One of the key aspects of survival is conservation of energy/ efficiency in what you do. If you are burning 6000 calories a day then your going to suffer. An on duty Soldier in wartime ops expects to burn upto 4500 clories a day.
Hillbill, you're exactly right and this is something people often overlook. I touched on this in another thread about this show.
Understanding your calorie consumption is important in any extended trip to the wilds.
When you're in the arctic and sub-arctic the calorie conservation/burn moves from being important to being absolutely critical.
The demands of the northern woods are such that it's very difficult to do the things you need to do with just one person and still replenish calories.
Even natives and people with years of experience can perish if they're asked to survive alone (and unsupported) in this environment. (If you pay close attention to most people who "live alone" in Alaska or the Yukon, they have some resupply process operating.)
If you are truly alone up there and if you fall significantly behind in calorie consumption it can be exceedingly difficult to catch up and a (frequently deadly) spiral of events begins.
One time when I was doing a solo three week trip in Alaska near Denali, I had a mishap that lost nearly half my food. I wound up in a severe deficit over the trip and you would be amazed how it adds up over time. Almost everyone I knew up there who did extended trips had at least one similar experience.
To live out there unsupported -- really live, not just visit -- you must have a group of people. At minimum, two...