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Fueling along the Way

Nanc

Active Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Frances (Sept 2016)
SDC/ Finesterre/ Muxia (2016)
people have talked about buying nuts, raisens, fruit and chorizo to eat. It is most likely that I will be carrying food from a store for 1 or 2 of my meals.
What I'm finding on training hikes is I'm just not hungry. So I stop grab a bit but in the end, my calorie intake is way too low. I can feel the energy drain even the next day . On eatly hikes of 5 or 8 miles, the deficit wasn't important. But it is notable at 15 miles. AND I KNOW THIS WON'T WORK ON THE CAMINO
Short of you nagging me and in the ear along the Way, any ideas of how to set this practice?
 
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Great question @Nanc

While I don't have this problem hiking I find that I can't eat on long distance bike rides... and can't stomach any of those awful gel sachets - instant reject.

The saving grace of the Camino is the abundance of bars and companions. An opportunity to have a short rest and catch up with your Camino family, cold drink or yet another cafe con leche and use the provided facilities to avoid getting caught out on the trail. Also the time to have a nibble and refuel.

This should work pleasantly for you. Plus we would stop frequently along the Way to admire the view, check our feet or help out a fellow traveller. All opportunities to share some Scroggin (sultanas, chocolate, raisins, other good goodies including nuts) and ensure you're hydrated.

It's very different to training walks.

Hopefully this works for you too.
 
@Nanc
I have had this same problem while on backcountry hikes for many years. I have tried to adjust my diet to my appetite. I can eat a generous breakfast before I begin my day's walk, so that is often a major source of calories. You might try tortilla at breakfast, as egg protein can be a good start to your day. Eat what you can before you start. On my camino last fall, I ate only a piece of apple and a piece of cheese for lunch, with the occasional carrot. I find that, the longer I rest before I eat, the more I can eat, so a good rest before lunch, eg. a sit down in a picnic area, can help. If you can stop for the day fairly early and do your chores, maybe relax a bit, before your evening meal, this may give you time enough to recover your appetite. I have never had the problem of feeling weak and underfed. except for one occasion where I had taken inadequate breakfast foods for a long hike and had to go on rationing them when I could happily have gobbled them all down. Try to eat a generous evening meal. You are eating for the next day. I usually bought the menu peregrino, which is fairly generous in quantity. Losing energy and weight are common on a long walk. I generally have enough stored up that I can use when not wanting to eat. Experiment with different eating schedules and meal content while training and before you leave. But you will not be in the backcountry and can make what adjustments you need as you go.
 
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I just carry an apple, and just in case, a bar of chocolate or an assorted mix of raisins, peanuts and nuts (I buy that in "Dulcerías").
A cafe at mid-morning (or a beer, if it is hot) and I am done. I don't like eating more than that during my journeys; I makes me feel heavy and drowsy. But I make exceptions when I am doing a really long stage, in which case I look for a discreet place where I could have a short nap.
But every body and metabolism work differently.
The good thing of the Frances is that you find bars and mini markets open every few miles if you need anything else; there are few exceptions, as after Carrión de los Condes, or before O Cebreiro.
 

I found menu peregrino to be sufficient for evening meal ... enough so that I was glad I wasn't trying to cook my own because there was no way I would have made enough. I had muesli with yoghurt in the morning. I'd either buy enough chorizo and bread for a lunch or a bocadillo at a bar along the way. I sometimes topped it up with a bag of potato chips or a chocolate bar ... but usually I found I didn't want much of the snack food. I went November so it was sort of cold at times ... a hot bocadillo (sandwich) really went down well. Don't sweat it ... your body will adjust to the work and will let you know how much you want to eat.
 
Fueling Along the Way ? As a road biker, I've used 100 calorie GU gels once per hour, for years. Are energy bars available on the road ? Or, will nuts and berries and chocolate supply the same regular infusion of energy / calories ?
Jon
 
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On my caminos I have always tried (not always successfully due to the availability of open stores) to have some fruit with me (apple, banana), some chocolate and nuts (almonds). I would eat a small amount of these during breaks, snacking at least once, sometimes twice depending on distance. I kept small packets of gels and power jelly beans for emergencies (such as no opportunity to resupply).
 
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We just try to plan so that we'll have a nice, long three-course lunch* at a restaurant most days. If that day's stretch doesn't go through a suitable village, we have a packed lunch, with bread, cheese, ham, olives, fruit and chocolate.

I have found that having a long, sit-down rest in the middle of the day is really good for us, and the few days when we've just grabbed something quick and kept walking, we're much grumpier the next morning.


*When in Spain... The mid-day meal is the main meal for most people in Spain, and restaurants are obliged to serve a three-course meal for a reasonable price.
 
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For me, liquid is the main food during the time when I'm walking - supplemented with a bar or two of chocolate - certainly, you shouldn't be carrying too much bulky food
 
I definitely think the social aspect of the Camino makes it easier to eat more food - and your body will tell you what it needs. You'll stop at this bar or that cafe to get a beverage and a rest - and the food will look great, so you'll have something. Or someone you know will have over-ordered and offer to share. If you aren't hungry, just drink some calories - cafe con leche, colacao, zumo, aquarius. Supplement this with nuts and fruit or whatever along the trail. Pilgrims dinners are very filling and social, so you'll find yourself eating more.
 
@Nanc I have the same issue - not feeling hungry when walking - here my, additional tips:

No matter what, I force a banana down for breakfast, good for calories and minerals.
Watch your water intake, if you are thirsty (even if you don't realise it!) your body will send less hunger signals imo.
Salted nuts are my 'always in a pocket' snack. They keep the water/minerals balance sorted and give you calories via fat.
Instead of elaborated meals, when still walking, try simple, dry bread, I find it easier to stomach when exhausted.

Also good snacks: dried fruit, nuts, olives, chocolate!, banana chips and yes, put some extra sugar in that cafe con leche ;-)

Fast working versus slow working carbs:
If your blood sugar drops too low, you will not feel hungry (but often quite queazy, with a feeling like your stomach is tight shut).
Eat/ingest some fast acting carbs like plain sugar (for example in a beverage) BUT do always follow up with some slow acting carbs like in bread.

Reason being, the sudden sugar increase in your blood will provoke an insulin response and your blood sugar might drop even further. Counteracting that with slow acting carbs will level out your blood sugar level.

Also, if things are really bad, a caldo (broth) which provides you with water, minerals plus easily digestible protein with some bread will set you right very quickly.

Buen Camino, SY
 
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Thanks all . sYates these tips are especially helpful as they address my problem of not being hungry to my detriment, rather than just what to carry. Your comments on hydration and carbs make good sense
 
If you leave early (like 0630) and if you also require food right away when you wake up, you should pick up some nuts/raisins type stuff or fruit to eat while you walk as the bars don't open until usually 0900. In Spain, that is. If you are lucky, you may encounter someplace that is already open for business at 0700 (panaderia in Pamplona outskirts, serving commuters going to work, and similar) or 0830 (bar owner was apparently a morning person. Place was packed, too!) So if you absolutely have to eat right away get something that doesn't need refrigeration at a store the day before. Otherwise, sip water and hit the first place open, where you can get a bocadillo or possibly a wedge of tortilla de patata. (That is egg, not bread, for anyone who hasn't encountered this difference in words yet.) Along with the cafe leche. Which itself will compel you to stop in another hour or so to use facilities and get some more coffee. Rinse and repeat as needed during the day. (The day we walked up to O Cebreiro, there were villages about every hour on the climb, which had bars. La Faba, etc. Probably had food, too, though we just sat and had a drink and a little rest.)
But there are a few places where that system doesn't work. That is where having and using a guide book comes in handy, it tells you that there isn't much for 3 or 4 hours of walking (if only by looking at the little sketch map and going, gosh that looks kind of empty) and then you hit a grocery before that stretch. Sardinas on Barra is a great walkers' lunch, lots of nice oil to keep you going, easy to fix with your handy pocket knife, wash it down with your bottle of water. IMHO, YMMV.
 
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