More food for smaller women?

[Bootstrap]

I am going backpacking with my girlfriend this weekend, and she has not backpacked before. Someone at a backpacking store told her that smaller women need more food, and that she should plan on 4 pounds of food per day.

I'm not small and I'm not a woman, but I've backpacked with smaller women who didn't take anywhere near that much food, and I'm skeptical.

I generally tell people to take 2 1/2 pounds per person per day on their first trip, adding enough food to finish later than planned, and see how much food is left over. A quick survey of Internet sources suggests 1.5 to 1.75 pounds may be closer to what most people seem to need on average:

http://www.adventurealan.com/food_general.htm
http://www.getoutdoors.com/go/golearn/199 (http://www.getoutdoors.com/go/golearn/199)
http://cs.earlham.edu/~outdoor/wiki/Spring_Break_Backpacking:_Food (http://cs.earlham.edu/%7Eoutdoor/wiki/Spring_Break_Backpacking:_Food)
http://www.thru-hiker.com/articles.asp?subcat=12&cid=35 (http://www.thru-hiker.com/articles.asp?subcat=12&cid=35)

Has anyone else heard about planning for as much as 4 pounds per day for a smaller woman?

Jonathan

[mudhead]

Maybe if 2lbs of it were wine.

[take-a-knee]

Is this some sort of trick question?

[gsingjane]

I think the person at the store was either pulling your leg, or was critically underinformed. (I've had people at backpacking stores tell me some pretty amazing things.) A person's caloric needs are based on her starting body weight, metabolism, and output. There are people - men and women - who seem to be very efficient "burners" - they can make a little food go a long, long way. There are other people who seem to need a lot more to keep going. Personal preference, what sounds good to you at the moment, also plays a part. Obviously, if a person is smaller to begin with, if anything she's going to need less food to maintain her weight, rather than more. Although I'm of average build myself, I have backpacked quite a bit with "smaller" women - my teenage daughter who is now about 110#, and my 9 year old who is now about 50#. Neither of them needed "more" food than the bigger people (except chocolate, but that's a whole different category!).

I think you are completely correct to just provision the trip as you normally would, and see how it goes. A 4#/person/day recommendation just seems completely outlandish to me.

Jane in CT

[KirkMcquest]

4 pounds per day? No way. What type of food are you bringing? If its freeze dried, you mean 4 pounds after its rehydrated and cooked? Still too much.

[Kerosene]

Way, way, way too much. Frankly, what I find is that my appetite diminishes for the first week of a section hike, but then kicks into high gear about 10-14 days in.

My opinion is that adding 4-5 pounds more of weight in food to the pack of a small individual would be a lot worse than going a little hungry for a day. Food and its associated calories are important to keep energy up, but they're not critical for the non-professional athletes among us until body fat is dramatically reduced.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

Plan on your girlfriend eating the number of calories she normally eats for the first week - multiply that by 1.5 for the second week. By then she will know what she needs. Have some extra olive oil on hand in case more calories are needed, but my guess is it won't be needed.

[sarbar]

The only case of that is my friend Rainrunner. But...she is a runner. No body fat, all lean muscle. The lady eats ALL freaking day and never gains a pound. Her metabolism is set on "freaked out jackrabbit" (yes, she goes running in the morning before backpacking to warm up her muscles!)

But most women? No. 2 lbs of dry food per day is plenty. Thing is pack a LOT of snack items for her. It is easy to lose your appetite but chocolate, fresh fruit/berries, crackers, etc will perk up the desire to eat. Unless she actually likes Cliff Bars and their ilk, avoid them. In fact, avoid anything that would lead to stomach issues. She will appreciate it, even if she never tells you ;)

[sarbar]

Oh yeah....and make sure you find a great place to eat out at on the way home! If you can, stash a tiny cooler in your car with cold pop or iced tea as well. Just don't tell her!

[mudhead]

Oh yeah....and make sure you find a great place to eat out at on the way home! If you can, stash a tiny cooler in your car with cold pop or iced tea as well. Just don't tell her!

I do this with canned pineapple. Pull top, drink juice, pain gone. Stash a metal fork in the cooler.

[Bootstrap]

Oh yeah....and make sure you find a great place to eat out at on the way home! If you can, stash a tiny cooler in your car with cold pop or iced tea as well. Just don't tell her!

Thanks - excellent suggestion!

Jonathan

[wakapak]

I'd have to agree with everyone here...4 pounds of food a day is alot for most people, especially a smaller woman unless she's someone like Sarbar's friend!!

I'm a smaller woman, and i dont know that i've ever eaten 4 pounds of food in one day while out on extended hikes!!! maybe i've come close, but that was in town...i've never carried that much food with me out there!! I'd say that the 1.5 to 2 is more like it!!

Good luck with it all Bootstrap!! Hope you both enjoy it!!

[quasarr]

I agree with the sentiments in this thread

4 lbs a day is way out of the ordinary for anyone. smaller people on average eat less food, not more.

[Farr Away]

I'm a smaller woman, and no, I don't eat anywhere near that much.

Her first trip out? Don't load her up with that much food. Sounds like the guy may have been angling to sell her a bunch of stuff.

[Spirit Walker]

When I'm not thruhiking, I eat about a pound a day on short backpack trips. I don't get a big appetite until about 10 days into a trip. I've had problems in the past with carrying way too much food because I remembered how hungry I was at the end of my last long hike and the appetite just wasn't there. On the JMT I tried to give away 2 lbs of gorp and couldn't find any takers because everybody else had overpacked as well. I agree, the guy at the gear shop was either pulling your leg or a total idiot.

[Bootstrap]

On the JMT I tried to give away 2 lbs of gorp and couldn't find any takers because everybody else had overpacked as well. I agree, the guy at the gear shop was either pulling your leg or a total idiot.

In October I was in the Southern Balds with my father, and about 10 college kids were sitting in a clearing trying to eat up at least some of their remaining food - they were giving away food, and there was more than enough left over to outfit Dad and I for 3 days .... but we already had all the food we needed for 3 days ;->

I don't think most beginners start off packing too little food.

Jonathan

[theinfamousj]

I'm a small woman and I eat less on the trail than I do at home. 4 lbs? Please tell me that the backpacking storeperson included "water" as food. Water is heavy and we small women need plenty of it ;)

I can barely eat one Meal-in-a-Box for dinner, gallon bagful of GORP, and two packets of oatmeal in a day, let along more than that. The way I figure it, I eat until I'm full. If my body functions properly it tells me when I need to eat more.

[Bootstrap]

Well, I guess my girlfriend must be the exception then, because 4 pounds a day was barely enough for her.

OK, I was just kidding. Thanks for confirming my thoughts on this, we planned 2 pounds per person per day for each of us, and brought food back. And we had a really great time.

Jonathan