Post WLS eating while in the Woods

Hey yall this is Push, I am new on the board and am considering WLS. I am 295 but trying to stay active as possible. I even at my size enjoy hiking and backpacking though right now I seem to be the biggest fan of this activity literally on the trails. I live in Western North Carolina and most of the places we hike burn up bunches of calories for the average guy going most of the day. Up until December I was averageing up between 20 and 30 miles a week and not loosing a single pound other than the four or five that were swinging the scales around. I have been on some sort of diet since high school let out and that was 1974.  I will turn 52 this year and am just fed up with not seeing my feet on a regular basis when I look down. My wife had WLS almost two years ago and being a part of that has been a good education. So here is my biggest question. The average skinny hiker burns huge amounts of calories in a full day of hiking. Some estimates of long term hiking figure around 5-7000 per day. So how do WLS patients figure out a way to refuel themselves in order to not only get in all the required protein as well as the carbs. Since sugar is pretty much a big no no at least at my house this question has been the biggest one I have dealt with in trying to make a decision. I thought that just working out would kill the gut but it has not been the case. I started hiking back in July and faithfully went six days a wee****il December with a minimum of 4 miles a day on the average with some days passing into the 10 to 12 range. All I got for my reward it seems was sore feet and a ravenous appetitie for anything and everything I could try to consume.  So if any of you guys have a good answer to the refueling issue I would appreciate hearing about it before I make a decision.  thanks.  Push

I'm not far enough along to even begin to answer your question. I'll just throw this in though. I've been charting my caloric intake over at a website called TheDailyPlate.com and the website gives you an opportunity to input your exercise also and calculates the amount of calories expended. I put in my age (47), gender (got a pair), and weight (386), and told it that I walked 3mph for various amounts of time. This silly thing claims that I burn 780 calories per hour at that pace. I can't imagine that 780 per hour is a valid number for that mild of exercise. But with you at 295 + a backpack and going 4 miles, it would probably chart you up for well over a 1000 calories. It may or may not be helpful for you to go over there and chart your intake and activity for a couple of weeks to get an idea where you're at.

Push, First, Welcome to the Men’s Forum and Congratulations to your wife. Hope all is going great for her. Although not a "hiker," I do travel constantly. Early on when needing to get in extra protein I found that Liquid protein drinks and shots worked well. A NewWhey Protein Shot gives is 25 grams of pure protein with no carbs, in a 2.9 ounce serving. It mixes well with water too. When cut with water, It tastes like SF Kool-aide. I’m assuming you drag along some water on the hikes. I’d say just spike it with some protein. As for getting in "extra needed Calories," Burning up body fat supplies a hell of a lot till you lose that. Nuts are my "Dense Fuel source" now that I’m just maintaining my Normal Range BMI. Also I tend to keep some Jerky and Ostrim Meat Snacks in my Briefcase. If you are wondering what can provide ample Calories for energy And still be easy to carry off into the mountains, I’d say Nuts and Meat snacks. Hope that’s the sort of info you were looking for? Glad you found the place! We’ve got a guy down on the South Pole having to keep his Caloric intake high enough for the Sub-zero climate. He seems to be doing Great! Look for his posts- "Smiler" Best Wishes- Dx

thanks for the relies Guys. I guess my biggest issue is getting some form of early plan on meal planning when I have limited assets for several days without getting myself into trouble way out in the wilds. I know right now with my oversized stomach it is only a matter of self indulgance and about twenty minutes over a little camp stove and all the fullness comes right into the picture. Even on Day hikes packaged stuff works out fine. My wife on the other hand does not hike long distances with me so she has her style of dietary things right in town. I just cant quite figure out how a three to four ounce pouch could effectively be fed enough when optimum weight has been reached and the person is basically treading hard and long on trails with an extra load. Right now I tip the scales on a day hike with at about 305=310 with a day pack of 15 to 20 pounds. Backpacking I tip the scales around 335 or a bit more depending on how cold it gets. My pack usually weighs in about 40 pounds or so depending on the days I want to stay out there. Combining it with steep accents and decents for the most part up in the mountains I pant like a hard running dog but endure it till I can work my way around.  At this time I have had two doctors tell me I am a great candidate for the surgery. I just get a bit stand offish so to speak when it comes down to the commitment. Maybe its a bit like it was for my wife cause once she healed up it was a sorta like weighloss Disney land. Having been fat all my life has sucked but I got used to it. I just know that somewhere inside I want to live a bit longer and with all the weight I may as well get ready for the short bus on that issue.  i appreciate any ideas mainly because it helps in the decision process. I figure I will begin to contact my insurance and get on board with a Bariatric Surgeon in the near future. I also sorta kick my backside for maybe not doing this two years ago with my wife and be strutting around in my skinny clothes already. I guess one of the benifits we as a couple will get is eating out will be for one instead of two.  Yall take care,  Push

Dx is the man with the answers but I want to add a few that I've read here.  One is to have some sort of trail mix.  Dx talked about nuts for protein, but you can add dried fruit for the quick energy.  Some of the men here have posted about drying their own fruit such as apples and slicing them up and making their own trail mix.   As to the liquid protein, I've become an advocate for any of the Syntrax products because they can be mixed on the go, i.e.,  you can bring the powder with you in measured amounts and mix it with water while you are away from home.  I sometimes pre-measure the amounts I need for a shake and put it in sandwich bags or smaller sealable bags.  Then, when I want a shake, I just put that powder in a glass and stir it with a spoon or put it in a bottle or jar and shake it up for about a minute.  They come in a wide variety of flavors in resealable 5 lb bags but I usually just get vanilla.  Just look up Sytrax brand on whatever online store you use. I assume you realize that you will have to cut back a little on your hiking following the surgery and build up your stamina again.  You can start to see how much you need to eat.  Remember that you can get in adequate calories for your task but that you won't get them in a couple large meals.  So, you'll have to have about 6 small meals a day.  That should work out great with your hiking.  Another good food source for that type of activity would be some sort of nut butter.  The usual choice would be peanut butter, but you may want to try butters made with other nuts for variety. As I wrote that last part I remembered that you can have a variety of cheeses.  They should pack easily and you can get a wide variety of flavors.  Just take care what you spread them on.  You may be able to eat crackers, but you're probably better off with whole grain crackers or whole grain breads.

Philosophical question: DOES a post-WLS eat in the woods? 

Maybe you might happen across some tasty beaver out there in the wild

Are beavers tasty. I trout fish alot in the area and large beavers sometimes just pop up in the smallest of places and to be honest its like stepping in a covey of quail when you never saw the first one. I have eaten about every rodent in the woods except mice and rats so beavers would not be so bad . I keep thinking one of those Wood goddesses might be better for desert though.