Maintaining Calorie Goal eating MREs while on disaster response

Cristjams

I'm in a unique situation. I'm trying to maintain my daily calorie goal of 1640 calories. However, I've just learned that I'm being sent out on Emergency Response for disaster recovery in southeast Texas. The problem is that the food available to responders are MREs. These pack a whopping 2000 calories! Does anyone have any suggestions for non-perishable foods that I can take with me to eat in place of the provided MREs? Or should I just accept that it's beyond my control for two weeks and try to get back on track afterward? I would really hate to turn my nose up at the MREs because that would just be ungrateful.

Hoshiko

Are you going to be active during your time there?

There are a ton of backpacking and freeze-dried food options that will be lower in calories for sure, but the problem with those are that you'd have to pack in two weeks worth, which may be way too difficult logistically.

You could also maybe try to eat half portions of the MREs, and avoid the extras like PB and crackers.

Either way, stay safe out there!

aeloine

^Ditto; You're going to be so active!


And also: Texas thanks you! The response has been AMAZING!

jdlobb

are you sure they have 2000 calories each? maybe they've been reformulated. When I was in the military, not long ago, people always said they were super calorie dense, but it was an urban legend that didn't stand up to the packaging. They're designed to provide enough calories to subsist on 2 a day, and have about 1500 each. So 2 a day would be 3000 calories.

they always pack them with 2 super high calorie items though, the candy (200) and the shake mix (300 cal). Just tossing those 2 out brings the total meal down to about 1000 calories.

MaddMaestro

Those high calorie MRE's may be useful if you're going to be super active on rescue, reconnaissance, or recovery missions.

zdyb23456

MREs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?!

jdlobb

yeah, no where near 2000 as suspected. check out the DoD's site for nutrition information on all MREs in circulation

https://www.hprc-online.org/page/Combat-Rations-Database-ComRaD

They range from 1300 - 1500, if you were to eat everything in the pouch. As I said, skip the candy and shake mix. Trade them to other people for jalapeno cheese spread and peanut butter.

amyepdx

Stay safe!

whitpauly

Thank you for going to help!

jemhh

This is a good way to practice portion control. You don't have to eat the whole thing. 2000 for one day seems reasonable to me but if you're given three a day, leave some on the plate (or in the container.)

PAV8888

You are going to be more active than now. Take that into account before giving your food away.

nowine4me

Be safe and thank you!!

GottaBurnEmAll

nowine4me wrote: »

Be safe and thank you!!

^This.

You're going to be a lot more active.

I'd let all the calorie ish sort itself out when your two weeks of service is up. Concentrate on staying safe.

ZoneFive

You'll be a lot more active than you are now, and you'll probably want every calorie. Give it a a couple of days before you start trading out food. Keep safe, and thank you!

jpaulie

I just started eating MRE's yesterday (old stock and have to get rid of). they taste pretty good. You can just option out of the cookie or desert they provide. It might be higher in fat than you may like but you will be burning the cals so no problem. Good luck!

tomteboda

Thank you for helping in this time of great need.

If you're on MREs in a disaster deployment situation, that means you're in the field, right? There's almost no way you're going to gain weight on them, and likely you will lose some regardless (unless you're sitting at a table registering people for aid or something). Disaster response is incredibly physically demanding. Eat your food, you'll need the nutrition. Worry about your diet later. I'm speaking from experience here

Orphia

Pretty sure the military aren't conspiring to make everybody gain weight on duty.

Eat the meals that are made to nourish and sustain you, and yes, you damn well deserve the dessert meals too.

Thanks for being awesome.

Cristjams

The 2000 calorie is what our managers told us. They had mentioned that some responders actually gained weight after their assignment due to the MREs being designed for active young men who required more calories. I'm not exactly sure of the level of activity since I have yet received my specific assignment. But I'm in environmental cleanup, so it could range from heavy work to mostly standing and directing debris management sites. It's hard to anticipate the calories that might be burned! But thank you all for help, I'll pack some things and just avoid eating too much of the pouch unless it's obvious that my calorie burn will be enough to offset!

mitch16

Cristjams wrote: »

The 2000 calorie is what our managers told us. They had mentioned that some responders actually gained weight after their assignment due to the MREs being designed for active young men who required more calories. I'm not exactly sure of the level of activity since I have yet received my specific assignment. But I'm in environmental cleanup, so it could range from heavy work to mostly standing and directing debris management sites. It's hard to anticipate the calories that might be burned! But thank you all for help, I'll pack some things and just avoid eating too much of the pouch unless it's obvious that my calorie burn will be enough to offset!

Wait and see what you actually be doing... If it's the more manual-type work, eat everything. If you're doing something more sedentary, then pick items that you won't eat that will put you closer to your goals and offer them off to someone else who might need them.

jdlobb

The "2000 calorie" myth is, and always has been, misinformation. What always bothered me is that anybody who actually picks up one of these MREs should have been able to dispel that false belief simply by reading the packaging. It has never been true, yet for some reason it persists.

Just read the package. It's right there in black and brown.

You can safely eat 2 full MREs per day without worry of putting on weight, and will confidence that they've been specifically engineered to provide all the macro and micro nutrients you need to function. The DoD puts millions of dollars of research into this.

Mouse_Potato

Disaster recovery burns a lot of calories.I am 5'3", 116 pounds and a 43 year old woman. I burned almost 2600 calories doing hurricane cleanup on Thursday. Thank you for your help!!!