Protein shakes anyone?

[vaporjourney]

After reading about Scott Williamson's food selection on his 2nd PCT yoyo, I've become interested in the idea of protein shakes. These things are loaded with calories, and being a powder, is really good on pack weight. I"m a skinny guy already, and already fear having to keep up with calories, and not feeling exhausted once I get into the trail. although I really didn't want to do many mail drops, I may reconsider because of this. Perhaps it would be wise to do a mail drop to every other town or so, just to get some calories in. The more I think about it, and read the nutrition article on this site, the more I hate to rely on junk foods (heavy sugars and carbs) to keep me going. I really don't eat any sugar right now before leaving for the thru hike, and when I do, I typically get a really weird feeling. Surely that would go away after my body gets reaquainted with sugar on the trail, but I'm not sure I want to force that. I feel like Williamson does, and that sugar really effects my energy levels, and the crash afterward is especially painful. So protein shakes may help. Has anyone else done this on the trail, or have similar worries about relying on poor food on the trail? I would dehydrate, but was trying not to throw that into the equation...

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

I use protein shake powder in my morning cereal (add after cooking) and in pudding at dinner. It is an excellent way to add calories and quality nutrition.

[Footslogger]

Closest I came to that was trying Carnation Instant Breakfast on my thru in 2003. After a couple weeks though I started to gag at just the sound of the foil bag ripping. NOW ...if there were a variety of great flavors involved you might have a winner.

Problem is that during a thru-hike most everything you tend to eat becomes VERY boring after a while. At least that was my experience.

'Slogger

[Marta]

Sugar is an awesome source of energy while hiking. I have talked to many, many hikers who do not eat sugar at home, but found it indespensible while hiking--myself included. The "crash" doesn't really happen if you're burning the sugar by hiking...and keep eating every couple of hours during the day to keep your blood sugar up.

'Slogger's point is very, very true--any food will start to repulse you if you eat it too often.

That said, if you can find a protein drink you like, that comes in various flavors, it would be a great thing to bring with you. I think a lot of hikers don't take in enough protein, and end up losing muscle. I aimed for 60 g./day, which seemed to help.

But besides the protein and some fat, most of my other energy came from candy. Yum!

It's rough now that I'm home and am back on a diet of low-fat protein and vegetables. I think I'm in chocolate withdrawal.

[Lone Wolf]

www.ensure.com/products/index.aspx
I drink the ENSURE Plus during ultramarathons. Lotsa calories for only 8oz.

[jlb2012]

Does Ensure come in powder form or only what is shown (ie "shakes")

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

As Marta says, protein powders come in various flavors -- banana, berry, vanilla and strawberry make oatmeal or grits yummy. All of those plus chocolate work with various pudding flavors. Adding some olive oil and dried milk help keep the calories up and make the protein tastier.

[Footslogger]

Don't have personal experience with it ...but here's a product that might work. Not sure how many servings are included so it might end up being on the pricey side. Nice thing is that it disolves in water. Some powders require milk.

http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp...entPage=search

'Slogger

[bfitz]

"Nitro-tech" makes several good products. They also contain supplemental ingredients like alpha lipoic acid and chromium among other things to optimize blood sugar metabolism and nutrient delivery to the places that need it. I wouldn't hike without it. Eating crummy hiker food is probably the worst thing you could do to your body while cranking out miles. GORP with lots of different types of nuts and dried fruit is really good for you too. Complex carbs get you through a lot more than simple sugars, so good meals are also important. Some of the "low-carb" bars out these days have sugar alcohols which break down a lot more slowly than sugar and feed the system sort of like a drip rather than all at once. I first encountered them in "Glucerna" products designed for diabetics to help maintain steady blood sugars, but they're everywhere now. Googling these two brands is a good place to start research.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

Don't have personal experience with it ...but here's a product that might work. Not sure how many servings are included so it might end up being on the pricey side. Nice thing is that it disolves in water. Some powders require milk.

http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp...entPage=search

'Slogger

I've used this - pricey, but worth it for how easily it dissolves.

[Almanac]

Does Ensure come in powder form or only what is shown (ie "shakes")

A gentleman who is recovering from throat cancer stayed at the hostel. He is on a liquid diet and carried powdered Ensure as his main food source. I think he may have mixed in some carnation breakfast packets for extra flavor, but that's all he carried. He was out for a little over a week and said it worked well for him...enough calories, etc.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

Powdered Ensure is not sold to the general public, but may be available thru places that sell home health supplies.

[map man]

Powdered drinks are great on the trail because you don't need to light up a stove to hydrate them, unlike dehydrated meals meant to be warmed up -- you just mix the powder with water. All kinds of them out there but, yes, finding them at small country stores and convenience stores is a problem. I make my own custom mix (I'm on a self-imposed restricted diet (vegan) and am a stickler when it comes to nutrition) with a couple different protein sources and that's my main form of protein on the trail. Of course, that means I'm commited to resupplying some other way than buying at food stores as I go and some might find that too big a hassle.

Now, when it comes to sugar in the trail diet I think you are wise to avoid PROCESSED sugar, despite the warm feelings many of your fellow hikers will have towards Snickers bars, Pop Tarts and soda. Dried fruit (my favorites are raisins, figs and dried apricots), and sugars in some of the more natural energy bars, like Cliff Bars and others, are good alternatives. I eat nuts, dried fruit and Cliff Bars while I'm actually hiking and make sure to get a decent amount of protein and complex carbohydrates (maltodextrin in the same powder mix as the protein and wheat crackers like Trisquit) at breakfast and dinner in camp, and that seems to make for a nice steady energy burn throughout the day instead of having highs and lows.

[mambo_tango]

I like to mix Ensure with an exotic red fruit protein shake powder that I got from the health food store. Yum.

[vaporjourney]

I had been thinking of getting the cheapest protein powder that I could find to mix with water on the trail. I know that some people complain about eating the same thing every day, but I've gone through long periods voluntarily eating the same foods. Not sure if that will really be a problem on the trail. I sometimes wonder if people who complain about this are people that take joy in cooking, eat good food out in restaurants, always have variety, etc. I need to look into Ensure. I've never heard anything about that before.

[Footslogger]

I had been thinking of getting the cheapest protein powder that I could find to mix with water on the trail. I know that some people complain about eating the same thing every day, but I've gone through long periods voluntarily eating the same foods. Not sure if that will really be a problem on the trail. I sometimes wonder if people who complain about this are people that take joy in cooking, eat good food out in restaurants, always have variety, etc. I need to look into Ensure. I've never heard anything about that before.

======================================

As long as it doesn't taste terrible in and of itself you can sprinkle it on any foods and not just mix it in water. I remember hikers who put it on their oatmeal and in their ramen noodles.

'Slogger

[BlackCloud]

Optimum Nutrition makes excellently tasting chocolate protein shake powder. Duble choc., mint choc., and rocky road. All are good. You can get the stuff on ebay for less then the stores. It also has more protein per serving then any other affordable protein shake that I've found.

[Nightwalker]

As far as non-meat protein goes, TVP is my favorite. Cover it in water 10 minutes, and when you pour the water off, the gas goes with it. I never have digestive problems with it at all by doing this. It goes good with oatmeal and Ramen. Probably lots of other things too.

As far as taste goes, it's kind of like a very light-tasting toasted rice. It's made from extruded and toasted soy flour and water.

[Fannypack]

www.ensure.com/products/index.aspx
I drink the ENSURE Plus during ultramarathons. Lotsa calories for only 8oz.

so u drink these warm? i.e., not refrigerated?

[FanaticFringer]

Go to Wal-Mart and buy the Body Fortress brand of whey protein. About $12.00 for a 2 lb. can. Put a couple of scoops in a zip lock bag ( or something else that may be easier). Also add some powdered fiber supplement and a scoop of a powdered carb supplement. Pour this in your plastic water bottle with a decent sized mouth. I put a tablespoon of olive oil in a empty vitamin bottle and gulp that along with the shake.