Hungrier? Exercising in much colder temperatures

[zoom-zoom]

Hey zoom-zoom, the reason why I ate cookie after the hike, was that I won a scratch n'win card that entitled me to a free bag ....of Christie cookies. We didn't know the neighbourhood to find shops/place to eat. So took transit and got off to use my freebie card at the sponsoring grocery store near home. I had to make good use of that cookie bag! Better to have that 1 cookie in moments of near desperation just after exercise, instead of 4 hrs. later ....because I really was desperate.

Before the winter snowy hike, I had a breakfast of cornflakes with milk, fruit, etc. No, I don't eat bacon or an egg often at all for breakfast. I never thought hiking on primarily a FLAT route would induce this type of hunger on a very cold winter day.

Yeah, if I ate a breakfast of pure carbs with minimal fat and/or protein I'd be one hot, desperate, cranky, shaky, nauseous mess (my family has several stories of me "going postal" when hunger hit fast and hard). YMMV, but there are few people who don't at some point run into issues after a light breakfast of high glycemic foods followed by extended activity.

[shootingstar]

This is hiking and cycling just within my own home city. I tend to eat much larger breakfasts with egg, etc..when away from home and going snowshoeing in the mountains.

Well, I certainly forgot to bring some food. (which again for this small distance on bike in summer, fall, I don't bother.)

I did notice for myself, that when I did eat a large breakfast at the hotel. Then off snowshoeing for 2 hrs. in the mountains, I did feel appropriately....."empty" at the end of the trip, without being hungry.

People living in our area.....go 1,000 km. north to work in the winter, at the oil tar sands and oil rigs near Canada's Arctic Circle. Just to give people an idea here, how "tough" locals can be...and their willingness to work under such conditions outdoors in the winter. So the coldness in our area, is like practice for them... I continue to be amazed to see how thinly dressed some cyclists and joggers are. In my head I'm thinking: They must be born in this area...not a transplant like me.

When I cycle in winter @ -10 to -20 degrees C, I am definitely cycling alot slower --at least 25% slower. There's no real reason to cycle fast in such cold wintery temperatures. So definitely I am not sweating it up like some joggers or cross-country skiers and expending alot of calories every half hr.

[lph]

I was thinking about this thread today. I went XC skiing for about 3 hrs in -18 deg C, warmer in the sun of course when we could find it, but probably down to below -20 deg C in the coldest spots. The trip started with at least half an hour of strenuous uphill skiing, and I had to take off one wool jersey. I was quite comfortable, ie. warm but not sweating for a long while wearing just mesh wool underwear covered by a thin windproof jacket and PI Amfib tights (and hat, buff+lobster gloves) but as the terrain leveled out to gently rolling the cold started creeping in. First my chest got cold, then it crept down my arms and I could feel a finger or two growing cold. Finally I had to stop and put the jersey back on, only 3 kms from the cabin where we were going to stop for food, and was fine again.

I didn't actually eat any more than I would have done when at home, but I felt the need to eat earlier, and not get hungry. Getting hungry means getting cold and weak, weak means having trouble generating heat, which means even colder. I enjoy both biking and skiing when it's cold, but I find I have to be more careful about eating protein and fat-rich food in advance, I have to stay "stoked up" on food, and I have to avoid sweating a lot, either by moving a bit slower or by removing excess clothing early enough. None of these things matter much when it's above freezing.

[shootingstar]

didn't actually eat any more than I would have done when at home, but I felt the need to eat earlier, and not get hungry. Getting hungry means getting cold and weak, weak means having trouble generating heat, which means even colder. I enjoy both biking and skiing when it's cold, but I find I have to be more careful about eating protein and fat-rich food in advance, I have to stay "stoked up" on food, and I have to avoid sweating a lot, either by moving a bit slower or by removing excess clothing early enough. None of these things matter much when it's above freezing.

Most definitely, when I stop to drink or eat something small ...or go to the washroom in the great outdoors while snowshoeing in the mountain wilderness, I do want to make any rest stop briefer than I would in warmer seasons: it's just colder!! I feel my vulnerability and need to be vigilant to keep moving, when it's quite cold in the winter. For certain at -20 degrees C in winter, I have to dress more warmly than you lph!