[pct-l] Re: weight loss or gain, other food

["Christine Kudija" <cmkudija@earthlink.net>]

On our '94 1500-mile segment my husband lost 30 lbs, 25 of them in the first
month.  I lost MAYBE five pounds, & mostly rearranged body shape/fat/muscle
proportions.  My husband gained all (plus a little more) the weight back the
following winter.  I've gone a little up & down, consistent with my workout
schedule.  Right now I'm in law school, living away from home, and keeping
all snack food out of arm's reach.  I'm about the same weight as when we
finished our hike.  My husband...well, he figures that since it was so easy
to lose the weight in a month of hiking, all he needs is another leave of
absence for a long hike.  Go figure.

Everybody's right about snack foods.  Snickers & cornnuts saved us.  But I
still swear by Powerbars for immediate & sustained energy.  My metabolism
seems to respond perfectly to the balance of fruit syrup & protein....and
doesn't respond in the same way to a Clif bar or others.   I also agree with
a previous writer that it would probably be good to carry a powdered
protein-drink mix for a.m. - we didn't, and I think that we may have
suffered some because of not having sufficient protein in our diet.
Re: fat content: I'm finally a believer that extra fat in the diet while
thruhiking helps.   We used a lot of hard salami in our lunches, with bread,
cheese, crackers - and I never tire of that combination.  Hard salami (Gallo
or other) ships well, keeps well, and has lots of salt & fat....yum.   I'm
allergic to peanuts, so peanut butter wasn't an option.  (I like breathing
better; peanut butter gives me asthma...sigh)

Well, got to get back to studying for finals.  This list is keeping me
alive.  Can't wait to get out of this particular adventure, pass the bar,
work a couple of years & take another 6-month leave.

I'm jealous of all you hiking in '99!  April will be here before you know
it!
Christine
currently in Portland, OR; normally so. Calif.....

* From the Pacific Crest Trail Email List |  http://www.backcountry.net   *

==============================================================================