Nutrition in the Mountains
Nutrition is a key component of being out in the mountains that I feel is an overlooked topic. Eat good, feel good! Eating good, clean, and healthy will not only help you to feel better in the mountains but will help you to feel well prepared for your adventure. Fueling your body with proteins, carbs, sugars, and fats will help you to stay energized on your climb, hike, and adventure. I believe fueling your body and mind with the correct food will help you to succeed in whatever endeavor you embark on. On any given day in the mountains, you’ll burn anywhere from 2500-5000 calories depending on your activity, season and all the other factors that contribute to how much you actually burn. So what exactly does nutrition look like?
Nutrition begins for me the night before my adventure. I eat foods with high carbs, fats, and proteins so that they’re stored in my body and are ready to use the next day. I’ll eat a big pasta meal, tons of veggies, and sausage or chicken as my protein. I love pasta so that’s my meal of choice before I go do anything. It also reminds me of being a kid and eating pasta before football games so why change my routine now?! The night before I’ll also hydrate so tons of water, and I avoid alcohol. The morning of my adventure begins with the most important meal of the day in my eyes, breakfast. I eat the same thing just about every day whether I’m climbing, hiking, doing nothing, or a big day in the mountains. Which is 2 eggs, onion, pepper, kale, mushrooms, and squash or a combo of these veggies, 2 pieces of toast with butter and some sort of jam (I love jam), and a coffee. On really early mornings, I’ll put all of that into a burrito and eat it on the go while I’m driving.
Fueling while on the trail consists of 5-6 bars so Nature Valley, KIND, Larabars, Honey Stinger Waffles, 1-2 Honey Stinger Goos or Energy Chews, a tortilla filled with either salami and cheese or peanut butter and nutella. I must say this is for a day trip. Fueling on the trail is key to being able to continue going, moving, climbing, etc. Without the fuel, you’ll crash. I’ve definitely fueled wrong on trails/ climbs, and it’s been terrible. I feel like trash and my climbing gets affected.
After I finish a day of climbing, I’ll head home and make another big dinner. My go to’s are either another pasta meal, a rice, chicken and veggies meal, or a noodle, veggie and chicken/ sausage meal. Eating correctly after a day out will help you to recover as well from your activity. The protein and fats will help your muscles to recover and repair faster. I’ll indulge in a delicious IPA and some sort of dessert every now and then because well I love ice cream and I like to reward myself after a day out!
I want to say that this is what works for me and my body. Everyone is different and once you find what works for you, run with it! Consistency is key! I don’t follow a set diet and probably never will. I just consistently eat the same foods and eat veggies with just about every meal and it works for me!
Hope everyone enjoys their night and thank you for reading!
-John
