Low carbs and hiking

“I have been on a low carb diet for a while now and I wonder if anyone else has tried this and how do they do when they hike and backpack doing or following the low carb diet.
ROX”

“Hell yes!

Diet backpacking is a good way to cleanse oneself.”

“pack up some protein you will be fine!”

“Dieting while backpacking should not be a priority because your body needs nutrients. Be happy with the calories you burn.

That said, protein is the most efficient backpacking food in terms of energy per ounce and the "time release" as it digests.

I find that when I am backpacking some things become almost unedible to me (e.g., most food bars). Junky, hi-carb food goes down the best for me when I lose my appetite.”

“A low carb diet should be fine unless you are just beginning. Low carb doesn't necessarily mean low calorie.”

“My choicest bping foods would be bacon or pork chops. Just bring that and don't bother w/ the carbs.”

“I was on Atkins earlier this year, but I didn't have the energy I needed for hiking and backpacking. It was frustrating, so I went off the diet after about a month on it. My energy level was much higher once I went off the Atkins diet.

I'd still like to lose a few pounds, but I need my carbs. I've tried to cut out some of the unhealthy carbs like candy, cookies, cake, and white bread.”

“I bought "Mountain House" and "Enertia" (from B.Binkley :-))
I do want to loose a few pounds while hiking if possible. If am chowing these down, will I still loose weight when hiking ?”

“Don't backpack to lose weight.

Lose weight to backpack easier.

Put the low carb diet on hold while on the trip. 60% of your daily caloric intake while engaging in strenous outdoor work should be from carbs.”

“hey clem, I try to do the atkins too and was wondering the same thing. Are there any light weight low carb items to pack? I was thinking of going off of it during the 7 day sierrapalooza trip.

For only a day hike, I stick with the low carbs i.e. nuts, low carb bars, pork rinds & my water. It gives me the energy I need. I don't feel weak or tired at all.

wingding, I'm surprised to hear that your energy level was low on the atkins. It gives me more energy with all the protein I'm eating. But I know that everyone's body reacts differently with each diet. Good luck with your low fat plan!

I agree with Gordon, " don't backpack to lose weight. lose weight to backpack easier.

You're right bacpac! Low carb does not mean low calories for sure!”

“how about some blueberry pancakes with some bacon on the side... i normally have pancakes with some gooood cane syrup... to start the day off right. i'm craving some pig meat now - uh oh... time to strap on the ole feed bag... i'm going to buddy's barbbq”

“To preface my comments...I am not a doctor so take my advice on nutrition as another opinion...

I would strongly avoid a low carb diet ever (unless under the supervision of a doctor),but especially when you are performing a strenuous activity such as hiking.

It is an established fact (by every one execpt the late atkins a and a few others) that carbohydrates are the ESSENTIAL and PRIMARY source of fuel for your body. Protein is used to rebuild and heal damage and stressed muscle tissue NOT to provide the constant energy your body requires.

I would strongly recommend that you browse a copy of Nancy Clarks book on sports nutrition for atheletes. She is known as one of the foremost experts on sports nutrition.

Carbohyrates in and of themselves do not make you fat. Poor eating and excercise habits cause excess weight. Most of the people on earth eat a diet based primarily on carbohydrates (rice,corn,wheat etc..) and the vast majority of people outside of the U.S. and some of western Europe dont have the obesity,diabetes,heart disease rates the we have here. It aint the carbs...”

“thanks for the input birch - I ordered one of Nancy Clark's nutrition books - maybe it will help.”

“Hi:

I've been back packing since the early 70's. in 1997 I became vary ill, and after 5 years of testing found out that I was type-one diabetic (Insulin dependent).

My only delimma now is how to carry insulin and keep it between 40 and 45 deg F. while hiking.

As far as low carb hiking, it is easy. I must keep my total cab intake below 160 g / 24 hour period, and no more the 45 g / meal. This is easy to do using soy products and ketonics (atkins diet bars, etc.)

My suggestion is to visit a low-carb store and you will find many such items.

Herman”

“Well what I have been doing is eating some carbs trying to lean towards more protien and less of the bad carbs like pasta, rice, bread and white potatoes...
finding that I have a lot of choices in this and even have found some great alternatives to eating...lost 18lbs so far... but this is a change for life not just a quick fix...
Just curious what others are experiencing...
Funny at one time man lived on berries,nuts and meat..hmmmmm I could get into that..”

“I was jivin' about "diet backpacking".

My last trip was of three nights and 23 miles with three seventeen year old boys.

My son and I thinned out the food supply and had to ration what we had after a couple of days.

On the last day we ate every last crumb with four miles to go.
That was a first for me.
I've always carried way too much food.

I prefer hiking or running on a relatively empty stomach with plenty of water.

In the '70s I would live on dried beans and rice, mostly, at home and on the trail.
We had to reload the SVEA stove to finish the pintos and bacon/ham hock.
Eating like a peasant ain't bad.”

“Earlier this month did a strict version of the Atkins for two weeks, and ended it with a strenuous 2 day hike in the Whites using no carbs. Brought sausage, cheese, chicken & boulion, red peanuts & freeze dried bacon & eggs. This was instead of my usual high carb meals of oatmeal, cookies, raisins, chex mix, pitas & pasta dinners.

I definately felt worn out. Usually, just before starting up another peak I'll down a box of raisins or a few cookies, and within 15-20 minutes I can actually feel the energy carrying me up the peak for a solid hour or a bit more. As expected, I did not get anything like that kind of kick from the zero carb foods, and getting to the tops of peaks wore me out.

On a good note, I lost ~9 lbs in the two weeks, and now that I'm off it i got used to eating more salads instead of fries with a meal.

But I'll never do it on a hike again. Takes some of the fun out of it, being unnaturally worn out.”

“Wow Tom guess it's better to have the right amount of food than too little or too much...

Killing the fries was the worse for me Mouse, sometimes if I have some I only eat like a 4th of them... But I do miss them..”

“What Birch said.”

“clem35yeah, not trying to pick here but "white" potatoes and rice are fantastic for energy. Brown rice is one of the most healthy and wholesome foods that exists.(i would bet that about 1/6th of the earths population has rice as a staple). For fast acting energy potatoes cannot be beat, they are considered a "high glycemic" food which means that they provide your body with virtually instant energy as opposed to lentils for example which are low glycemic and are better to eat as a recovery or carbo-loading meal. Whole wheat bread is top shelf too.

to quote Nancy Clark ,MS,RD " carbohydrates are not fattening! Excess fats are fattening-butter on bread,oil on pasta,mayonaisse on sandwiches,cheese on crackers. Fats provide 36 calories per teaspoon,as opposed to 16 for carbohydrates. But the conversion of excess carbohydrates into body fat is limited because you burn the carbs when you excercise"”

“yes i agree with your statement however, I know my body does turn foods that are high in carbs into fat. I just can't do enough exercise to burn those off.. I do still eat brown rice on occasion and eat a biscuit every now and then...I mean in the south we can't live without a biscuit..”

“A couple of people in my office are life Atkins followers. One did zero carbs and lost about 50lbs in 3 months. He also suffered several odd illnesses during this time, including a very dangerous bout with vertigo while driving. Carbs are essential for proper brain function.

The other guy lost about 20lbs. and follows Atkins all the time except over holidays or special occasions - he can gain up to 10lbs over Thanksgiving, then loses it following Atkins.

Both claim no loss in energy levels, but then again, neither is very active.

Eating carbs is not the problem, but eating "excessive" carbs can be a problem. No matter what it is, eating too much of it will cause weight gain.”

“I would guess that most of the world's population is on a high carb low protein diet for the simple reason that meat is unavailable in large quantity or they can't afford much of it. Most of these people are more active than we are so they burn off more calories. I would bet that you won't see very many fat Chinese farmers that need an Atkin's diet. As the rest of the world start eating the standard American diet, it seems that they start to get the same health problems we have.”

“good point richb”

“yes if I could just make myself like raw fish I could be a perfect chinese american!”

“mmmmm sushi :o) - I found that in terms of exercising to lose weight I needed to do at least two hours four or five times a week (it's a real pain I know). For a long time I would do an hour the same days and it did nothing at all. Also you've gotto throw in some weight training. Just my personal experience :o) - I would eat carbs when I hike, just control your intake.”

“has anyone tried the zone and got good results? My friend is going on that and it looks much more healthy than the atkins.”

“The human body will start burning fat for fuel if starved of carbohydrates. It takes some time for the body to adapt so going hiking two weeks after starting a low carb is not a good idea.

I don't know who Nancy Clark is, but if she says carbohydrates do not covert to fat she is wrong.”

“Have to agree with bacpac. Calories are calories, for the most part. I find that fats and proteins satisfy me better than carbs, so I don't have to eat as much to feel full. Different things work for different people.”

“now I agree with you phaedrus
rox”

“don't you think that a well balanced diet with a variety of food would generally be the best diet.

I think Atkins works because people get tired of eating the limited types of foods that they are allowed, so they cut back on their intake.

At least that's what happened to me the time I lost weight on Atkins - meat and salad just got very old after a while.”

“See I couldn't do Atkins it's too restraining..like you said I would become bored. I have a good variety that I eat, however I like that I can eat more meats and I have learned to be more creative with my veggies adding onions and butter for flavor.”

“I don't know who Nancy Clark is, but if she says carbohydrates do not covert to fat she is wrong."
bacpac
01:00:18 PM
05/22/03

Nancy Clark specializes in nutrition and diet for high performance athletes. The people that burn large amounts of calories daily during training and consume a very regimented diet. By taking her quote out of context you put an inaccurate twist to what she really meant. Her target audience typically burns 100+% of their carb intake daily and her remarks were in that context.

The nutritional needs of recreational backpacking and other outdoor activities lies between the typical minimums written in the popular magazines for the average person and Olympic class athletes.

There is little hard research on backapcking and related sports. Athletic research assumes short duration high intensity activities in bursts and dietary recommendations reflect that. Backpacking is sub maximal exertion for long durations and multiple consecutive days, and often under conditions of environmental stress. You cannot apply the research of one to the other reliably.

The closest fit is the military research on diet and nutrition under field conditions. I'll see if I can find the link.”

“Here's some of the links.

http://www.usariem.army.mil/nutri/nuadalti.htm

http://www.usariem.army.mil/download/nutrigui.pdf

http://www.nap.edu/books/0309054842/html/index.html

http://www.fs.fed.us/fire/safety/h_s_rpts/spring_2002/index.htm

http://www.fs.fed.us/fire/safety/h_s_rpts/spring_2000/hs_no1_pg1.html

a search on 'high altitude nutrition' and hot weather nutrition' returns dozens to hundreds of links. If you start reading you see the various authors are all over the place on their findings and recommendations.”

“Gordon, In Nancy Clarks private practice she works with high performance atheletes and with average folks who excercise for fitness,not performance. Her book "Nancy Clarks Sports Nutrition Guidebook" is full of advice and guidlines for any walk of life.Her recommendations are far from regimented,she stresses a proper proportion of caloric intake made up of a wide variety of food to prevent poor nutrition and boredom. Basic nutritional guidelines are fairly universal unless you are diabetic or have some rare disorder (thyroid probs etc...).

Bacpac, excess carbohydrates convert to fat. The referrence was regarding eating a normal amount of food not stuffing your pie-hole.

Phaedrus calories are not all equal. In a situation of extreme deprivation (starvation) your body with consume anything it gets. But in normal circumstances the body has a "heirarchy" in its use. Glycogen/glucose is used first (comes only from carbohydrates...the goal of carbo-loading),then protein then muscle tissue and fats. If you eat less carbohydrates then needed your body will use protin for fuel which in turn robs your muscles of the protein in needs to heal and repair itself.


USDA guidelines for protein cunsumption

sedentary adult .4 grams per pound of body weight
recreational excerciser .5-.75 gram per pound
competitive athelete .6-.9 gram per pound


more about fats vs carbs...

the metabolic cost of converting carbs to fat is 23%. the cost of fat eaten to fat stored is 3% (sims and Dartmouth 1987)

When your glycogen stores are filled the excess calories will be stored as fat (Hill et al 1992)

the only way to lose weight is to create a caloric deficit.”

“your body is going to turn the protein into carbohydrates anyway. you're basically making it harder on your liver than it has to be.
the whole carb thing is overrated in my book. fat is what you should be watching closely. carbs give your body the energy it needs for recovery after a workout. they also give you energy during your workout, keeping your body from having to catabolize muscle for energy. if your system is defecient on carbohydrates you won't be able to work as hard or recover as quickly. it's a fact, i've proven it to myself many times in the gym. a harder workout means your body's going to burn calories at an accelerated rate longer after your workout is over. it means you will add more muscle mass, raising your rmr. raising your rmr is like getting free calories!! it's more calories burned while you're doing nothing.
the atkins diet does work faster, but, if you're in it for fitness and wanting to make a permanent change, you gotta give your body what it wants.
btw, im not just pulling this stuff out of my rear. in the past 18 months, i've lost 65 pounds. if i was just losing weight and not adding lean mass, it would be more like 80-85(nothing but eating right and exercising), so try and take me somewhat seriously. i've done a lot of homework, and have personal experience with the subject.
2 New Years ago i hiked from amicalola to springer and couldn't move the next day, and just recently i hiked the AT through the smokies in 4 days. with my pack on for the smokies trip i was carrying less weight than without it on springer moutain.”

“from "Nutrition for Sport and Exercise" by Jacqueline Burning and Suzanne Steen
"Building up and maintaining glycogen stores during training require a carbohydrate-rich diet. Glycogen depletion can occur gradually over repeated days of heavy training when muscle glycogen breakdown exceeds its replacement. When adequate carbohydrate is not consumed on a daily basis between training sessions, the muscle glycogen
content before exercise gradually declines, and training or competitive performance may be impaired. The feeling of sluggishness associated with muscle glycogen depletion is often referred to as "staleness" and blamed on overtraining."

that translates to, "not enough carbs and performance goes down." not to mention it will impair your immune system, concentration, and probably your performance at work.”

“your body is going to start burning fat 15-20 minutes into cardiovascular exercise no matter what. even if you have plenty of energy you will be burning fat during exercise. more fat will be burned if you have more energy because you will be working harder.
ok, now i'm done.”

“thanks for the input ductape - this discussion has been very interesting and informative”

“Protein does not covert to carbohydrates. Protein will convert to fat if you eat too much. There are a lot of misconceptions about diet and fitness out there.”

“Despite what Akins says, I came home with huge appetite from a bike ride yesterday and had to cut the grass. I ate a bowl of potatoes before I started and ran around the yard with the lawnmower with high energy levels for the 2 hours it took me to finish.”

“I can see that too much of any type of food can be harmful. I do eat carbs just stick with the low carb foods. I have noticed that by eating low carbs my fat content is also down. 18lbs since last summer and working on 15 more to my goal.. do I feel healthy...definally”

“clem: Do you get out hiking or backpacking much? I'm wondering how your diet has affected your energy level?”

“there are a lot of misconceptions about nutrition

but protein does convert to carbohydrates when teh body has too much. the body detatches the nitrogen from the amino acids and converts the amino acid to carbohydrate and the nitrogen is converted to urea. however, the same process can be used to turn a protein directly into fat, but, in context of what i was saying earlier, if you're not getting any carbs, this is what the protein will be converted into. if your body is carbed up, it will be turned into fat.”

“Actually I have gotton out more and hiked since I have been on this diet. HIking almost every weekend if I can, my energy level has went up if anything before I was feeling more sluggish and tired.

rox”

“This is not specifically about low carbs but it is on point with low cal.

Hill Walking

and of course if the link doesn't work
http://www.bodyresults.com/E2R_HillWalkEnergy.asp”

“as per the article...
"rectal temperatures were measured continuously".


Where do I sign up!?!”

“I noticed that too! Ugh!”

“woooo now that is way too much information for me ,,sorta reminds me of women that are checking the temps to get pergnant...

Ok I lost my train of thought on this.”

“My buddy and I are day hikers, planning our first 4-5 days trip for mid-August.

We figured that we would have proteins edge out carbs, in a diet approximating the following:

Breakfast - Can of tuna in water, can of fruit (pineapple, etc), 2-3 packets of oatmeal

Lunch - peanut butter & jelly on bread/crackers, beef jerky, trail mix

Dinner - ramen soup, beef jerky, trail mix

Our we off in considering this a reasonable diet, when accompanied by vitamins and plenty of water?

We are both around 5'7", 140 lbs - so relatively average.

It was our goal to carry only 'light' foods, save the canned fruit, which will be 4 lbs by itself, each.

Thanks,

Rachel”