Quote Originally Posted by lph View Post
"A Physician's Assistant friend of mine said the two products of metabolizing carbohydrates are carbon dioxide and water. So if I have to pee lots, it means my water intake is enough or almost enough to keep up with the rate at which I lose water through sweat. "

'd heard somewhat the same thing, that metabolizing carbohydrates demands a lot of water, so a hiking friend and I were discussing if trying to eat more protein and fat and less carbohydrate on a hike you might get away with drinking less. Especially winter ski trips, strangely enough considering there's "water" everywhere, it's hard to drink enough. It's cold, you want to keep moving, and you most certainly don't want to stop and pee more than necessary.

Anybody have any input on this - is it possible to cut down on carbohydrate and still get "fueled" or do you just have to burn carbs to get energy fast?

Back on topic - I pee anywhere, and FAST. Bike shorts are good for this Everybody pees, so unless I'm mooning the entire highway I don't get too embarrassed about it. If there's a bit of undergrowth nobody can see anything anyway, just that you're squatting. Guys don't seem to be embarrassed about standing in that obvious "I'm peeing-position" so I try not to be either.
The one thing I'm not sure about though is why the process needs so much water. One of the things they always teach in survival classes is that carbohydrates in general and sugary things specifically make you thirsty so you should avoid them if you don't have a steady water supply.