There’s an old Spanish proverb, “The belly rules the mind.” Spend any amount of time without food and you’ll start obsessing over the thought of it. Food is a human universal need and it is something that binds us all together despite our differences in faith, world view, and what came first, the chicken or the egg. There I go again, talking about food…chicken and eggs. In all seriousness, food is vital to our survival but we should recognize that not all calories are created the same. For this month’s blog, I want to cover a few basic ideas about food that should be understood and in particular, I’ll focus on calories.
Caloric Intake: Look on the back of any food package and you’ll find the nutritional label. It will state somewhere on the label “based on a 2000 to 2500 calorie diet”. This number is an average for most people but that number changes based on physical activity, body composition, and enviornmental temperature. Simply put, calories are a measure of energy and depending on what you’re doing, where you’re doing it, and who’s doing it, that number needs to shift. If you are a larger person, you can’t be expected to consume the same amount of calories as a person 100 pounds lighter than you. When there is a deficit of calories to the amount of energy used in a day, a person will lose weight. When there is an excess, they gain weight. To some degree, the type of calories consumed don’t matter as much as the quantity. To…some…degree.
Types of Calories: Not all calories are created the same. Some burn more quickly than others and some are healthier for your body overall. If calories were all the same, you probably never would have heard your parents yell at you for eating too much candy and not enough vegetables. Granted, they were interested in you having a balanced diet and not rotting your teeth but they also didn’t want you to just consume sugar. From my perspective and based on my intended activity, I prefer to count my fat-based calories first. Fat is going to metabolize much slower and provide sustained energy than simple carbohydrates. That said, there’s always room for some treats that are used solely as a reward for a hard day’s work. My second priority is protein and I want to make sure I have ample amounts of that to help with muscle repair. Each person is different, meaning I can provide a detailed breakdown of my needs or you can understand the differences in calories, consult a nutritionist for your needs, and create your own individualized plan.
Rate of Caloric Consumption: Just like the types of calories, how you consume them will vary as well. For as long as I remember, I’ve heard people say you need three square meals per day. When I’m around strength and conditioning folks, they push that to five smaller meals. Others will state they purposely intermittently fast for a period of 18 hours off and 6 hours on (eating). Some will eat only one meal a day and others speak to grazing throughout the day. The rate you consume calories will vary based on your intended mission. A sedentary home-based worker can gorge themself on thousands of calories, take a nap, and wake up feeling sluggish with no consequence. A high-performance athlete on the other hand may want to spread out their calories to 100-200 calorie snacks every hour or so over a longer period of time. You have to find the rate that makes the most sense for you. The only time I never really consider how fast calories are consumed is in extreme cold when I’m teaching wilderness survival. At 220 pounds, I eat 4500-6000 calories a day and never lose weight.
The Belly Ruling the Mind: I enjoy eating and while I will admit sometimes calories are simply choked down to get through a quick meal for convenience, I like savoring my food as a necessary break. There’s a mental component to eating too. We may not want to eat or we may simply skip a meal if we expect the food is not palatable or boring, we may not get the calories we need. We may also push ourselves harder to get to our campsite if we know we have a good meal waiting for us. It’s interesting how food can be a motivation, a reward, or the contrary, a perceived punishment. We need to choose food we want to eat because we deem it tasty, nutritious, free of chemicals, etc.
Enter Essential Provisions. I’ve spent three weeks eating high sodium backpacker meals in Alaska and I worked at a preparedness company located where so much of the long-shelf life food is made meaning I was able to sample a lot of it. I’ve always said there is a distinct difference between emergency food and that which you can consume for weeks and months without ingesting too much sodium or preservatives. When the opportunity came up to work with EP, I knew it was the right choice as I believe the meals they create check many boxes. Whether used as a standalone meal, a supplemental snack while hunting, or a reward after eating other less than savory cuisine, I’m a believer.
Next time you meal prep and plan out your next trip, pack a few packs of Essential Provision meals. Make all the calories you consume worth it.
Kevin Estela
Instructor, Author, Outdoorsman
www.kevinestela.com
@estelawilded on Twitter/X and Instagram
