[pct-l] Remedies for loss of appetite

[Hernandez]

Hi Clint, 

I hear where you're coming from.  It looks like you've done a lot of
research already, and asked the right questions.  I, too, had an appetite
issue on the trail, through Kennedy Meadows.  I think my problem was a
combination of all the issues you enumerated, but overall, it boiled down to
lack of stamina/physical preparedness: due to a head injury, I did not
exercise at all for over a year before I hopped on the trail, and I was not
acclimatized to the desert.    My schedule, and broadening and varying my
diet, became my work around.   I would start walking early in the day, take
a proper break in the morning, and let my heart settle down to a resting
rate before I tried to eat anything.   I found that if I tried to eat
anything "on the run" it was many times harder to swallow and keep down.  I
would take a long lunch break, in the shade, again letting my body calm down
before I ate.  Same routine for dinner.  This routine meant that my pace was
slow, and my days very long.  But, I got the miles done.  To vary my diet, I
did include high fat junk food.  I usually saved it for the end my meal as a
"treat".  If I really, really didn't feel like eating at a particular time,
then I would keep hiking until I could feel my energy lag, and I would take
a long break to rest, then eat.  I did know going into the trip that I *had*
to eat.  I knew that if I just refused to eat that my stomach would shrink,
and that getting food to stay down would be that much harder.    Eventually,
came the Sierra, my hiker appetite finally kicked in.  I was able to take
shorter breaks, eat while I hiked, and eat heartily (especially if I had a
treat in the bag to look forward to).  And\ I was able to order two entrees
in towns.  Yum.  So, basically, my answer was pacing, and simply accepting
very long days, until my body was trained.  I think you are well on your way
to formulating an answer that works for you.  Best of luck!

Happy Trails,

H.R. HuffnPuff
Team Bad Wizard '08


-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net]
On Behalf Of Clint Kaul
Sent: Tuesday, June 16, 2009 6:03 AM
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Subject: [pct-l] Remedies for loss of appetite

Hello,

I was intending to post this in October when thru-hikers are home.
But I'm getting antsy to get back on the trail and try another segment
of the PCT.  I'm hoping you can provide some insight and possible
solutions to the issue.  I haven't seen this discussed in the archives;
there seems to be more talk of this on the whiteblaze.net site.

The problem that took me off the trail was my stomach and constant hunger.
I had a complete lose of appetite around Wrightwood (mile 364).  Over
the next two weeks I had to gag/choke my food down in small quantities.
The last few days I was throwing-up my breakfast.  I felt tired/lethargic
most of the day.  I had a few "bonking"/"hitting the wall"/"complete
energy shutdown" events while hiking where I simply had to sleep an
hour or so before resuming.  It bothered me enough I eventually quit
at Tehachapi (mile 566).

I'll first talk about the suggestions I've received already as well
as read about regarding loss of appetite.  The question is whether
I'm missing something.  Afterwards I'll give more gory details as to
my decline on the trail.  Maybe it will provide insight into something
I am over-looking.


The suggestions/ideas I have received so far:
1.  I talked with Donna Saufley about this.  She says it happens to
    some hikers, including her.  I should just continue gagging the
    food down and the body will eventually adjust.  Maybe I gave up
    too soon?
2.  Most people suggested I was not drinking enough water.  My urine
    was clear to slightly yellow.  I never had a dehydration headache.
    I drank 1/4 - 1/3 liter per mile depending on the heat.
3.  High temperatures were commonly mentioned as well.  It is true
    the heat affected me at times.  But I was ahead of the herd for
    the most part and was fortunate with mostly good temps (mid 80s).
4.  One hiker suggested taking digestive enzymes which I did for a while.
    They didn't seem to help, but the packaging never indicated the
    dosing schedule.
5.  Shear lack of calories.  I realize I screwed up from the start by
    only eating 3500 cal/day.  I should have started with 4500 cal/day.
    I guess I burned through all my fat reserves early on which may
    explain why I felt so good the first couple of weeks.
6.  Many google results for lose of appetite in athletes seem to indicate
    the problem is over training.  I don't see how I can stop "training"
    since I'm on a thru-hike.  Perhaps fewer miles/day and push the
    weather window?  Yes, I know I need to lighten my pack as well - a
    baseweight around 23 pounds.  Leaving a full resupply it probably
    weighed in the 45-50 pound range.
7.  I finally found one decent article "Pack Light Eat Right" at:
        http://thru-hiker.com/articles/pack_light_eat_right.php
    It is proposing a 50:40:10 (carb:fat:protein) ratio for food.
    Going through what I was eating, it was more like 50:30:20.
    It appears I was eating too much protein which the body has to
    really work at to digest.  I bought a bunch of high carb/high fat
    foods (focused on low protein) to augment my food supply.
    Later I found Erik The Black's Junk Food Diet page:
        http://www.eriktheblack.com/blog/junkfood-hiking-diet/
    which seems to bolster this.  Unfortunately I never got a chance to
    test the new balance; food poisoning the first day out of Tehachapi ;(


I'm a tall, lean male who has a high metabolism.  I eat a lot even in
civilian life.  From day 2 onward I knew I hadn't packed enough food
in my resupply boxes.  I would buy extra food along the way to suppli-
ment.  I figure I was eating about 3500 cal/day from Mount Laguna to
Wrightwood.  I would be hungry at times, but felt fine.  The hunger
would kick in starting in the late afternoon (to Warner Springs),
then early afternoon (to Idyllwild), then late morning (to Big Bear)
until I would wake up hungry (from Big Bear onward).

>From Wrightwood onward is when I had problems.  I would wake up
hungry.  I could mostly eat my milk/cereal before gagging.  From
6AM to around noon I would snack every 10-15 minutes.  I would always
feel hungry but after 1/2 bar I would gag/retch trying to eat more.
Normally by noon my stomach seemed to be on track and I could eat
without gagging through the rest of the day.  Although I was always
hungry and felt a bit tired.

I staid three days (2 nero, 1 zero) in Agua Dulce (the Saufleys are
a true heaven) trying to eat as much as I could, which wasn't much.
On the third day I finally started to have an appetite and could
easily eat.  I decided to try section E, bought enough food so I
was carrying 4000+ cal/day and headed off even though I wasn't feeling
"normal" by any means.

Section E was not kind to me.  I normally threw-up breakfast.  I could
eat only small portions before gagging.  I would retch/dry-heave along
the trail every 15-20 minutes in the morning.  I found I could no
longer eat while hiking.  I had to sit down, rest a couple of minutes
and then gag something down before continuing.  I "bonked" almost
every afternoon.  I felt lethargic all the time.

Even with all those problems I typically hiked 20-22 miles/day.  At
the end of the day I had gagged down 4000+ calories, so I could get
the food in, just not pleasantly.  My weight didn't seem to drop much;
4 pounds over 4 weeks (home to Agua Dulce).


I'm open to any suggestions/comments/remedies others may have for this
loss of appetite and hunger.  Right now I'm leaning toward adding "junk
food" to my existing resupply boxes to get more carbs/fats and eat at
least 4500 cal/day.  I don't have a better potential solution yet.

Thank you for any information,
clint
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