[pct-l] food strategy,

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good morning, Paul,

You’ve created a good food selection tool.  It should be helpful during your
hikes.

I’m a confirmed left-brained planer so I created a very similar spreadsheet
beginning about six years ago.  The primary objective was to develop a tool
for use at home by my logistics manager, i.e. wife, when she prepared boxes
for those segments where I didn’t buy locally.  As is often the case “scope
creep” crept in and the spreadsheet – well, it spread.

When developing my Excel tool I entered the attributes of many, many food
items, both cookable and ready-to-eat; off-the-shelf stuff as well as my own
creations.  It started with basic considerations such as Calories/ounce and
the balance of fat, protein and carbohydrates, but it quickly included an
ever-expanding array of attributes such as vitamins, electrolytes, fiber,
preservatives, etc. *ad nauseam*.

In spite of all my criteria, detail, and macro-driven sort routines, the
thing was far too complicated.  It just couldn’t solve equations with so
many variables; it couldn’t tell me anything useful about what eatables I
should carry that I didn’t already intuitively know.

Regardless, the project wasn’t a waste:  I had to stop and think about what
was important.  I learned a great deal about food constituents.  I learned –
again – that simple an easy is better than difficult and complicated.

The ultimate result was a practical tool that friend-wife has used for the
past four years.  When I report in from the trail I only need to tell her:
1) How many Calories per day I want, 2) how many days I project for the
resupply segment, and, 3) where to send it.

She enters the target Calories/day and – by day – selects a balance of items
that automatically sum to that target.  She bags those items by day, packs
the whole in a USPS Priority Mail flat-rate box and sends it with
pre-printed address labels.  I never know for sure exactly what a box will
contain, but I like just about anything that’s lite in weight, and since
she’s been feeding me for 45 years now she has it pretty well figured out.  It
works well for us.

On the trail my body will tell me with a craving what I may be lacking in my
diet.  When I get to a trail town I will probably load-up on essentials such
as fresh fruits, vegetables, pizza and beer.  That will usually get me back
in balance to undertake another segment eating dry, brown stuff.

Enjoy your planning,

“The problem  is not shortage of data, but rather our inability to perceive
the consequences of information we already possess.”  - Jay W. Forrester,
Technology Review, Jan. 1971

Steel-Eye

Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye


On Sun, Dec 12, 2010 at 7:13 PM, Paul Robison <paulrobisonhome at yahoo.com>wrote:

> as far as food strategies,  my wife has been making a spreadsheets with
> foods
> what they cost per calorie, calories per ounce, etc. etc. etc.
> this is an ongoing list,  and reflects our 2010 resupply boxes,  our 2011
> boxes
> will be different but they aren't entered yet.  we're just getting to
> actually
> making them
>
> does anyone else use a spreadsheet like this to calculate nutrition?
>
> https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AuUCgf1GlgCddGx6ZlhGeHNOeEtxWDFWOUV5MkQxalE&hl=en
>
>
> i know most people buy as they go,  this is questions for the people who
> send
> boxes.
>
> ~Paul
>
>
>
>
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