could use a little help with food and big endurance activites
Sorry this is so long!!
Hi all! I rarely post over here but I check in now and then and really appreciate all of you! I have been doing lots of hiking and am working hard to get half of the Adirondack 46 high peaks hiked by the end of next month. That will be a lot of hiking! I am 11 months out, down 100 pounds, probably just a few pounds from goal (I don't really have one, I just decided to stop where I landed and it seems to be slowing down). So far, I have been doing 8-12 hour hikes with lots of elevation gain. Occasionally I wear a heart rate monitor and I tend to stay right around 155 most of the way to the summit with plenty of peaks to 170+ during the steep stretches. on the way down I usually stay at around 130-150. I am learning how to trail run the steep trails! I am just beginning to do the longer hikes which will be closer to 14 hours and I am also beginning to do back to back days of that kind of hiking. Thus far I haven't done much different with food the day before, I just eat my regular stuff. the day of the hike I do a protein shake in the car on the way and eat maybe 2 or 3 times during the day, usually nuts with dried fruit or a cliff builder bar (figure the extra carbs will help me). It totals maybe 1 cliff builder bar (I think 390 calories or something like that with 20 grams of protein) and then two big handfuls of nuts with dried fruits. Then i get some dinner when I am done and I am still figuring out what to eat after these hikes, no idea really. I crave burgers and fries because that is what I always ate after hikes pre surgery. So I am still figuring that out. After the last one I had a cup of bean soup, 1/2 a burger, and a few fries, maybe 7 or so.
I have done pretty well on the hikes so far, no bonking. It is a little concerning to me though that I am eating so little. I have figured that as long as I feel okay it is probably fine. Especially weird since on sedentary days I need way more food than that, but when I hike I just get in this zone and off I go. I stay well hydrated, averaging about 140 ounces of water.
so here are my questions:
Is there anything I should be doing on the day before the hikes in terms of food? Should I eat a few more carbs? Is that necessary for me?
How about food during the hike? I probably could eat more I am just not all that interested but could certainly ensure more caloric intake.
Any recommendations for food after the hike?
And if I am doing back to back days like this, or three in a row should I adjust anything?
I had the RNY and here is a sample of my food intake for today (pre hike day):
protein shake (30 grams)
1/4 cup roasted edamame, slice cheese, six cherry tomatoes
1 cup pinto beans
1/4 cup roasted edamame, slice cheese, six cherry tomatoes (snacks are a little monotonous today!)
big salad with lettuce, tomatoe, 2 ounces of cheese, and vinaigrette
Thank you sooooo much for any imput!!
Hopefully others who hike or do other endurance sports will chime in, but I feel ya on the day-after hunger! Usually on days after my long runs, I'd find myself hungrier than the day of! To balance that, I changed how I eat the day before (upping the carbs & calories just a tiny bit) and how I replenish during runs (GU or Chomps) and that helped me not go overboard on my rest day....
First ultra: Stone Mill 50 miler 11/15/14 13:44:38, First Full Marathon: Marine Corps 10/27/13 4:57:11, Half Marathon PR 2:04:43 at Shamrock VA Beach Half-Marathon, 12/2/12 First Half-Marathon 2:32:47, 5K PR Run Under the Lights 5K 27:23 on 11/23/13, 10K PR 52:53 Pike's Peek 10K 4/21/13, (1st timed run) Accumen 8K 51:09 10/14/12.