[pct-l] Food question from Mid life Crisis

[Melanie Clarke]

Dear PCT,

Yoshi is correct in "optimal" macro-nutrient proportions as carbohydrates
are the most efficient form of energy for the body.  However, the weight of
food is a serious issue for long distance hiking and one can get about 2
times the energy from a pound of nuts than from a pound of cereal product.
Your body will have to go through extra steps to convert the fat to energy
but I think a healthy body can deal with this.  Yoshi is still correct as
far as what is optimal but hauling around more fat is optimal for
ultra-light distance hiking.  Maybe a 55/60--10/15--25/30 distribution would
idealize the best of both worlds.

Age makes a big difference.  Some of you lean young men with no body fat,
who are still growing and burning 8,000 kcal/day might want to carry more
fat just to get enough energy on the trail.  Old people like Yoshi and I
will want to gravitate more towards "the old person" distribution.  Our
bodies aren't as efficient and need all the help we can get.  We don't go as
fast and as far as you sweet young things anyway (-:

Research is also supporting that slightly and I mean "slightly" more healthy
(plant based) fat in the diet is actually beneficial in regulating appetite,
stabilizing the glycemic index spikes in the blood and long term
cardiovascular health.

Melanie

On Fri, Mar 4, 2011 at 7:12 PM, Yoshihiro Murakami <completewalker at gmail.com
> wrote:

> Thanks Eric
>
> Disagreement is unavoidable. I will write briefly ( it's my lunch time )
>
> My description on fat and carbohydrate  is based on "Exercise
> physiology of mountaineering and climbing" by Masayoshi Yamamoto
> (Japanese, published in 2000).  He is a professor of National
> Institute of Fitness and Sports in KANOYA and also a famous climber in
> this field. This is not my opinion.
>
> We can use fat as an energy source in less efficient way than
> carbohydrate. We can train ourself to use fat, but, we cannot  perform
> our maximum power with the "dense food". ( The ideal proportion  might
> be indicated in Armstrong's book ).
>
>
>
>
>
> 2011/3/5 Eric <johner27 at evergreen.edu>:
> > Yoshi,
> > I must respectfully disagree with your evaluation of macronutrients for
> > hiking.  Our body, if starved of carbohydrates, will drop efficiently
> into
> > ketosis, a burning of fat.
> > See: http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/faq/f/whatisketosis.htm
> > Ketosis is an evolutionary adaptation by our bodies for times when we
> need
> > to survive on our energy stores.  I would place a bet that the reason
> that
> > the American hikers you encountered were fatigued was due to the fact
> that
> > (most, not all) carbohydrates are inherently inefficient - they cause an
> > insulin spike then a crash due to depleted glycogen.
> > What you may have been thinking of is ketoacidosis, a dangerous condition
> > that can develop if you have Type 1 diabetes.
> > David:
> > That being said, I would definitely take more calories, and use more fat!
> >  Something like 40-50 Carb 30 fat 20 protein.  Also recommended by
> > nutritionist and hiker Brenda Baaten:
> > http://thru-hiker.com/articles/PackLightEatRight/fat.htm
> > Nuts, shelf stable bacon, avocados, and powdered butter and milk are some
> of
> > the high-quality fats that you could get a lot of calories/ounce for.
>  Hope
> > this helps!
> > Regards,
> > Eric
> > www.primalpct.com
> >
> > On Fri, Mar 4, 2011 at 6:16 PM, Yoshihiro Murakami
> > <completewalker at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> Dear David
> >>
> >> I have only experienced JMT twice, but I think many American hiker had
> >> insufficient foods and very fatigued.
> >>
> >> > A few questions..
> >> >
> >> > 1- Am I safe planning to consume body fat or will I be starving every
> >> > day?
> >>
> >> You are not safe. Our energy system cannot use fat efficiently. If the
> >> stock of Carbohydrate became zero, our body  make carbohydrate from
> >> the muscles and, and produce more Nitrogenous substance. Then the load
> >> of the kidney grows more. You will feel more fatigue.
> >>
> >> I had posted before on the nutrition problem. If " 7 weeks to the
> >> perfect ride" (by L Armstrong & C. Carmichael) is right,
> >>
> >> The optimal weight ratio is :
> >>  carbohydrate : protein : fat =   60-70:10-15: 9-11
> >>
> >> We must consider both weight ratios and total calories for healthy
> >> hiking.  And if we hike for 8 hours, we need at least 1 Kg ( 2 pound
> >> more )  food.( I had calculated, and confirmed the 2 pound rule is
> >> right )
> >>
> >> https://sites.google.com/site/completewalker/backpacking-memo
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> > 2- Does my calories per ounce ratio look ok?
> >> > 3- Does my $'s per ounce look ok?
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > Shaka Zulu
> >> > Aka Mid Life Crisis
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > _______________________________________________
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> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >> Sincerely
> >> --------------- --------------------------------------
> >> Hiro    ( Yoshihiro Murakami )
> >> Blogs http://completewalker.blogspot.com/
> >> Photo http://picasaweb.google.co.jp/CompleteWalker/
> >> Backpacking since about 1980 in Japan
> >> 2009 JMT, the first America.
> >> 2010 JMT, the second America.
> >> ------------------------------------------------------
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> >
> >
> > --
> > Because we don't think about future generations, they will never forget
> us.
> > ~Henrik Tikkanen
> >
> > “The things you own end up owning you.” -Tyler Durden, Fight Club
> >
> > "The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a
> monthly
> > salary."—David Hieatt
> >
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Sincerely
> --------------- --------------------------------------
> Hiro    ( Yoshihiro Murakami )
> Blogs http://completewalker.blogspot.com/
> Photo http://picasaweb.google.co.jp/CompleteWalker/
> Backpacking since about 1980 in Japan
> 2009 JMT, the first America.
> 2010 JMT, the second America.
> ------------------------------------------------------
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