Pre Hike Diet

Im trying to figure out what I should load up on before a long hike. In the army we always had to down a 1L of water and eat a good heavy meal before a long march.

At the same time I was wondering if doing a Protein Shake right before heading out would be a good idea. I have a huge tub of GNC amplified Mass XXX sitting around that is packed with good stuff

One serving has 900 calories, 124g Carbs, 50g Protein, and 110% of need Calcium when taken with 2% milk. I figure i could take one with me and drink it in the car before heading out.

Thoughts?

Not sure what you mean by a "long hike" - a long (say 12 hour) day hike or a long trip - say 14 day backpack.

I think it is best to eat what you already eat. I do not like to "shock" my system by doing something significantly different before a trip. It also depends on if you are going up to high altitude. Digestion at high altitude is slower so you do not want to overload before the hike.

Before activity you need usable carbohydrates. After the activity you need protein to repair depleted muscles and electrolyte replacements. The loading up on water is only applicable if you plan on not having enough on the trail. I think it is better to simply take enough water to sip water steadily all day. And on a long backpack you need to have good nutrition every day, and this includes enough fiber. On a long trip, what you eat the first morning will soon become forgotten, both by you and your body.

I am talking about normal backpacking - not super athletic trail running or huge mileage days.

Im tending to agree with you. I'm just always looking for other ideals when it come to pushing the body to its limits. I do a lot of high elevation hikes. Also, by long hike I mean pretty much every thing. My thoughts on the pre hike carb load is to use it like a battery. pack the system with as much as i can then burn it throughout the hike. allowing me to go farther while eating less. I do both long day hikes and multi day backpacking trips. I don't do trail running... that doesn't even look fun to me.

I also agree that sipping water is the best way. I just wonder if hydrating good before a hike has any major benefits? Here in colorado water on some of the trail can be far and few between. So there may be one hike where we fallow a river and others where we go all day with out seeing anything to drink.

What are some items that you eat that are high in fiber? I seam to draw a blank on what I should be eating to fill that spot.

for me, your mileage may vary, any load up will last the first half day at most and then be gone. In general the second day (sometimes third) I have a decreased appetite when doing big mile days. Howver this loss of appetite soon disappears and then not only do I eat all which I had planned for the subsequent days, but I also finish off the food I didn't eat from those early days of less appetite. So, even though I have a decreased appetite for a few days (at most) I still pack food for those days as it will be eaten. Over time on the trail your body will get into a groove and your cravings will adapt to your bodies needs. I haven't found a way to store up anything by eating it the hours before and having it have any effect over the long haul. I never tried those shakes though.

It seems like if I was going to consume one of those shakes it would be on the trail. The powder is dehydrated energy dense food... plus it is no cook. That is definitely backpacking light. Eat something at the trail-head your not going to get while you are out there.

Major problem is that if you use water, and you can. it taste like poo! lol I've thought about using dry milk. but haven't tried it yet. I think a few trips using this stuff and you would quickly give up either the drink or the backpacking or both...

On the trail?

Oatmeal
HBC bars, Granola bars
Almonds (I just about always have these - fantastic for hiking - loaded with fat *and* fibre)
Dried Fruit (pineapple, rasins, mango, dates, crasins, prunes, apricots, whatever)
My meals usually have some
Dried veggies (surprise peas!)

etc. etc.

SOS, a 3 egg omelette, fried potatoes and a lot of coffee. Or has the Army changed?

I'm surprised the army made you drink 1L before a march. That has never worked for me. I'm not a camel, and drinking an excessive amount of water just makes me pee :P

I can't comment about pre-hike foods... I've never been out for more than one night. My gut tells me that you should just eat as you normally would, though.

Like most government agencies they over react to someone dying. we had a soldier die of dehydration and so they made a rule in my unit that every day we had to drink 1L of water in the morning and 1L before a march... so stupid!!! but in basic training it was 2L before bed.... even worse... you could set you clock by the timing of every one having to wake up about 1 am to pee like a race horse!

Yeah kind of agree just eating normal..

Not on-topic exactly, but according to the story I heard, native americans who were on a raid and who wanted to arise before dawn so as to attack at the earliest light, drank a lot of water as they went to bed. They didn't have alarm clocks back then, obviously.

The no-cook aspect might get cancelled by the clean up. In my experience with protein shakes the shaker bottles (how I make protein shakes) cannot be rinsed completely clean and if left at room temp will get ripe, like spoiled milk. So a bottle brush, soap and possibly hot water will be needed for a proper, healthy cleanup. At least for me.

We start every day making sure we are hydrated, and that we hvae eaten enough to get us going. But we're not in the Tour de France, where they consumer 6,000 calories a day and lose weight!

Sure, carbo-load the day before a big hike, and that will get you off to a good start. But we also snack every 2 hours or so on the trial...because it is easier to eat smaller amounts than to hike with a stuffed belly.