Just this week, during a routine annual physical, blood and urine tests indicated that I may be developing diabetes (male, 59, mother who developed diabetes in her late 60's, father's sister ditto in her 60's, etc.; both control it by diet and exercise, so I'm hopeful I can, too.) Although the urologist wouldn't go so far as to make a diagnosis, he indicated that he'd almost guarantee that's what my primary care physician was going to call it.

I won't start that evaluation process for a couple of weeks, and assume that I'll eventually meet with a dietitian/nutritionist. I wanted to start now getting my ducks in a row for that meeting, and I intend to force a discussion of how to eat on the trail. I thought I'd put together a food bag with a typical day's food items, and let him/her critique it. I don't have any other medical conditions (except mild - ? - obesity) to consider as complicating factors.

What I'm seeking are some thoughts from anyone with experience or training in dealing with diabetes, on how to manage a trail diet, what to take (or avoid), etc. That way I'll have some information to forward the discussion in case the dietitian isn't familiar with backpack eating.

My "style" has always leaned toward minimalist (aka Colin Fletcher's "barbarian.") I'm not a fan of multi-course meals, or dishes that take multiple pots, stirring, simmering, etc. For the last 10 years or so, I had fought a losing battle with weight, and was 20 - 30 pounds overweight on each trip; since my trips were usually 4 nights or less, I tended to eat less than my hiking buddies, with no ill effects - I always told myself my spare food wasn't in my pack, and usually lost a couple of pounds on a trip. Luckily, I started making a concentrated effort a couple of months ago to get the weight off in a sustainable manner; I've lost 20 pounds so far, and can probably get another 10 off to reach a sustainable weight for me. (That's still about 10 pounds more than my doctor would like, but it may be the best I can do; we'll see.) Most of the changes I've made to lose the weight (no "fries with that," a lot less soda and candy bars, etc.) will, I hope, help deal with the diabetes, too.

My current (for the last 10 years or so) menu is:

Breakfast: Oatmeal to Go bar and water; in winter, this sometimes changed to one or two packets of instant oatmeal and a pint or so of hot, unsweetened tea.

Lunch: beef jerky, dried fruit (or trail mix), granola bar or Clif bar

Snacks: Usually granola bars, sometimes replaced by trail mix.

Supper: a Mountain House or Enertia one-person freeze-dried entree, occasionally a granola bar or Payday candy bar for dessert. Sometimes, in cold weather, a cup of cocoa or pint of hot tea.

Mostly, I drank water (except for the tea and cocoa in cold weather.)

This menu always worked well for me - I was never hungry, never lacked energy (or, if I hit a low in the late afternoon, while trying to do more miles than normal, a granola bar fixed it.) Again, long-term nutrition on the trail isn't a concern for me, since my trips are weekends, long weekends, and every couple of years 5 nights at Isle Royale. Final info-nugget: I've been takin a multi-vitamin every day for the last 5 years or so (doctor's advice.)

However, I now suspect that sodium, sugar, and carbohydrate management might render some or all of that menu obsolete. Any suggestions any of you might have would be greatly appreciated as I learn to deal with this.