Crazzy food addictions while on the trail

[johnnybgood]

Some thru hikers I've heard have gotten addicted to food with little or no nutritional value but had to have it every day to fulfill their cravings.

Once met a hiker that had a plastic ziplock full of miniature bags of skittles that became part of his daily diet for no other reason than he was addicted to them.

Did you or someone you've hiked with have cravings for non essential hiking food ?

[Pete Moss]

Sunkist Soda! Everytime I stopped in or near a town or restraunt, the search was on for orange soda and as much as I could drink.

P.S.- The addiction lasted months after the hike too, and still get an itch for it after overnights now!

[Many Walks]

Gatorade at every town, but haven't touched it since I left the trail.

[Toolshed]

Coca-Cola on cracked ice. After every section, it is all I can think of.

[Luddite]

I'm not a long-distance hiker but I also crave coca-cola on the trail. When I'm dehydrated I would rather drink a coke than water. I don't know why. I hardly drink it when I'm off the trail.

[Toolshed]

Yes, now that you mention it, I go months and months without a desire for a can of pop, but put me on the trail and I go flippin' crazy for coke.

[Phreak]

Candy corn for me. The only time I eat it is on the trail

[Deadeye]

Coke is it for me, too. Ice cold in a can (not a bottle, not in a glass with ice), guzzled 'til it burns! Don't touch soda otherwise.

[Mrs Baggins]

I'm not a long-distance hiker but I also crave coca-cola on the trail. When I'm dehydrated I would rather drink a coke than water. I don't know why. I hardly drink it when I'm off the trail.

It's actually good for you when hiking. I forget the exact chemical names, but there is something in it that helps the tears in your muscles heal up better and the caffeine also good for you when hiking and expending all that energy.

[Mrs Baggins]

I love Snickers but only eat them when I hike - day hiking or section hiking. I especially love the Snickers Charged (ingredients that are good for muscles and energy) and bought a couple of cases of them before they were off the market.

[leaftye]

I like mixing my chocolate or fruit flavored shake with Nestle Nido and grape flavored Gatorade.

[IronGutsTommy]

corn nuts. something about the crunch makes it a very satisfying snack along the trail. sometimes in a gorp/trailmix, but usually just bag after bag of it. Its probably not as unusual, as the nuts provide much needed fats, oils, and salt, but the sheer amount I put away makes its kind of comical.

[Johnny Thunder]

chicken sandwiches

[mweinstone]

pancakes whiskey bacon steak biscuts and gravy fudge miss janet baltimore jack tarlins spicebag honey mustard onion pretzil bits

[Torch09]

when i'm hiking, all i crave is the McZeus! What's a McZeus??? Well, you go to Mcdonald's and order the mcdouble and the mcchicken (both off the dollar menu). You split the mcdouble between the patties and insert the ENTIRE mcchicken, buns and all. 800 calories for 2 bucks-- can't beat it! Fries can be added for extra fun.

[Pedaling Fool]

You go through all kinds of cravings on the trail, but none of these led to an addiction, except for Plain M&M's.

I never really liked them and always opted for M&M's with peanuts or even better the almonds. But somewhere during my hike I got addicted to the plain M&M's. And I'm still addicted to this day. Strange.

[4eyedbuzzard]

Some thru hikers I've heard have gotten addicted to food with little or no nutritional value but had to have it every day to fulfill their cravings.

Once met a hiker that had a plastic ziplock full of miniature bags of skittles that became part of his daily diet for no other reason than he was addicted to them.

Did you or someone you've hiked with have cravings for non essential hiking food ?

Well, as Skittles and most of the replies are about sugar products, given the caloric requirements and possible deficiencies while hiking, it isn't surprising people crave it. While we might tend to poo-poo the nutritional value of sugar in a "normal" diet as we usually get more than enough of it, sugar in some form is pretty much an essential part of our diet - it isn't harmful unless it isn't metabolized, and while hiking that wouldn't be a problem. If you didn't get any sugar, or convert carbohydrates into sugar, you'ld likely pass out.

[Alpine Bomber]

Easy Cheese. All day everyday.

[Sierra2015]

when i'm hiking, all i crave is the McZeus! What's a McZeus??? Well, you go to Mcdonald's and order the mcdouble and the mcchicken (both off the dollar menu). You split the mcdouble between the patties and insert the ENTIRE mcchicken, buns and all. 800 calories for 2 bucks-- can't beat it! Fries can be added for extra fun.

I think that just killed me a little inside.

[Dogwood]

COFFEE! It's not even a food we consume for, what we commonly think of, nutritional benefits but for its drug benefits. It's a strong stimulant.

The other big ones are sodium and sodium compounds, sugar(especially white refined sugar, corn syrup, and high fructose corn syrup), and fat. U.S. citizens are consuming an increasing amount of daily fat while increasingly leading more sedentary lifestyles. Not a particularly good combination. The types of fats AND in the amts we are consuming them isn't promising. Much of it are BAD FATS(trans fats and hydrogenated oils). We are consuming an over abundance of even good fats too like Omega 3's leading to Omega 3, 6, and 9 imbalances with great frequency. U.S. citizens are addicted to these things off the trail and it is obviously being translated to what's noticed on the trail. There's tons of evidence showing how Americans consume too much of all these things and the consequences. We keep making excuse though.