I've been dieting and exercising for a number of weeks now to bring my weight down and my stamina up for some major backpacking this Fall. My question deals with the so-called "energy" foods sold in outdoors stores. Do these foods really provide "quick energy" on the trail?
The ads make it sound like when you're running out of steam, you just pop an energy bar in your mouth and pretty soon you're back to 100% efficiency. I know that backpacking is one of the most strenous, calorie-burning activities. Do I have to stop my dieting and return to my (too much) wheat & sugar eating on hikes? I'd like my hiking to be part of my dieting/exercise regimen to continue on my weight loss quest, but I don't want to find myself pooped out half-way up Marcy with just celery stalks to eat.
Or... will my body take care of the problem on its own by simply drawing on my fat-supply (I'm about 20 lbs overweight right now) and I will not find myself running low on energy at all?
There seems to be a lot of "urban legends" surrounding this issue, like say, filling up on pasta before a marathon. But I've not heard of any real scientific data on it.
Can someone enlighten me?
The ads make it sound like when you're running out of steam, you just pop an energy bar in your mouth and pretty soon you're back to 100% efficiency. I know that backpacking is one of the most strenous, calorie-burning activities. Do I have to stop my dieting and return to my (too much) wheat & sugar eating on hikes? I'd like my hiking to be part of my dieting/exercise regimen to continue on my weight loss quest, but I don't want to find myself pooped out half-way up Marcy with just celery stalks to eat.
Or... will my body take care of the problem on its own by simply drawing on my fat-supply (I'm about 20 lbs overweight right now) and I will not find myself running low on energy at all?
There seems to be a lot of "urban legends" surrounding this issue, like say, filling up on pasta before a marathon. But I've not heard of any real scientific data on it.
Can someone enlighten me?