Author Topic: Your diet on a long-distance walk  (Read 3477 times)

sol

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Your diet on a long-distance walk
« on: 22:40:34, 19/05/17 »
Hi,
Could you share how your diet looks like on a long-distance walk?
It'd be great to get different ideas  :)
Thanks!

Islandplodder

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Re: Your diet on a long-distance walk
« Reply #1 on: 10:12:47, 20/05/17 »

Main thing is eat lots.
I tend to use b&bs and hostels, so can eat plenty of breakfast, take things like oatcakes, cheese (eg babybels)  or the odd hard boiled egg for lunch, and try to get a proper meal in the evening.
The thing to remember is that you are using lots of calories, even more if you are carrying a tent etc, and they need to be replaced.  Dried food is handy because it is usually light; if I have to carry food for the evening I tend to start with a pack of Jamie Oliver couscous and add stuff to it like cheese, a tin of sardines or some people swear by pepperarami sausage. 
Things like cereal bars and dried fruit and nuts are handy for snacks, but I do remember starting the Pennine Way all virtuous with trail mix and ending up with twix bars.
And if you pass a shop, a café or a chippy and haven't had a proper meal for a while, make the most of it.
And eat lots. If you are hungry you get tired, fed up and in my case end up making navigational errors which only compounds the misery.

alewife

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Re: Your diet on a long-distance walk
« Reply #2 on: 11:20:37, 20/05/17 »
My diet of choice on c2c (after a bit of experimenting) was eggs (scrambled), bacon, toast, fruit, yogurt, coffee for breakfast, but instant porridge on other days, a plainish sandwich because I didn't always eat it so it would keep till next day. Banana, crisps, and something sweet, tracker bar or kitkat type thing. Got a bit sick of sweet stuff but they do top up the energy levels when your flagging. Evenings, a proper dinner and sometimes dessert if it was included. And half a pint of beer when it was available. Porridge days meant an early banana break, not needed on the egg days. Plenty of water -something I've never been good at, but hydration bladder helped a lot so if you don't have one I would consider it.
Alewife


...beware of the bull!

gunwharfman

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Re: Your diet on a long-distance walk
« Reply #3 on: 11:46:24, 20/05/17 »
My diet is lots of water (I never drinks any fizzy drinks anyway even in day to day life), lots of beer and a fair amount of wine.

I don't cook en-route but carry a variety of nuts, breakfast bikki things, plain yoghurt and other instant foods, including the odd bar of chocolate plus the odd can of custard or tinned rice. That's only for during the day. I have the odd restaurant meal during the day but not often.

In the evenings I will have tagliatelle, spaghetti, the odd pizza and the odd salad, plus other meals that appear interesting on a menu at the time.

TinTin

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Re: Your diet on a long-distance walk
« Reply #4 on: 12:24:05, 20/05/17 »
On my c2c (b&b's) breakfast was a bowl of muesli with fresh fruit, plain yogurt and milk all thrown in, scrambled eggs and beans on toast (except first and last days when I treated myself to a full English) 2 or 3 extra slices of toast. Lunch was a basic sandwich plus banana and apple. Evening whatever I fancied to eat - including a cracking curry in Kirkby Stephen and a couple of pints of wherever possible the local beer. I had a couple of energy bars in my pack but they were still in when I got back. 

mananddog

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Re: Your diet on a long-distance walk
« Reply #5 on: 15:56:12, 20/05/17 »

I mainly backpack and like to avoid towns. I use Expedition Foods dehydrated stuff, it is 800Kcal per serving which is better than most. I carry cuppa porridge for breakfasts (although Expedition foods porridge with strawberries is fantastic), flapjack - often homemade, bags of mixed nuts and mixed dried fruit. I also make my own biltong which gives me extra protein and weights nowt. In winter I sometimes carry preserved meats like chorizo - it does not go off if you eat it in a few days and I might also carry some cheese like parmesan which is hard and high in fat; these make great breakfasts and are good additions to dried meals like spag bog. I carry tea and sachets of full fat hot chocolate. I will eat in a town if passing - always take the opportunity of a tea shop if there is one.


I often eat less that I really need to on some days to save weight - probably less than 2000Kcal but I only do this if I know I can make a pig of myself after a day or two, that is part of the fun.  I carry a Water-tap filter bottle so I can drink from any river or stream.


I often carry a small plastic bottle of whisky for a treat if I can find a bothy with a good fire.

Stube

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Re: Your diet on a long-distance walk
« Reply #6 on: 18:01:36, 20/05/17 »
I backpack and try to avoid towns unless I need supplies.
Breakfast is a small amount of cereal (usually Shreddies) and a boiled egg or two. This minimises the need to wash-up.
Lunch is usually a sandwich that I've picked up or a packet of oatcakes with fish (tuna or sardines), possible a fruit bar of some sort.
Dinner would be soup and a dehydrated meal of some sort.
Dried apricots and/or a Kit-Kat serve as desert if required.
Snacks are more dried fruit and nuts.
I'll try to grab a meal in a passing pub either lunch or dinner if possible with a pint of shandy for the extra calories.
I make a small flask of coffee in the morning for use during the day or as a reviver before I pitch the tent. I also use a water tap with filter to reduce the amount of water I need to carry.
I'll usually start out with 6 eggs and lunches and dinners for 3 days plus one emergency meal (which I hope not to need) and then resupply as necessary every 5/6 days.
« Last Edit: 18:11:24, 20/05/17 by Stube »

Doddy

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Re: Your diet on a long-distance walk
« Reply #7 on: 20:19:47, 20/05/17 »
I try and get one pub meal or cooked breakfast each day, or both.I do a menu plan so I know if pubs and cafe's are available on route so I have to carry as little food as necessary. Usually carry three breakfasts, (porridge or breakfast bars) and two dinners.
Not easy on my recent Glyndwrs Way completion, 7 camping nights, 2 BnB. I was having double porridge sachets and extra Nido milk for bkfast sometimes followed by an all day veggy bkfast later in the day and a pub meal where possible.I might buy a sandwich a day and snicker bar for lunch.
My guess is one burns 4500 calories in a days walking -relying on stove grub is unlikely to compensate unless lots is carried.I did use up my dinners.
I only weigh 60 kg and still manage to lose weight with above hiker appetite.
« Last Edit: 20:25:38, 20/05/17 by Doddy »

IanyZen

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Re: Your diet on a long-distance walk
« Reply #8 on: 15:16:30, 11/08/17 »
Hi,
I try to travel as light as possible
I mostly camp & carry a basic two small cooking pot set & a small stove with a small gas canister
I prefer to cook food that cooks quickly using less gas.

Breakfast is museli with nuts & dried fruit.
I melt chocolate/cocoa chips in water & add the museli.   :) 
If I don't feel like setting up the stove I use milk powder that dissolves in cold water.

Dinner is usually pre-packet cous cous with veg plus packet of tuna
(packet is much easier to open & lighter than a tin - Before, on the odd occasion I had arrived so exhausted I didn't have enough energy to open a tin)
I also carry packet soup (hence the two cooking pots).

It's not substantial but it's enough.

By camping I can afford to slurp on a pub meal quite a bit.
I also do a fair bit of research to see if there are shops, cafes & pubs on route for lunch.
I eat a lot of bananas & make sandwiches . . . . I sound so tight  ;D

My water bladder only holds 1.5 litres plus I have a 0.5 litre bottle for the dog, so I am refilling a lot in streams.
I add an orange vitamin C tablet to give my water some taste.
The dog loves puddles. I don't, so I carry a water filter in the UK.

My dog eats his packet food and biscuit's I've carried & bits of my lunch & dinner  :)  plus some treats.
I post 2kg packages of his food along the way to pick up as we go.

I tend to set out from home with 3/4 days of food & snacks & research where I can re-stock in various towns.
I usually have an emergency meal for me and the dog, which is eaten on the last day.

Always good to learn what others eat  :)
« Last Edit: 15:33:07, 11/08/17 by IanyZen »
Good luck on your next adventure
Ian & Zen

Owen

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Re: Your diet on a long-distance walk
« Reply #9 on: 21:54:45, 11/08/17 »
I like backpacking in some fairly remote areas so have to carry everything with me. By trial and error I've found that fifteen days is the most I can manage between resupply.
 
For breakfast
80g porridge with a table spoon full of brown sugar, milk powder and freeze dried mixed berries = 500kcals. Plus powdered lemon tea to drink.
For mid-day snacks.
4 x granola bars = about 500kcals. Water to drink.
For evening meal.
Bewell or expedition foods pre-packed freeze dry meals = 800kcals. Plus lemon tea.


This comes to about 600g per day dry weight.


I still loose about a stone over the fifteen days but that's no bad thing.
 

zed666

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Re: Your diet on a long-distance walk
« Reply #10 on: 10:01:54, 12/08/17 »
I usually start the day out with 100gram of porridge oats & milk powder with varying additions (chocolate chips, dried fruit, nuts etc).


For lunch I generally have cream crackers topped with whatever took my fancy at the shop....pepperoni, fish, cheese, pate. If shops are not well stocked on the route I will opt to make sandwiches from whatever is available.


For dinner I will always get the stove out and cook a carby meal...... Cheap Noodles&pasta sides from the supermarket make up the bulk of my evening meal with the cheese and broccoli (choccolli) being my favourite!. I usually have some dried sausage like chorizo to add too.


The above is my 'base' food.....I will always pack healthy additions and try to grab some fresh fruit/veg when possible to add to my evening main especially. I would also carry peanut butter if it didn't give me terrible gas!.

fit old bird

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Re: Your diet on a long-distance walk
« Reply #11 on: 21:41:58, 14/08/17 »
I have a full breakfast (veggie) at the B & B's. I snack during the day from small shops. I spend about £3 - £4 in a shop late afternoon on something from the chiller cabinet, then find the next B & B and have a picnic in my room. I don't have an evening meal, knowing that I will get a good breakfast.


Ilona

Phileas

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Re: Your diet on a long-distance walk
« Reply #12 on: 19:51:03, 06/09/17 »
I usually b&b so I eat a good breakfast (usually not a full English).


I take plenty of food with me for the day ahead and always carry several sugary snacks but in practice I tend to eat only small amounts during the day (e.g. a couple of sandwiches, a small bottle of fruit juice and maybe a banana and packet of crisps). I usually don't eat the sugary snacks.


In the evenings I've been tending to get a takeaway (e.g. sausage and chips) or eat food in my room and only go to a pub for a couple of pints. The second pint usually makes me sleepy which works out fine.


If I camp, I try to buy croissants for breakfast and a cold coffee drink.
Robin

NeilC

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Re: Your diet on a long-distance walk
« Reply #13 on: 18:22:58, 08/09/17 »
Depends on what's around, whether there is water available, how often restocks or pubs or other fresh food is available.


For pure backpacking, where water is available, I tend to use packet cous cous because itss flavoursome and just requires boiling water or maybe boil in the bag rice for the main calories, supplemented with some chorizo sausage which is light and high in cals. Chocolate bar or similar for afters. Breakfast Oatsosimple type porridge plus dried milk powder. Cappachino packets for coffee. Lunch is wheat biscuits or oatcakes and hard cheese, maybe more of the chorizo. More fruit and vitamin tablets if going far. if it's much longer, and I don't tend to do that these days, then try to find more fibre in the form of beans etc or I find I can't go to toilet for days on end with the above crap diet. If there are going to be shops/pubs etc en route then I'll plan to eat in them every now and again to vary it.


Where water isn't available then dried food makes no sense since you're just carrying the rehydration water in a bottle anyway, so quite happy with those ready-to-eat rice packets/noodles and a tin or pouch of curry/chilli. In fact even when water is available I commonly stop to pitch with a litre of water left plus a load of dried food which is stupid really since I could have had something nicer. Waitrose do some very nice pouched food.


gunwharfman

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Re: Your diet on a long-distance walk
« Reply #14 on: 17:53:46, 09/09/17 »
I turned to wraps this year and was pleased with the result. Easy to store, easy to fold and will accept all sorts of fillings, I've even ate one with jam! Very nice.

 

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