[pct-l] Hikers guide to caloric intake

[walkinba at aol.com]

I so much appreciate these last two messages.  They relate directly to the inquiry I posted a few days ago.  I will clip and save these as I continue to plan for April of 09.

 B.A.





-----Original Message-----
From: Steel-Eye <chelin at teleport.com>
To: Reinhold Metzger <reinholdmetzger at cox.net>; pct-l at backcountry.net
Sent: Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:26 pm
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Hikers guide to caloric intake



Good evening, JMT Reinhold,
Thanks for the observations about my Calorie needs rationale.  It's always
ratifying to know that other experienced hikers appreciate the thought that
ent into it.
You are certainly correct about the desirability of avoiding saturated
ats - and I do so at home - but in the interest of simplicity I omitted
aking that point in my rationale.  I felt a need to confine my comments to
he "quantity" aspect of hiking food, and not the "quality" aspect.  Years
go when I first began tinkering with a trail food calculator it quickly
volved into something far too grand to be useable.  That often seems to
appen when a left-brainer like me, runs amok in the dazzling world of
icrosoft Excel.  Eventually, my list of food was parsed, not only into
ttributes such as fats, carbs, and protein, but also into types of fats,
imple vs. complex carbs, fiber, electrolyte constituents, organically-grown
ontent, etc. etc.  The result was I ended up with far too much data.  I
ound that I could not write a selection algorithm that would specify what
ood items were adaptable to the trail.
Finally, I had to accept some basic guidelines for TRAIL food Calories:
)      I must consistently like to eat the stuff.
)      It has to be simple to make or readily available to buy.
)      Moisture is to be avoided.
)      Fat is good.
)      Salt is good.
)      Durability is important - even with chemical preservatives.
)      It should be versatile enough to be eaten in different ways.
)      It should be dense to economize space.
)      It should be relatively inexpensive.
0)    I prefer that it can be eaten without cooking.
With that in mind I wrote a relatively simple spreadsheet to calculate the
otal calories per day based upon serving selections.  It seems to work for
e.
Bon Appétit,
 Steel-Eye

---- Original Message ----- 
rom: "Reinhold Metzger" <reinholdmetzger at cox.net>
o: <pct-l at backcountry.net>; "Reinhold Metzger" <reinholdmetzger at cox.net>;
Karen Metzger" <karenmetzger at cox.net>
ent: Monday, June 16, 2008 4:18 AM
ubject: [pct-l] Hikers guide to caloric intake

 Steel-Eye,
 Your caloric intake requirement described below is probably the best I
 have seen.
 It describes a hikers caloric need and the energy delivered by the 3 basic
 food
 sources in a easy to understand way.

 My only comment would be that a concentration should be placed on the less
 harmful
 Unsaturated fats like Polyunsaturated or Monounsaturated (the most benign
 fat) vs
 Saturated fats and complex carbs. vs simple carbs. for healthier, more
 sustainable
 energy.
 Since carbs. are carbs. & fats are fats selecting the healthier ones will
 not change
 the weight or energy delivered, but rather deliver a healthier more
 sustainable energy.
 A good example are Macadamia nuts, rich in Monosaturated fats, they
 deliver 200 calories
 per oz. from the most benign of fats....you have to drink straight oil to
 beat that.

 Also protein, at dinner, is important for muscle recovery while the body
 is at rest and
 and in the recovery mode.

 JMT Reinhold
 Your malnourished trail companion

 ------------------------------------


 Good evening, Krikor,

 My approach to Calorie requirements is described here:
 http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=166338

 Enjoy,

 Steel-Eye

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