" (lower case) and "cal" used to represent a Calorie
In Europe, you will see "kcal" on nutrition labels (as well as "kJ")
Joule (J)
International System of Units (SI aka metric system) unit of measurement for energy or work
You may see kJ units on European nutrition labels
Found in some publications and used in some calculators
kilojoules is the preferred measurement for physiologists
Physiologists perform and publish lot of the studies, so publications will often use kilojoules
1 Calorie = 4184 Joules
Kilowatt-hour (kW⋅h, kW h or kWh)
Non-SI unit of unit of measurement (US) for energy or work
You will see this in some older US publications
Energy equal to 3.6 megajoules (MJ)
1 kWh ~ 860 Calories
Entire Energy Usage per Day
For those looking for a more precise method of determining caloric needs for a long trek, add the following together
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
The baseline amount of calories used in a day to keep your body running
Metabolic Rate of Load Carriage
Amount of calories needed to travel a certain distance based on several variable
Calculate Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
Calculates your Basal Metabolic Rate - what your body needs per day to stay alive
Variables
W = body weight in kg
H = body height in cm
A = age
F = body fat in percentage
Mifflin-St Jeor Equation:
1990 calculator for BMR
For men:
BMR = 10W + 6.25H - 5A + 5
For women:
BMR = 10W + 6.25H - 5A - 161
Revised Harris-Benedict Equation:
1984 calculator more or less replaced by Mifflin-St Jeor Equation
For men:
BMR = 13.397W + 4.799H - 5.677A + 88.362
For women:
BMR = 9.247W + 3.098H - 4.330A + 447.593
Katch-McArdle Formula:
Incorporates Body Fat percentage - considered more accurate for lean people who know their BF%
BMR = 370 + 21.6(1 - F)W
Pandolf Load Carriage Equation
1976 publication used to predict the metabolic rate of load carriage by the US Military
M = 1.5 W + 2.0 (W + L)(L/W)2 + η(W + L)[1.5 V2 + 0.35 VG]
Variables:
M = metabolic rate, watts
W = subject weight, kg
L = load carried, kg
V = walking speed, m/s
G = grade, %
η = terrain factor
2015 Terrain Factors for Predicting Walking and Load Carriage Energy Costs: Review and Refinement
Paved road = 1.0
Gravel road = 1.2
“Dirt” Roads = 1.2
Slippery Terrain = 1.7
Swamp = 3.5
Sand = 𝜂 = 1.5 + (1.3/𝑉2)
In 2003 Santee et al. developed a correction factor for negative gradients for the Pandolf Load Carriage Equation. This is considered a more accurate model, but adds complexity to an already complex system for a Scout Webpage.
Calculator using US measurements
Put together by Alex Hutchinson from Outside Online
Translating Calories into Meals
Once you determine how many calories you need per day, it's time to translate that into food and actual meals.
Calculating Calories in Pounds
A simple and common practice is to convert calories into pounds. Why? It is a lot easier to measure out food in pounds than it is to measure out calories.
If you use a caloric density of 125 calories per ounce, then 4,000 calories a day comes out to 2 pounds of food.
The math is so simple that many people just use the 2 pounds of food per day as a basic measure of how much food to pack. The package up their 3 main meals, weight them and load up GORP until they hit the 2 pound mark.
If you want to be more scientific and personalized plan, do the math above, work out the caloric density of your foods and weigh out what you need.
Reducing Food Weight
Most hikers will tend to overpack food. They aren't sure what they will need and the thought of going hungry don't sound all that great. By calculating how much food you need and packing just that much and a little emergency reserve, you can shave off several pounds of extra food you will have to carry your entire trek and bring home. Using a 2 pounds of food per day guide makes is easy to measure out how much food to pack.
Many people pack less than 2 pounds of food per day.
Maybe they are smaller and don't need as many calories
Maybe they aren't traveling 10 miles a day on foot
Maybe they are paying attention to what they pack and are packing very calorie dense foods
Maybe they have plenty of reserve body fat they would like to leave on the trail
Calorie Dense Foods
Density by Weight
A Pound of Nuts does NOT have the same amount of nutrients or calories as a Pound of Fruit Loops.
If you pay attention to the the amount of calories your food has per ounce or gram, you can plan out better meals and snacks that don't weigh as much. Keep in mind that you still should balance out your meals in regards to carbs, proteins, fiber, etc. Also keep in mind that you need to be able to eat your food. Packing nothing but calorie heavy olive oil isn't going to work well for anyone.
Foods with 125 or more kcal/oz are ideal for hiking. Less Calorically dense foods should be avoided on multiday treks.
Density by Volume
When you have to fit everything in your bear canister or inside your minimalist pack, the size of your food items start to really matter. GearSkeptic talks about this.
Ultralight foods tend to be more compact
Exceptions include foods that are hollow or "airy" like pasta
Stacking inefficiencies eats up a lot space
Select fine particulates over larger ones
Conformable packaging allows you to fit food items in unused spaces
Same with weight density - nutrition and palatability are more important than volumetric density
Resources:
Running Deficits
There is a practice of intentionally running calorie deficits. This allows you to reduce your pack weight by a few pounds on longer trips. It also helps you reduce waste and lose a little extra body fat in the process.
This practice is NOT acceptable for Scouts
It is NOT recommended that you promote this practice with Scouts, even if you think it's a good idea for certain Scouts
Practice is NOT Advised for Adults
We need you at top performance!
We applaud your desire to get fit, but experimenting on a long range trek won't be fun for you or the rest of us
Running on 1.5 pounds of food per day = 3,000 calories (125kcal/oz)
Many trekkers can get away with 1.5 pounds of food per day
Some people just don't eat that much on the trail
Some have been practicing this for years
They also pack very Calorically dense foods
1.5 pounds of dense food may have the same amount of calories as 2 pounds of less Calorically dense food
Some of our Scoutmasters practice deficit planning
They have been doing this for a while
Denser foods are selected over other options
They have learned what their bottom limits are in the military and on the trail
They also have more "spare fuel" built into their bodies than our High Adventure Scouts
GearSkeptic runs about 3,500-3,600 kcals per day, a Calorie deficit for him
About 22oz (1.4lbs) a day with a density of 159kcal/oz
*based on weight calculations from his examples plans and not counting the weight of packaging
Running on 3,000 calories a day equates to a deficit of about 1,000 calories/day for many
This depends on your activity level, size, metabolism and many other factors
That's about a pound of body fat metabolized every 3 days
This may be acceptable for trips less than 10 days long
This is going to be problematic for thru-hiking where you will not only burn through too much body fat, but also protein from your own muscles
Going without enough calories and protein eventually results in the dreaded "Chicken Legs"
The further you go, the weaker you get
There are hikers that drop down to 1.2 or even 1 pound of food per day
These practices require using very dense foods in addition to running significant deficits and maybe even a little denial
Generally "low carb" or all "Keto" claiming:
"Low Carb plan" claims 1.2 pounds = 3,000 calories
"Keto plan" claims 1 pound = 3,000 calories
This practice will take a lot of thought and planning and is not something you want to experiment on during one of our trips
Even our Scoutmasters aren't willing to try these plans
