Backcountry and Backpacking Nutrition 101 - Meal Planning Tips

Staying Fit & Fueled in the Backcountry - Heather Kelly, Founder of Heather's Choice

One of the most daunting tasks of planning a multi-day backpacking or backcountry expedition is meal planning. How much food do you need to bring to curb hiker hunger and fuel long days chasing the horizon? Do you have any special dietary needs you need to accommodate, such as being gluten or dairy-free? What about weight and nutritional considerations? Are dehydrated meals the best option? Can the food selected still taste good? In this blog post, Heather Kelly, an Alaskan and founder of Heather's Choice, is going to explore the basics of backcountry nutrition with some great meal planning suggestions to help you stay fit and fueled on your next adventure. You should have more clarity on what backpacking food and backpacking meals are ideal for your future journeys. Estimating your caloric needs in the backcountry To determine your backpacking meals you need to ask how many calories your body is going to require on a daily basis in the backcountry. Start by logging your daily caloric intake at home using an app like MyFitnessPal or FitBit. Once you have determined your average daily caloric consumption, expect to nearly double that number in the backcountry. (For example; I burn roughly 2,000 calories a day at home. Therefore, I plan to consume 3,500-4,000 calories a day in the backcountry.) This is a great starting point to determine your backpacking food requirements. Micromanaging your macronutrients For many backcountry explorers, backpacking meals planning ends when all of their calories are accounted for. Unfortunately, this strategy can leave your body deprived of essential macronutrients, like healthy fats and proteins, and leave you feeling fatigued and sluggish in the backcountry. Obviously, when you’re trying to crush more than 10-20 miles a day, lethargy is the last thing you want to experience. What are macronutrients? All of the food we consume gets broken down into three categories of macronutrients; carbohydrates, protein, and fat. Carbohydrates (including breads, fruits, vegetables, and sugars) are all broken down into glucose. Protein (such as meats, eggs, and dairy products) are broken down into amino acids. Fats are processed as triglycerides, and are a very energy dense form of calories. A healthy combination of all three macronutrient categories is required to maintain athletic performance and proper nutrition in the backcountry. Heather's Choice Packaroons Carbohydrates Do you ever feel like your belly is about to burst, but you’re still hungry? This is the result of eating too many carbohydrates, which get broken down into fast burning sugar (glucose) in our bodies. We can eat and eat carbohydrates, like potato chips and popcorn, and still feel hungry. That’s because our body is craving a healthy serving of satiating protein and fats. Proteins Protein is your best friend in the backcountry and should be a big consideration in your backpacking food. When we consume protein, our bodies release a chemical called glucagon that tells us ‘we’re full’ and helps us feel satiated. Protein is also our primary source of essential amino acids, which help maintain and build muscle mass. If you feel like you’re ‘withering away’ on your multi-day backcountry expeditions, try increasing your protein intake. A good goal to shoot for is roughly 1 gram of protein for every pound of lean body mass. That means you’re going to want a lot of protein at breakfast, protein rich snacks, and lots of protein at dinner to help reduce the amount of muscle waste. Black Espresso (one of TAL favorites) and Mint Chocolate Packaroons Healthy Fats Fats have been given a really bad reputation, when in fact they are an important part of a balanced, nutritious diet. Our brains needs fatty acids to help build synaptic pathways and our bodies store fat as fuel to burn later down the trail. Consuming healthy fats, like coconut oil, butter, and ghee in your backpacking meals will help you stay energized, alert, AND best of all, they’re delicious! Going Grain-Free in the Backcountry Gluten-free diets are all the rage these days, but why is going grain-free in your backpacking food a good idea? Ingesting too many gluten containing grains can contribute to chronic inflammation and joint pain, in addition to general lethargy caused by excessive consumption of carbohydrates. If you’re waking up with sore knees or low back pain in the backcountry, it may be time to consider grain-free backpacking foods, like Heather’s Choice meals and snacks. What am I eating in the backcountry? I start each morning with an instant coffee, supplements, and a hot Buckwheat Breakfast. Throughout the day I eat lots of healthy snacks like jerky, mixed nuts, dried fruit, hard cheeses, nut butters, and my favorite flavor of Packaroons. For dinner, I prefer Heather’s Choice just add water meals, like Sockeye Salmon Chowder and Dark Chocolate Chili. These meals make it easy to increase your calorie count and satiate your hiker hunger with plenty of protein and healthy fats. These dehydrated meals are amazing. Ready to start meal planning for your next backcountry adventure? Download your free backcountry meal planning worksheet here! Discount Code: THEALASKALIFE Interested in purchasing something from Heather's Choice? Use our discount code "THEALASKALIFE" at checkout for 10% off your order.

Check out this post as well: 5 EXERCISES YOU NEED TO KNOW TO PREPARE FOR SUMMER HIKING IN ALASKA