Having to force down dinner - have you experienced it?

[SkeeterPee]

Still new to backpacking having taken only 3 trips. but twice have experienced not being able to eat much of supper. Wondering what causes this? Have you experienced it?

First was a single night with a 9 mile hike. I could not eat that night, but the meal was good the next morning. I also had leg cramps so perhaps was not ready for the hills.

Then about 6 weeks later, I had prepared more I had a 4 day trip with no problems. and even hiked 2 more days without pack with my wife.

Then this past week a 3 day and on the second night I could not eat the Pad Thai, I had brought. I could eat a small summer sausage I brought so I got 600 calories, but not the meal I had brought.

Perhaps we were rushing more on this trip. I had my 22 yo son with me and I was trying to not slow him down so much as he could hike a lot faster than I can. no real stops for me except to filter water and quick water breaks.

I am also not as in good of shape as I was last fall on the 4 day. I had been walking 40miles per week and doing some hikes with the pack. This winter/spring I had averaged about 20 miles / week walking with no long practice hikes with pack.

I know I should get into better shape to do this, as I am 265, plus 35 lb pack. we did 9, 13, and 9 miles on the 3 day hike. could not eat on the second day. that day I had 800 calories MH breakfast skillet. three 200 calorie snacks, and the 600 calorie sausage. So about 2000, but I probably did over 3000 calories of effort.

What do you think causes this inability to eat when you should be hungry?

[rafe]

I rarely have much of an appetite for the first night or two of a section hike.

Last week I did a long bike trek, many miles in the rain. Second morning out (start of day three) I couldn't finish my breakfast -- eggs, bacon and home fries left on the plate. I just couldn't shovel it in. But the coffee was good, I had several cups of that.

It's slowly dawning on me that I cannot, and should not eat like at teenager any more.

[doingtime]

And I thought it was just me. I'm a big eater, weightlifter and general food lover. But, after a days hike I have trouble getting a single Mountain House meal down. And I like it! It's not the taste, just don't want it.

On my last overnight it was the same thing at breakfast. Fixed a MH meal that had eggs, sausage, hash browns, etc and it was delicious. About halfway through I was done. I forced down a few more bites and packed up the remainder with my trash. Weird.

Glad to hear I'm not the only one.

[Lyle]

As rafe said, not having an appetite is NOT unusual for the first few days to the first week or so of a hike. I often go the first day or two just snacking for dinner. I have even started planning for that now when I go out for a couple of weeks or more.

After that you hear folks comment that the "hiker hunger" has kicked in. On extended trips, especially for young guys and gals, a ravenous hunger begins to be the norm.

[Spirit Walker]

My husband can't eat when he's really tired. He also can't eat when he's dehydrated. He doesn't even try. I, OTOH, can always eat even if I'm not hungry. When starting on long hikes, we always have a problem with carrying too much food in the early days. I'll force myself to eat just to get rid of the pack weight. He just can't. About 10 days to two weeks in, hiker hunger will hit and the problem goes away, but the first week is always pretty bad unless we take it really easy.

[Abi]

For me its the heat. after a long hot day I had brought MH Lasagna for dinner, and can of ham for lunch, couldn't eat either- but I managed lighter foods like granola and dried fruit. You don't have to eat your dinner just because it is "dinner" Four bites of an energy bar help a lot.

[imscotty]

I have to ask why you would want to 'force down dinner?' You need to stay hydrated and keep your electrolytes balanced, but on the first few nights out I would not worry about maintaining calories. Enjoy the small weight loss, one of the many benefits of hiking. Your body will let you know when you need to consume more calories.

[saltysack]

Try carrying block of a good sharp cheddar cheese, summer sausage with crackers for first few dinners. Seems easier and tastier than mh...I've had the same issue first few days with others stuff but not this!!!works for me...


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[johnnybgood]

There's something to be said for eating only when we're hungry. We usually want to immediately replace calories that we have burned during exercise but endorphins released during exertion ACTUALLY help curb appetite levels. Once blood lactate and sugar levels lower and become stabilized the hormone that triggers hunger kicks in which usually takes a few days to a week typically.

For me I have found that the first couple days on the trail sees my best stamina as long as I stay hydrated with electrolytes.

[Bronk]

I almost never have much of an appetite the first night out. Especially if its been a long or hard day. If its one of those days where I set up camp just at dark I'm probably not eating dinner. If I have a couple hours to sit around in camp I may eat something later. On my thru hike attempt I think I only cooked dinner twice in the first week.

If its cold out, at least try and eat some snacks before bed to keep your body warm.

[Connie]

I don't start to have an appetite until the 4th or 5th day out, so I choose smaller portions of food items I will eat that doesn't require much effort from me. After that, I start wanting two servings of the entree.

I have tried continuous munchies, but that only helps the high miles, for me.

I need a hot drink, I need a meal, after my appetite starts on a longer miles hiking trip.

The other thing that affects appetite is altitude. After acclimization, appetite starts up again.

[bigcranky]

Drink more, and work on your electrolytes. That will help the leg cramps, too - at least it does for me. When we get to camp, I make a dilute liter of Gatorade and we share it, and in hot weather we then share another liter of water. All this before dinner, while we're setting up the tent, etc. I also do some gentle yoga stretches over the course of the evening to keep my calves from tightening too much.

It's not unusual to not be hungry early in a hike, and as long as you have been eating snacks while hiking all day, you'll be fine.

[Dogwood]

It simply may be you are adapting, retraining, and reorienting to a different on trail lifestyle. I hypothesize it may sometimes involve your body and soul innately knowing that it needs time and energy to fully assimilate what has already been consumed throughout the day and detoxify from off trail lifestyle choices. Studies have shown U.S. citizens consuming the typical Western Diet and living the typical western lifestyle are at risk for digestive/intestinal/bowel disorders. The body and mind knows it needs to rebuild, detoxify, and regenerate from the day's rigors. The body and mind knows that after a heavy meal precious healing and rejuvenation time and energy is allocated to digestion at the expense of it rebuilding, detoxifying, and regeneration. In essence it could be an instinctual self preservation mechanisms used by the body and mind to say NO to more food at the current time...not needed. Body and mind to mouth and stomach, "don't eat anything more, other more important chores need to happen."

[GoldenBear]

On one of my nights on my first real back-pack trip, I ended at a place which is close enough to a road that one can easily get pizza pickup. Other people there were discussing what they were going to eat ("With my large pizza, should I get one foot-long sub or two?"). I started to imagine what it would be like to have a small pizza, and I found that the thought of eating even one slice of pizza literally made me feel sick -- and I **LOVE** pizza! I asked about that, and some of the real back-packers explained it as follows:
Most people who have enough money to do long-term back-packing don't eat because they're actually hungry -- they eat because they're bored, or they're sad, or they're doing something that "requires" a snack, or because it's "time" to eat. When you start out on The Trail, however, none of those reasons apply; and, generally, when you get to your stopping point, your only thought is to lay out your sleeping gear and hit the sack. Thus, for about five to seven days, your body is using your excess fat to supply the actual needs; and your appetite vanishes. After about a week, however, your body realizes there are no more reserves, and you start having actual hunger at the end of the day. They also mentioned that, after about ten to twelve days on The Trail, you start to think about your next meal about every five minutes.

When I had a semi-annual doctor's checkup after my first summer of hitting The Trail several times, I found I had lost seven pounds -- and mentioned to my doctor that I had made no attempt whatsoever to lose weight. He said we should keep an eye on it, and not be concerned unless weight loss became a ongoing fact. Six month later I found I had gained it all back -- and this has continued for the last four years. I not TRYING to do yo-yo diets, it's just what's happening.

So now I take hardly any food with me for my five-day or so hikes, and I've always found that I don't mind eating LESS than usual as I burn up WAY more calories than usual. My doctor says my back-packing is one of the best things I could do for my health and well-being, and he fully supports what I'm doing.

So just enjoy this loss of appetite, and maybe you'll lose a few pounds in the meantime. It's apparently a VERY common occurrence.

[aaronthebugbuffet]

A lot of people experience this.
Short trips of just a few nights I usually just snack instead of having any large meals.

[mattjv89]

Yeah the appetite definitely takes a little while to kick in, being peckish on the first night is 100% normal. One of the first overnight weekend hikes after finishing my thru, I tried to cram down a 5 serving Zataran's rice dinner and made myself throw up. Listen to your body, it'll tell you when it's time for food.

[Odd Man Out]

Try carrying block of a good sharp cheddar cheese, summer sausage with crackers for first few dinners. Seems easier and tastier than mh...I've had the same issue first few days with others stuff but not this!!!works for me...


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Actually, that's my breakfast.

[SkeeterPee]

Interesting discussion so far. Someone asked why I am worried, it is because I fear having a lack of energy the next day. Though in this case, I can't say my third day was any harder for not eating.

From my long distance running days, I know our bodies only store about 2000 calories of glycogen energy. So I was worried that my sugar stores may be depleted if I can't eat. Does backpacking rely heavily on fat burning? Then I could see why perhaps I am not really hungry and that it would not be as big of a concern not eating a meal or too.

[Malto]

Not unusually at all. In fact this is in a round about way how I became known as Malto. I had experienced serious loss of appetite on a very aggressive snowshoe trip in the Sierra. It was suggested that I try drinking calories, i.e. my magical Malto mix.

i used to also get leg cramps until I started using electrolytes. They completely eliminated cramping all together.

[kayak karl]

then pack no cook items for the first couple of days. snack through the day. you can break the 3 meal rule