What Are You Eating?

I don't know if any of you caught the really nasty cold that seemed to hit in April just as spring returned, but I was nailed by two different versions of it. It seems like I've been recovering from having a cold for a month! I'm mostly better now with the exception of a really chesty cough that seems to hit me mostly after I'm done exercising or when I lie down to sleep at night. It's very annoying and just seems to hang around forever. I have still managed to get out do some running training and do a few hikes, but I don't really feel on top of my game. My energy level is lower than usual and I'm more tired after my long runs than I should be. 

While you can't always control your energy levels due to health issues, another thing that dramatically affects your energy level is the food you consume both before and during the hikes.   

As we get closer to our June hikes, you’ll notice that the hikes will be getting a little bit more difficult, including more distance and gain. I encourage you to take a look at the food that you bring along with you and make sure that it’s adequate for your needs on the trip. All groups will be in the 8 mile range which means that you need to not only need to bring a filling lunch, but you also need to bring snacks to have along the way. Make sure that the food you are bringing along is around 60% carbohydrate, 20% fat and 20% protein. Your snacks particularly need to be mostly carbohydrate as that will provide you with quick energy as you hike. Make sure your snacks are accessible without taking off your pack, so you can snack as soon as you feel the need.  

After you get back from a hike, assess how you felt during the hike. Did you feel generally energetic and able to tackle the challenges of the trail, or did you feel listless and lack energy? While some of this can be attributed to physical conditioning, it can also be affected by what you eat and when you eat it. Don't wait to eat food until you're hungry or feeling your blood sugar plummet. Be proactive and have a small snack every hour or so--more often as your energy output increases during the season. 

And be sure to have a good breakfast before you head off in the morning to meet your group; or if it’s too early for you to feel like eating, bring something with you to snack on during the car trip. Don’t start a hike feeling hungry, you’ll already be low on energy if you do and will have a hard time getting into your hiking pace and then you’ll be playing food catch-up all day—not a great place to be in energy-wise. My favorite breakfast foods are homemade smoothie, (banana, other fruit, yogurt, water or watered-down juice, and a scoop of whey protein  powder) and oatmeal (nicely beefed up with a bit of brown sugar and whole milk). Both are fairly easy to take along with you and eat in the car if you can figure out a way to keep the oatmeal warm until you can eat it.  

Happy hiking (and eating)!