There are a few situations that you may run into where high-powered food will either keep you going strong, or in some cases even keep you living. The first case might be in the instance of an athlete of some sort, and the second case might be in the instance of someone who is either in a hobbyist or literalist survival situation.

So some of the food categories that would move you through these situations include protein bars, powdered nutrition options, runner’s drinks, military meals, and perhaps even a diet requested or required by a doctor or nutritionist.

Protein Bars

Buying protein bars is a super common activity for both athletes and outdoorsmen. They’re small, highly concentrated, largely cost-efficient, and can be bought in an incredible number of varieties that focus on different types of nutritional needs and different types of metabolisms. It’s important to try a few different kinds and brands as you’re experimenting for optimum value, so don’t be afraid to go into stores and try new things, and don’t be afraid to ask other people what has worked for them as well.

Powdered Nutrition

There are several powdered nutrition options available on the market today that are specifically geared toward athletes and survivalists. Again, you’re going to be looking at factors like weight, cost, brand trustworthiness, and nutritional value when taken as a whole. Some of these powdered options are more geared toward the average person stocking up for emergencies, while others are more geared toward athletes or people under extreme conditions right away. Look up reviews of them, and pay attention to links to scientific information or studies behind them as well.

Runner’s Drinks

For athletes that do things like run extreme marathons, you can purchase runner’s drinks or powders to keep you going with high enough energy for the duration of the event. These are a bit specialized and can be pricey, but the best of the best will almost always have some type of brand that they trust, and sometimes in variations of life-threatening conditions.

Military Meals

You can’t doubt that the military has the best in mind for soldiers that don’t have access to kitchens when they’re on assignment, so athletes and survivalists can both take notes from the pages of what goes into various forms of military meals. Not all of these are commercially available, but at least the specs on them should be available for study.

Doctor’s Orders

If people have a particular nutritional need that comes as part of a condition that they have, or a specific requirement that comes from their extreme activities (consider something like Olympic training for long-distance winter sports, for instance), then the best food supplies for those folks are going to come directly from a doctor’s orders. Maybe in the figure, ever everyday people will have this sort of nutritional target as well.