Sheep hunting - Calorie Count

[AllDay]

I am just wondering what weight and what calorie count most people aim for on their sheep hunts?

I typically bring about 2800 calories per day, but I am thinking I am going up to 3500 calories this year. I have low-body fat percentage and decent muscle mass, and I also get cold very easily, so I seem to get really food-****ed on longer trips. I find that after about 4-5 days the calorie deficit seems to hit me really bad and it feels like my body is eating itself (which it is).

I am not sure if there are many other people out there that are on the lighter side that get really food ****ed on their mountain hunts, but after last year I am thinking the extra 4-5 pounds will be worth the haul in. I would love to hear if anyone has had similar problems and how they have dealt with them.

The easiest way to deal with this problem would be to harvest a sheep and eat that, but after 3 years of coming out light, I am considering going in extra-heavy.

[porthunter]

I'm 5'9 and fluctuate from 165-175lbs on the average. I generally set about 3000cals a day as my normal and have never felt liked I needed more, most of the time I have something left over at the end of the day unless its a high output kind of day.

That being said, it may be worth looking into where your calories are coming from when you break down the macros? I've been tailoring my daily food make up of bars/foods that tend to be higher in fats and it seems to help when it comes to not getting as hungry.

For perspective, 3000 cals is usually about 1.5lbs/day for me. If we're talking about weight.

[jac]

I’m 5 11” 195lbs. I packed 2lbs of food per day but I didn’t eat all of it each day. I will say that the Peak
Refuel meals were very good

[SBvias]

I tend to pack 4-5 heavier days (1.5-2ibs) then the rest are lighter, maybe 1.2 - 1.3 ibs. I try to max the cal/oz but also make sure I bring what I look forwardto eat, otherwise it just stays uneaten. I also find I don't eat (or feel like eating) as much as I do at home.

The heavier meals are for the first few days before my body becomes used to field conditions and the occasional heavy hiking day.

For me being on the lighter side, ~160ibs, it sure feels a lot better to have 5 or more ibs out of the pack. It helps with motivation to go further.

[tdot]

I'm 6', 165lbs. I definitely feel crappy after about 3 days if I don't eat closer to 3500 calories per day. I tend to limit my sugar intake to a steady trickle all day, not any big treats, complex carbs as much as possible and then alot of calories from oils. I add it to my breakfast oatmeal, I have 1/2 a Peak meal at Lunch and Dinner that I've bulked up with extra noodles, S+P plus Olive Oil. I'm right around 1.5-1.7 pounds per day at 3200-3500 calories. I'll often pack extra oil for the last days when I need bigger hits of energy to keep going and a few extra bars or meal replacements that require zero cooking and can be used to bulk up any day that I feel the need to.

A big thing that I found helps is to train with the food you'll eat in the Backcountry. Eat similar snacks, meals, and quantities. Starting with once or twice a week and slowly increasing, so that about 1/3 to 1/2 of my food intake in the couple weeks before my trip is very similar to what I'll eat in the mountains. Gets my guts and brain used to eating the diet, it also ensures that I only take food that I like.

[.264winmag]

5’6” 160#, 2.25#/day food for me to feel comfortable. Iirc I’ve calculated 5-8000+ calorie burn/day, putting 3-3500 in me each day still usually lose 5-10# on a 4-10 day trek. That’s being fortunate enough to recharge with heart/liver at some point. There are other, albeit more expensive, ways to cut pack weight. I don’t skimp on grub!

[mod7rem]

5’8” just under 140lbs and I think usually 1.5lbs per day. The biggest improvements I’ve made over the years is getting better quality calories.

I eat a full MH or PeakRefuel meal at night but I’ll add a packet of olive oil, some coconut milk powder and some extra beef jerky or dried fish. A nice finisher is a clifbar.

I stopped eating oatmeal for breakfast a long time ago because I found it burns off way to fast. I like MH or PeakRefuel granola breakfasts but I will add all or some of these things- olive oil packet, coconut milk powder, protein powder, green belly meal powder. I’ve made my own granola breakfast meals in the past, delicious but heavy.

Lunch is a Green Belly meal bar, nuts, jerky, dried fruit.

Another thing I started doin a few years ago from learning it from a friend, is repackage everything with vacuum bag sealer. Way less bulk, less weight than the original packaging. Then the meals already have the added ingredients and individually packaged.

I haven’t suffered from starvation like I used to for quite a few years now. Used to be oatmeal, sidekicks, chocolate bars, etc. Same amount of weight carried and completely different outcome.

[Rampager]

I'm 5'10" 175lbs and on my last sheep hunt I had about 3,500 cal/day. This was relatively calorie-dense conscious with an overall target of 5cal/g so it came out to about 1.7lb/day, maybe a bit more with packaging etc. I found I never ate all of it day after day, probably due to a few lower energy output days that were mostly glassing. The general routine was breakfast: oatmeal or MH and a bar, lunch: snacking all day with nuts, bars, chews etc. and usually a drink supplement, dinner: MH with olive oil. Planning for this year I am sticking with the same general plan but with a few tweaks, most notably going towards more single serve packs (almost a bad word nowadays) for convenience more than anything.

mod7rem - where are you finding your olive oil packets? Online they are ridiculously expensive in Canada.

[tdot]

There are some smaller Nalgene bottles at MEC that have oil proof threads. I take 3-4 every trip, never had one leak. That includes backcountry ski trips that have involved alot more activity, tumbling and crashes than a sheep hunt. Never had a leak.

https://www.mec.ca/en/product/1601-178/Wide-Mouth-HDPE-Water-Bottle?colour=NOC00

Benefit is I add 2+ tablespoons to every meal. Way less mess than the single serve packs, and the oil is tastier too.

I add a Medium Chain Triglyceride oil to my breakfast, the stuff is like a sustained caffeine boost, without the crash.

[NMO]

Pulled this from something I wrote a while back - specific to hunting goats in February but still applies for sheep.

"This is one of the single largest areas you can shave weight out of your pack – but as with anything it will come at a cost. I don’t typically count calories when backpacking, as I have a pretty good understanding of how much food I need to feel good and pack accordingly, however, I will keep track of them for winter hunts. Try to focus on foods with less refined sugar and more protein and fat. Mountain House is an old classic, however, it’s nice to cut back the salt and get into some real food in the backcountry. Last year I was the most dialed in I have been with regards to food and calorie counting, and I managed to get my food down to around 1.3lbs per 3500 Cal. Depending on how much climbing you do, and how cold it is, your food needs may vary. This is a typical daily amount for high exertion for long periods in cold weather, multiply by the number of days in the trip and scale up or down amount as you see fit.


Offgrid Food Predator Fuel Oatmeal – 660cal
Offgrid Food Jerky – 210cal
Offgrid Food OG Trail Mix – 740Cal
MoonCheese – 326cal
Honey Stinger Waffle x2 – 340cal (2)
ProBar Superfood Almond Butter – 190cal
Clif Shot Block – 100cal
Offgrid Food Thai Green Curry w Quail – 950cal
Instant Coffee & Tea bags

Peak Refuel is another great option - I know both Offgrid and Peak are expensive, as are all the low weight high cal snacks here, but if you are willing to spend $$ you can shave weight and still have high calories.

[mod7rem]

I'm 5'10" 175lbs and on my last sheep hunt I had about 3,500 cal/day. This was relatively calorie-dense conscious with an overall target of 5cal/g so it came out to about 1.7lb/day, maybe a bit more with packaging etc. I found I never ate all of it day after day, probably due to a few lower energy output days that were mostly glassing. The general routine was breakfast: oatmeal or MH and a bar, lunch: snacking all day with nuts, bars, chews etc. and usually a drink supplement, dinner: MH with olive oil. Planning for this year I am sticking with the same general plan but with a few tweaks, most notably going towards more single serve packs (almost a bad word nowadays) for convenience more than anything.

mod7rem - where are you finding your olive oil packets? Online they are ridiculously expensive in Canada.

It’s a company in California called Outdoor Herbivore.

[mod7rem]

There are some smaller Nalgene bottles at MEC that have oil proof threads. I take 3-4 every trip, never had one leak. That includes backcountry ski trips that have involved alot more activity, tumbling and crashes than a sheep hunt. Never had a leak.

https://www.mec.ca/en/product/1601-178/Wide-Mouth-HDPE-Water-Bottle?colour=NOC00

Benefit is I add 2+ tablespoons to every meal. Way less mess than the single serve packs, and the oil is tastier too.

I add a Medium Chain Triglyceride oil to my breakfast, the stuff is like a sustained caffeine boost, without the crash.

That’s a great idea. I think I’ll switch to this instead of packets.

[madcalfe]

I'm 5'11 and 155lbs
I've never actually counted how many calories are in my food per day for my sheep hunts but I never seem to go hungry
my food is right around 18lbs for 12 days though so 1.5lbs per day.
my food usually consists of
small zip lock of homemade oatmeal with protein powder mixed in
small zip lock of trail mix
x2 star bucks instant coffee packs
packet of BCAA/ electrolyte drink mix
protein bar
granola bar
a bagel
couple jolly ranchers
peak refuel dinner

and I throw a packet of liptons chicken noodle and protein powder to make a drink in every other bag

and if I fly into a lake I stash some canned food, pop, and a mickey. makes waiting for the plane so much better

[Petros65]

Pack the fats - animal fats.

Learn from programs like "Alone" ---- every single one of them after a few days wants/needs fat.
You want energy, eat fat, not carbs. Humans can live forever without carbs but without any fat we die.
Cars will mess with your insulin levels and thats when you get the exhausted feeling. Fat does not do that.
Learn from our ancestors - pemmican is an awesome survival food, lard, fatty biltong, salami, all the cured meats.

[Petros65]

Other great sources of fats
Infant formula (yeah sounds weird but its awesome nutrition) mixed with water
Nuts - grind them up so that they don't take a lot of space.
Bacon jerky- grind it up with nuts, press into squares and its a great on the go snacks.

[Gun Dog]

You can always go old school and fatten up before your trip.

[bensonvalley]

Great topic. I learned the hard way that, as you said, the body starts eating itself. My first sheep hunt I went in at my normal weight 160lbs (5’8”) but we underestimated how much energy we would spend on that trip and after 8 nights I came out at 150lbs. It was a real eye opener. That final day hike back to the truck was tough.

[northernbrew]

Hey NMO, Where do you get your offgrid meals? my short and prob lack luster search didn't turn up much here in canada thx

[mod7rem]

Pack the fats - animal fats.

Learn from programs like "Alone" ---- every single one of them after a few days wants/needs fat.
You want energy, eat fat, not carbs. Humans can live forever without carbs but without any fat we die.
Cars will mess with your insulin levels and thats when you get the exhausted feeling. Fat does not do that.
Learn from our ancestors - pemmican is an awesome survival food, lard, fatty biltong, salami, all the cured meats.

That reminds me, I also like to take Landjaeger sausage because it’s fatty but heavier than jerky.

[mod7rem]

Other great sources of fats
Infant formula (yeah sounds weird but its awesome nutrition) mixed with water
Nuts - grind them up so that they don't take a lot of space.
Bacon jerky- grind it up with nuts, press into squares and its a great on the go snacks.

Do you make your own bacon jerky or buy it?

[NMO]

Hey NMO, Where do you get your offgrid meals? my short and prob lack luster search didn't turn up much here in canada thx

Was getting them direct through Offgrid - I do know they are currently working on CDN distribution.

[AllDay]

Lots of gold in this thread! This gives me a lot to work on moving forward. I will offer one word of caution to anyone switching to high-fat during their trip (++ MCT oil, olive oil, etc) - bring some extra TP or at least begin getting your guts used to the high fat content before the trip. The high fat content I brought in 2 years ago made the bushes look like a shit-nado went through.

I actually am thinking of trying to put on about 5 lbs extra before this trip because of how weak I felt on the last trip. I don't have much extra fat to burn off typically.

I'll have to try out the Offgrid meals at some point. The peak-refule can be bought at bridensolutions. Like what was said previously, these meals are expensive, but I will never go back to MH after eating Peak. Those Peak meals made me excited for diner everyday!

[Timberjack]

Another great topic. For me, it's more about maintaining my hydration at the right levels moreso that calorie intake. I've often dumped out extra food at the end of the hunt cause I don't eat as much as I planned. Longer mountain hunts always just teach (remind) me how much we all over-eat through the rest of the year when spending most of our time at the office...

For me the most important thing I've learned is keep my salt intake up (spitz or similar), plus take electrolyte pills. They are the most concentrated form of electrolytes and I find they keep me going strong and limit the risk of dehydration, headaches, cramping and other illnesses.

Cheers,
TJ

[.264winmag]

Pack the fats - animal fats.

Learn from programs like "Alone" ---- every single one of them after a few days wants/needs fat.
You want energy, eat fat, not carbs. Humans can live forever without carbs but without any fat we die.
Cars will mess with your insulin levels and thats when you get the exhausted feeling. Fat does not do that.
Learn from our ancestors - pemmican is an awesome survival food, lard, fatty biltong, salami, all the cured meats.
Might want to research that a bit more, carbs are actually the quickest and easiest for the body to give you energy. Everyone’s body is different, I lean on the protein end of things and fats/carbs second. Your body should have plenty of stored fats before a trip, eating more while on the trip isn’t more efficient than a carb load.