Food?

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Craig, the only thing I would disagree on is that for me and some others we cannot NOT pay attention to our food.

I have to obsessively count numbers – if not I won't feel my best and it hampers controlling my BP.

As well, if one is diabetic they have to be careful as well.

Again, YMMV of course. I personally have found that by running the numbers and tightly controlling what I eat I can push my body harder and longer. I never thought I would be "that type" either. But while I could happily eat a steady diet of Ho-Ho's, Ding Dong's and bags of ramen I also know that if I do that I won't be hiking much. LOL!

[W I S N E R !]

I agree…whatever works for you is what you should be doing.

I think we're increasingly becoming used to a constant barrage of science and research and images of Lance Armstrong (and the likes) connected to machines measuring VO2 max and every drop of material in and out of their bodies. That's all fine and good- but for us mere mortals is it necessary? I've seen discussions here that advocate certain foods over others because one is 12 grams of protein vs. 9 grams. 3 grams of difference…really? I guess if it makes one feel better. I just think much of it is a bit overkill for those of us that aren't Olympic hopefuls.
Following very general nutrition principals and not counting a thing are probably all most otherwise healthy people need to do.

[Derek Goffin]

Craig
As a simple example if you are hiking for 5 days without resupply with 3000 calories per day in the form of 3 calories per gram food, such as muesli you will start carrying 5 kilo of food. If you could carry all food of 6 calories per gram you would start with 2.5 kilo. Why worry about the lightness of your kit if you do not worry about the calorific density of your food

[Mike Clelland]

read this article on food. Eating well is important.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/quick_healthy_meals_with_an_ultralight_cook_kit.html

[Anonymous]

"I think it's a bit obsessive/unnecessary to count protein to fat to carbo grams and ratios and get overly wrapped up in nutritional values.."

Hi Craig,

I think it depends on how badly you want to lighten up. If you think your diet through carefully, you can save a fair amount of weight, which fits right in with the general UL philosophy. Just consider it gear that you wear out a little faster. ;) When Don McClelland said you could get along nicely on 21 oz of food/day, you can be sure it was based on a lot of research and thought. Obsessive? Maybe. Color me obsessive too, because I agree with him on this one, even if we are on opposite sides of the Great TP Flame War. I actually go him 1 oz better, but then I'm not a very large person. I used to carry 2# of food, then 1# 10 oz, then 1# 8 oz. On a typical 8-11 day trip this has reduced my weight from 16-22# down to 10-13.75#. Pretty significant, I'd say. The reduced weight has also also resulted in reduced volume, which has enabled me to get by with a smaller and lighter pack. Over the years, I've gone from a monster Dana Arcflex Terraplane to a Mountainsmith Auspex to a ULA Circuit and, finally, I'll be using a ULA Ohm this year for trips of the same duration. A majority of that was due to lightening my gear, perhaps 65-70%, but the rest was due to carefully analyzing my food and deciding what I really needed, calorie-wise to pull off my trips and the most efficient way to get those calories while still paying decent attention to nutrition(I've found out that it starts to matter when you are out more than a few days, e.g. fiber, adequate protein, vitamins/minerals, etc). I think, and have posted in previous threads, that food is the most overlooked area in which weight savings can be achieved. It's low hanging fruit, folks. Pick it. My 2 cents.

[Taylor Ginther]

I need to plan some meals around the custom snarl-sack Sara made for me.

Traditionally I take bagels, salami, Tillamook extra sharp white cheddar mmmmm; soup mix, pistachios, olives; I almost always supplement the trail diet with fresh fish, sometimes game birds or mammals. Weather permitting, I'll take other meats and cheeses too. I'll miss Milkman powdered milk, hope I can find an alternative. Bagel is the perfect backpacking bread being so durable and all. Sometimes I make an awesome chili the first night.

I never feel quite as hungry on the trail as I expect.

[Laurence Beck]

Sarah,

What a shock! I guess I should pay more attention to what I am eating! I just checked some Mountain House Pro-Pack meals and you are right. There is not one of them with less than 1000 mg of sodium and most have 2000-3000 mg.

Larry

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

It is scary when you look at it :-)

[Sharon Bingham]

Mike's link didn't work for me. :(

But this one did ('case anyone's interested):

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/quick_healthy_meals_with_an_ultralight_cook_kit

[daniel pearson]

Due to the overwhelming response to the sudden end of the product known as Milkman, our company (Marron Foods) has decided to take over the production and distribution of this product. Our plan is to have it back on the market sometime this summer. For more information, please contact me at [email protected].

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