[at-l] Body Comp

[platyhiker at yahoo.com (Platy Hiker)]

One thing hikers of all weights can due to help maintain good
health and energy levels is to make sure they take in reasonable
amount of protein in their diets.  Some hikers who mainly eat
the mac-n-cheese, lipton dinners, other noodle concoctions and
bagels routine can end up protein deprived.  If you notice your
urine smelling like ammonia, that's a signal that your body is
breaking down muscle mass due to lack of protein.

One easy way to add protein diet is carry TVP (textured
vegetable protein) and add it to your evening dinner concoction.
 TVP has almost no flavor of its own, so it tastes like the rest
of your dinner.  It's light, and rehydrates fairly quickly.  You
can find TVP at health stores and natural food co-ops. 
Unforutnately, you can't find it at the little stores near the
trail.

Other ways to add protein to your diet are can/packets of tuna
or chicken.  Peanut butter.  Summer sausage.  And of course
cheese burgers in town.  :-)

I think all hikers can benefit from thinking hard about their
own personal food preferences and trying out meals and snacks
beforehand to help ensure that the food you bring on the trail
is not only good for you, but also enjoyable for you to eat. 
Slender hikers have less of a fat reserve to draw in the event
of food planning errors, so have a greater motivation for doing
some pre-thru-hike research and testing.

One mistake that a lot of folks comparatively new to backpacking
make when starting a thru-hike is having a limited repetoir of
meals and snacks.  Then, when they get tired of one or more
component, it is more difficult to take in the needed calories. 
Increasing the variety of your trail menu makes it easier and
more enjoyable to eat large amounts.

Be prepared to change to your diet as your hike proceeds - many
hikers find their tastes change.  For example, many folks plan
on oatmeal for every breakfast and find the mushy texture of it
very unappealing after a few weeks.  Many of those folks switch
to pop-tarts, nutrition bars or dry cereal with powdered milk.

Platypus



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