A Jay wrote:So the warmer it is, the less calories are needed. That's good to know.
What is the most food weight you guys have ever begun a trip with?
Moondog55 wrote:A Jay wrote:So the warmer it is, the less calories are needed. That's good to know.
What is the most food weight you guys have ever begun a trip with?
Not sure but I remember starting one high country winter trip from Harrietville with a few more tins than normal and my sack weighing 55 kilos, we made about 8 klicks that day up Dungies track
A Jay wrote:So the warmer it is, the less calories are needed. That's good to know.
Orion wrote:
One thing to keep in mind is that even with the same pack weight and trip plan there can be a fair amount of variation in food energy requirements from one person to the next. One person might need twice as much as another. Lean body mass is a pretty good, although imperfect, indicator of this.
Moondog55 wrote:Well back in the dim dark ages when I first started bushwalking we reckoned on a kilo of concentrated food a day
ribuck wrote:
I find that the pleasure of bushwalking drops rapidly if my starting pack weight is much over 20kg, which limits my multi-day trips to about 10 days.
A Jay wrote:So that makes your base weight at 10kg?
A Jay wrote:What does a leaner body mass indicate about energy requirements? I know about people have more or less reserves, however I've also been reading some say that after the did a big trip and got leaner, they found they needed less food.
I guess it's about what kind of weight you're trying to maintain. To maintain a greater weight, you need more. To maintain less weight you need less. And for a person with more reserves,they might find they need more food to feel comfortable on the hike, even if they're in a slight calorie deficit. If a fatter person was to try to eat the same amount as a much leaner person, they would be a great discomfort due to too-fast, too-extreme detox symptoms. Which for a hike is not advisable, you do need to keep fighting fit when physically active.
Well what I read with this one chap, he said that when he got leaner and fitter due to a long trip, he became more efficient and this is one reason he didn't need as much food.
If this is all true, it's a good reason to aim to get lean for hiking. Some people like to develop a lot of fat reserves beforehand, however that is self-defeating in that you will also need to carry more food to avoid a severe calorie deficit, and the extra food weight creates that snow-ball effect.
Orion wrote:A Jay wrote:...SNIP.... Some people like to develop a lot of fat reserves beforehand, however that is self-defeating in that you will also need to carry more food to avoid a severe calorie deficit, and the extra food weight creates that snow-ball effect.
By "lean body mass" I was referring to the fraction of your body weight that is not fat. It's a rough indicator of what your caloric needs will be.
But it is also true, up to a point, that having an "alpine belly" can allow you to go without as much food as someone who is super lean. I say up to a point because when you have a calorie deficit you're going to not only burn fat but also the lean part of your body. .....SNIP....... But intentionally planning to lose weight in order save food weight is a bit of dangerous game to play. It's far better to fuel your body as optimally as the conditions allow.
Ultimately, you'll figure out what works for you.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 11 guests