Just add Water ...

Wrong Nutrition: Too few Calories - But too much Sugar

I felt extremely weak 4 weeks into the 6 week circumnavigation, and realized that even a day of rest would not get me the strength back I had in the previous 4 weeks of paddling. I asked the certified nutritionist and long-distance swimmer Maggie Meehan: What went wrong?

What calorie intake would you suggest for a similar trip (6 week kayak trip 6 to 10 hours of paddling, usually into winds = hard paddling which left me exhausted at the end of the day)? Or: How many calories do you estimate a kayaker burns each day on a 6-10 paddling day of hard paddling?

Maggie: I will answer the first two questions together. As a 5’10”, 180 pound, 38 year old male, it is estimated that you need roughly 1800 calories a day just to sit still (known as your basal metabolic rate). See http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ if you wish to do this calculation for yourself or anyone else. You are, by the way, within your Ideal Body Weight Range of 166 pounds +/- 10%, so that is good.

Kayaking is estimated to burn at least 340 calories an hour, likely more as you were paddling under very challenging conditions. Six-hours of kayaking would burn at least an additional 2040 calories a day, ten hours would burn an additional 3400 calories. Thus, depending on the day, you would need:

1800 + 2040 = 3840 calories for six hours of kayaking
1800 + 3400 = 5200 calories for 10 hours of kayaking

On windy days, when you were likely working harder, you would need more.

 
What kind of diet (food groups) would you suggest for a similar trip (6 week kayak trip 6 to 10 hours of paddling, usually into winds = hard paddling which left me exhausted at the end of the day)?

Maggie: Your diet should emphasize carbohydrates (pasta, whole grains, vegetables, fruit, not cookies), approximately 70% of your diet should be carbohydrates because glucose is the primary fuel for muscles. About 2/3 of your dinner plate should be carbs. Protein should be lean (beans such as black beans/ kidney beans/ black-eyed peas count as lean protein). Fat generally takes care of itself.

Sabine Weber RD recommends foods higher in fat such a peanut butter and jelly on multigrain bread, trail mix w/ nuts and dried fruit, dried hummus or refried bean mixes, sports bars. But avoid excess, unhealthy fats from potato chips, etc.
Here are some websites I found helpful:

http://www.trailpeak.com/index.jsp?cat=river&con=article&val=4588*art
http://www.adksportsfitness.com/september2005/articles/nutrition.html
http://www.teamgcar.com/articles/food1.htm
http://www.littlerockmarathon.com/PDFs/Resources/FoodsFluidsEndurance.pdf
http://www.otago.ac.nz/humannutrition/dietetics/Summary%20of%20Findings/Jane_Owers.pdf
http://www.fitsportslab.com/MULTI%20DAY%20ADVICE.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/ultramentor/nutrition.html

At what times during each paddling day would you suggest to eat, and what? (6 week kayak trip 6 to 10 hours of paddling)

Maggie: First, of course, you need breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Give yourself some time to digest before beginning to paddle. The closer to paddling you eat your meal, the smaller the meal should be.
Tricia Bland RD notes that after 90 minutes (some estimates suggest up to 120 minutes), all bodily sources of glucose are depleted, so the muscles need to be continually replenished or you’ll bonk. If you feel depleted, foods with a “high glycemic index” (i.e., are converted to glucose faster) may prove a quick fix—these include raisins, graham crackers, Gatorade, and potatoes (not sure potatoes are feasible for a 6-week kayaking trip). Glycogen storage also helps with hydration, for each ounce of stored glycogen, you store 3 ounces of water.

Hydration is very important. You should drink fluids (not Jameson) every 15 minutes (16-20 ounces every hour), water or a sports drink to maintain electrolyte balance. If you are sweating, you will be losing a lot of sodium and need to replace this. Potassium is also lost through sweat. Good food sources of sodium include salted nuts and seeds, salted nut butters, and dehydrated bean mixes with salt. Good food sources of potassium also include nuts and seeds, dehydrated bean mixes as well as dried fruits.
Snacks every half hour or so—energy bar, gel, fruit, trail mix—small amounts so you don’t feel overloaded and uncomfortable. One source recommends 50 g of carbs an hour another recommends 1 -1.5g/kg/hr (for you this would be 81 – 121 gms an hour, which seems high).

Once you finish for the day, have a sports drink, drink it throughout the evening—alternate it w/ the Jameson perhaps (!). Eat within half an hour of finishing for the day, 60-80 grams of carbohydrates. The Gatorade website lists carbohydrate amounts in common foods (http://www.littlerockmarathon.com/PDFs/Resources/FoodsFluidsEndurance.pdf). Later, have a large meal with pasta, rice, veggies, fruits, protein. A glass or 2 of wine is ok.

 

The list below (scroll down to "Shopping List Ireland Trip") represents both the groceries purchased in Dublin before the trip, and the additional supplemental purchases during the trip. What do you see (too much cookies?), and what do you miss on this list, Maggie?


Maggie: I haven’t added up the estimated total calories on your list yet. That will take some time. The website http://www.calorie-count.com/ should help us out here, but a cursory glance might suggest replacing some cookies-particularly those eaten at lunch time w/ a quality sports bar. Despite the sodium, Pringles are probably not a good choice (likely does not contain good fat) and you would be better off w/ salted nuts and seeds. I might choose almonds or walnuts over cashews, which offer mostly fat and have less nutritional value than the other nuts. I would also suggest you look into a powdered sports drink to have for drinking during the day to help w/ hydration and electrolyte replenishment. I also think you could have had some more veggies.

Maggie: Some key questions here might be did you lose weight during the trip? (Yes, appr 8 pounds) Were you hungry? (Yes, even after meals) At what point in the day? Did you ever feel disoriented or otherwise depleted? (No)
Shockingly, the list reveals a severe in-balance of food-purchases in the cookie aisle. I would not eliminate all cookies and chocolate because those are pleasurable treats that are earned after a hard day’s work (or even during it). You don’t want to go too moralistic w/ your food because if you get bored w/ it, you won’t want to eat it.. For a trip of this length, it’s really important you eat enough every day.