Calories and emergency food

[Librarian]

This has come up several times, and I thought it deserved its own thread.

The concept here is 'how many calories do I need to stay alive' and from that how long can I live and function on whatever emergency food I might have.

So, first, there is Basal Metabolic Rate

Basal Metabolic Rate is the number of calories required to keep your body functioning at rest.

- see https://www.active.com/fitness/calculators/bmr to calculate yours. (M/F, height, weight, age all matter and are included)

Then, there is your expected level of activity - see this discussion, https://fitfolk.com/activity-level/ Typically, the BMR is multiplied by a factor to estimate calorie need above BMR.

The activity multipliers you typically see used are as follows:

Sedentary = 1.2 (little or no exercise, desk job)
Lightly active = 1.375 (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week)
Moderately active = 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 6-7 days)
Very active = 1.725 (hard exercise every day, or 2 x/day)
Extra active = 1.9 (hard exercise 2 or more times per day)

Although I realize you need to make an estimate to put a calculator together possible, but getting these multipliers right is very hard. Pretending they are largely determined by how much you exercise is plain false.

Here's another discussion - https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/...ie-requirement

And another - https://www.livestrong.com/article/4...ercise-levels/

So, let's do an example -

X is a male, 5' 10", 180lb, 40 years old. From the first link, the BMR is 1,805 calories per day.

Pick 'Moderately Active' from WebMD -

Moderately active means a lifestyle that includes physical activity equivalent to walking about 1.5 to 3 miles per day at 3 to 4 miles per hour, in addition to the light physical activity associated with typical day-to-day life

If one uses the multiplier quoted, 1.55 x 1,805, one gets about 2,800 calories per day. If you pick the table from WebMD, it's 2,400-2,600 calories per day.

These are estimates in the general case; pick whichever seems good to you; for this example, moderately active X needs 2,600 calories per day.

NOW, determine how many calories are in some thing you care to buy for your emergency food.

Since there's a thread about this ReadyWise food bucket, let's use that one.

Ready Wise says there are 13,400 calories in that bucket.

13,400 calories / X's 2,600 calories/day = 5.15 days for a man like X.

It's an estimate. YMMV. But it seems likely that the thought process and estimates will bring you closer to reality than what 'emergency food' packages will tell you.

And, 'calories' are not the only thing to consider, but are a minimum consideration. ETA that is, a given emergency meal serving may be perfect nutrition for you and your circumstances, and be among your top ten favorite meals, and yet be only 400 calories - not enough to live on.

[Librarian]

My go-bag choice is XMRE 3000 XT, 2500-3000 calories per bag.

We have some Wise, some Mountain House, canned goods, frozen stuff, for 'bugging in'.

[FeuerFrei]

I see the makings of a sticky right here. The food/calorie thing comes up a lot and then the same answers are repeated etc.

Survival food should last a really looooooooong time and meet a basic calorie/person requirement.

The only way to know this data is to actually log the intake and that means eating the stuff for a month.
How long can a busy person go while only eating a bucket of dried grub du jour or canned/freeze dried etc.

It's survival and the need for actual hard data points need to be gleaned from the people it's put up for. Test now or go hungry later.

[Librarian]

And of course, buying packaged stuff is not the only place this estimate should be tried.

We often see 'dried beans and rice' suggested, and for the excellent reason that that's a known pretty-complete diet (if boring, should that be all you have).

Calories in cooked dried beans -

Nutrition summary:
Calories 337
Fat 14.98g
Carbs 37.82g
Protein 14.42g

There are 337 calories in 1 cup of Cooked Dry Beans.
Calorie breakdown: 39% fat, 44% carbs, 17% protein.

Calories in cooked white rice

Nutrition summary:
Calories 204
Fat 0.44g
Carbs 44.08g
Protein 4.2g

There are 204 calories in 1 cup of cooked White Rice.
Calorie breakdown: 2% fat, 89% carbs, 9% protein.

And, don't forget water for cooking dried products or rehydrating dried packaged foods.

See also the thread on Water - how much do you need to live

[Mopar Guy]

Hmmm...interesting subject. Winter seems like the time when you just want as many calories as possible, especially if going into the snow country. Food can also be great first aid. Having some type of hot drink such as hot coco and mashed potatoes mix (mountain house) is good to bring back someone who is suffering from hypothermia. Calories create heat and keep you moving. Food is a critical winter survival item. Clothing is another subject in itself.

For emergency items, I really like those GU packets. Its an energy jell that has 100 calories. Those are great to get you on a quick recovery. A jet boil would be good for having warm food. Problem with cold, your body and brain start to misfire when you overheat or start to become exhausted. MRE's are also good to throw in a pack. They will get you through a snowstorm, at least with calories.

[pgsandiego]

Good subject! I made it a point to look at calories when I started storing "food" Example: Olive oil is high in calories for the minimal storage space it needs. Good as a calorie "adder" to meals but certainly not as main meal. Probably not a long-term storage tool but, I use it almost everyday so rotation is good. Also think about high-calorie stuff you don't need to cook to eat (run out of fuel or if you don't want the neighbors to smell your food cooking).

In a short-term survival setting, running a small caloric deficit is not going to hurt anyone (heck, I could stand to lose a few pounds). I think "they" say you can live two weeks without food. Water is more important (two days without water).

If we're talking a serious long-term survival situation, (more than a few weeks), I lack the storage space and will likely have bigger life issues before I run out of food.

Realistically, I plan to be able to have enough food/water (storage and filters) for me and mine to last a few weeks and be able to reasonably protect ourselves from social unrest. That should take care of 99.9% of likely situations. That remaining .1% would probably kill most of us in days or weeks.

[jarhead714]

Depends how cold it is.

[olhunter]

When I was researching the most cost/weight/calorie yielding foods, it narrowed down to -

Hard Wheat.
Powdered milk.
Pinto Beans.
Peanut Butter.

The only one needing no prep is the peanut butter.

Everything was basically neck-n-neck as far as calories and protein.

Rice was in the running, but brown rice, which is more rich in nutrients, does not last as long.

Store white rice if you want some variety.

[Excitable Boy]

And of course, buying packaged stuff is not the only place this estimate should be tried.

We often see 'dried beans and rice' suggested, and for the excellent reason that that's a known pretty-complete diet (if boring, should that be all you have).

Calories in cooked dried beans -

Calories in cooked white rice

And, don't forget water for cooking dried products or rehydrating dried packaged foods.

So, you really only need around four or five cups of cooked dried beans per day if working off bare minimums. That should be pleasant!

On the hot food topic, if you buy MREs, don't buy the cheapest versions. Get the ones with the chemical heaters included. Add just a couple tablespoons of water and have a hot meal in minutes with no flame or heating device required. You wouldn't want to eat MREs for more than a few days, but for their intended purpose, they are hard to beat. For longer term, stuff like Mountain House has a place as does just plain freeze dried ingredients that you can reconstitute and cook various dishes with.

[crufflers]

When I was researching the most cost/weight/calorie yielding foods, it narrowed down to -

Hard Wheat.
Powdered milk.
Pinto Beans.
Peanut Butter.

The only one needing no prep is the peanut butter.

Everything was basically neck-n-neck as far as calories and protein.

Rice was in the running, but brown rice, which is more rich in nutrients, does not last as long.

Store white rice if you want some variety.

Check out powdered WHOLE milk. Tastes good too.

Also powdered peanut butter.

[crufflers]

Everything was basically neck-n-neck as far as calories and protein.

Store white rice if you want some variety.

I like white rice... short grain/med grain. Probably heavy, but roast beef hash and canned chili would be treats for me if it was a zombie apoc.

[Harry Ono]

So, let's do an example -

X is a male, 5' 10", 180lb, 40 years old. From the first link, the BMR is 1,805 calories per day.

Once your finally in your shelter, very little food is needed. You could eat high food/protein once a day. Stay away from Carbs. Lemon juice and water can suppress your hunger. So the bigger question is preserving the food you have and extending your supply. Bummer is grains and rice can be preserved for long time.

[gwanghoops]

in your survival spreadsheet, don't forget to add a water calculation taking into account the same factors for calories, hygiene and sanitation (if any), and cooking. 1 gallon a day is good if you are sitting around waiting for someone to save your a**.

[AtomicOrange]

In addition to the bulk rice and beans, I would include bulk dry oats as being cost effective, nutritious, and easy to store and prepare. Spice it up with some cinnamon and honey for an extra boost.

Calories 213

Fat 2.81 g

Carbs 42.63 g

Protein 5.76 g

[KevinB]

Great post. Keeping yourself fed is life.

https://providentliving.com/preparedness/food-storage/foodcalc/

This is a good calculator to how much you will need.