[jenjen]

When I get that nauseated I-gotta-eat-or-I'm-gonna-bonk-but-I-don't-wanna-eat feeling, I get out the Carnation instant breakfast. I pre-mix it with powdered milk at home so all I have to do on the trail is dump it in a bottle, add water, and chug it down. It's complete frankenfood. I sure don't use it in normal settings. But when I start feeling icky on the trail the stuff keeps me going until I get into camp, get settled, and start feeling more normal.

[solohiker]

I think you need to listen to your own body. When you're nauseous figure out what kind of food you crave. There will be something. Sugar makes me sick to my stomache, but as someone else mentioned, when you're burning lots of calories, sometimes it's the perfect food. Not for me though, sugar makes me even more nauseous when I'm exerting. I need salt, and high protein. Jerky, peanuts, beef sticks - I can get by as long as I have those, but sugar will definitely make me puke. Everybody's different. But I really think if your stomache feels unsettled for any reason other than an e-coli outbreak, there will be something that you really crave - figure out what it is, and that's what you should bring along to eat.

[seawallrunner]

no financial interest - and warning: very ugly web site - but here's the URL to the Succeed! products that I mentioned on the previous page succeed! personal testimonial: I am a big believer in electrolyte supplementation, as I tend to drink a lot of water when I train, run, hike or race. I lose most of it through sweat. Abundant sweat means depletion of potassium as well as salt - both need to be replaced. I know I am beginning to deplete electrolytes when, during a long endurance event, I begin to think sad thoughts that have no bearing on the event. This is a common symptom of depletion!! I also know that I have electrolyte depletion after a long hike or climb, when I *crave* fat and salty snacks. Careful electrolyte management prevents the blues during the event and the salty cravings after. I've run in events of up to 13 hours (those were the days - I'm much older and somewhat more wiser now). I used Succeed! Amino as well as Succeed! Ultra with good results. When I ran that long - or geesh, half that long - my stomach did NOT want food - but could sustain sips of liquid during all that time. Succeed! electrolyte caps every few hours and either Amino or Ultra in my water bottles ensured that I ran well on race day, and still had enough in the bank to run/shuffle to the airport terminal gate the next day NOTE: there are other products that offer such results to other athletes (Hammer, eCaps, etc) experiment and see what works best for you. Different bodies will have different needs - and will react differently to products. Try before going out in the field with unfamiliar products.

[Allison]

Seawall--for electrolytes without the calories, my rolfer recommended Emergen-C. When you are hiking, calories don't matter so much, but for me, often it's the physical demands of my work. Heh, I should be having Emergen-C right now after what I just did at work. Doesn't hurt now, but it will in the morning. I like Peppersteak's idea of carbo-loading at home the day before a hard trip. I used to be a distance runner back in the day when carbo loading was all the rage. I still think it works. Carbos, especially the pasta kind, are not the most slenderizing of foods, but the slow burn solid heavy fuel thing makes perfect sense. In the woods where real food is less of an option, I end up with a fair bit of carbs and fat and that works okay as long as my diet is okay before I leave. In other words, some vegetables too and not so much on the fat. On that same note, cuppa noodles or some sort of ramen makes a nice breakfast in that same style. Dice, I know we have ventured off your original question a bit, but this is another great chance for us to talk about the foods that keep us going in the woods. Hope you don't mind.

[Dayhike Mike]

[ActionBetty]

I use the power gels and Gu packets to keep me going. I have learned to keep my self hydrated whether I want to drink or not and keep myself fueled..whether I am hungry or not.. If I don't pay attention to my body..it will just refuse me any physical actions i may have in mind.. then I become a pain in the ass to my partners, which is not fun. I find that snow travel is a bit more strenuous than regular hiking, my biggest problem is not having a camelback to gulp down water enough..so I do need to get some kind of winter water set up where I can reach it easily.... once the pack is on.. I do not want to take it off with the snowshoes on just to get a drink of water. I noticed Aussie was wearing an insulated bottle carrier clipped on her front for easy access on the last trip....I likey! ps.. cheeze dehydrates the cells

[ActionBetty]

[Steve Erickson]

I also like to load up on pasta the night before a tough hike. I believe starting the day before helps in getting me of to a good start. Several years ago I spoke with a man that wrote a book on nutrition, Cass Igram I believe was his name and he was a wrestling coach at Northern Iowa. He told me that during a tough hike the best thing you could do for yourself, for quick energy, was to eat some fat as it would convert quickly. He recommended a handful of almonds, or sunflower seeds or even an avocado. I have told that to others and have had some argument about whether or not it breaks down quickly. For me it works and several times during the hike I will chew on a small handful. I notice that my appetite is not as big as usual but if I hydrate and eat small portions over time I usually am ok.

[Starjumper7]

[Stefan]

Dicey, try eating real fruit, instead of fake fruit. Cut up an apple, and throw it in a tupperware container. tossing in a apple just won't do becuase when you are at that exertion level you describe, you do not want to eat around the core of an apple--all you want to do is pop an apple slice in your mouth and eat it without having to think. This same thing can be done with canteloupe or oranges.... Do the work ahead of time with real fruit. Real fruit is better for your body than the fake stuff (powerbar) anyways and tastes so much better in the outdoors.

[captain jack]

[Ed the Biped]

If you look at the nutritional labels, the sugar/carb/fat profile of GU is nearly identical to that of grape jelly. Jelly is a fraction of the cost of GU. That being said, grape jelly is way too sweet for me - almost gaggifyingly sweet. I like dried apricots from Costco and dehydrated pears that I make myself. A buddy of mine works for a produce pimp at the Oly farmers market. He gives me their bruised or overripe "cull" pears that they couldn't sell over the weekend. After a little paring knife action, a coat of lemon juice, and about 8 hours in the dehydrator, you have deeeelicious pear chips. They rehydrate well too for inclusion in PB & J & pear rollups. Yummy and packs a nice energy boost. What, is nobody is going to go Jardine on us and promote corn pasta????

[dicey]

Yikes! I can stomach GU, but would never be able to eat jelly! Thanks for all the suggestions guys! I agree about the fresh fruit as far as palatability, but I think the dried stuff is more calorie dense as well as being more 'packable'. I always eat well before and after a trip, which helps too. I'll just need to keep trying different things to find out what works for me. I am also going to start bringing that powdered drink stuff again to supplement my calorie intake. Of the ones out there, which ones have the most calories?

[seawallrunner]

>Of the ones out there, which ones have the most calories? Succeed!Ultra and S!Amino have tons of calories, and are not too sweet either. Some of my athlete friends also liked cytomax. One way to experiment is to buy powder - then you are in control of the exact mix you want to drink. I no longer buy Gatorade in bottles, I prefer to mix the stuff myself - not as much for cost reasons, but rather because I like it diluted in a certain way.

[Spotly]

I'd say keeping the electrolytes up is the key. I drop a Nuun in the water bottle before I leave the TH. I also think it's important to pick foods that can be made readily available (in a pocket) for munching and of a type that satisfies your taste buds too. My wife makes a granola, cranberry and M&M mix that tastes good enough that I want to grab a handful every now and then as I climb. Some foods that I otherwise like make me naseous when I'm exerting myself. Last year, I ate a bunch of Starbursts (yummy) before heading up the final headwall on Baker and nearly lost my cookies halfway up. Tested it again on another hard trip with the same results.