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Should I change my food habits for my winter activities?
Is simply increasing the quantities or choosing food with higher calories enough?

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2 Answers

up vote 6 down vote accepted
  • Caloric intake is certainly the largest factor. Calories are energy.
  • If you are on a low fat diet normally and a very fit individual, you'll likely need to increase your fat intake. However the primary concern is that you are getting fats, so if you are already, you should be fine.
  • Drink more water! It's very counter intuitive, but you dehydrate faster in the cold.
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Is there a specific type of food that you will recommend ? – Amine Nov 9 '12 at 21:46
Amine -- Personally, for extra calories, I like vacuum packed smoked salmon. It keeps forever, it's lightweight, and it tastes good. – Russell Steen♦ Nov 9 '12 at 22:02
interesting you should append that example to your answer – Amine Nov 10 '12 at 2:26
up vote 3 down vote

One other difference - in the winter, your food and water can freeze during the day. Make sure that your lunch (or anything else you'd eat without cooking) is something that you can actually chew when its frozen. Also, camelback-style water bladders can be a little more difficult to use, as the water in the tube can freeze up.

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Good point on "food not rock hard when frozen" :) – Russell Steen♦ Nov 12 '12 at 14:41
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I’ve learned to push the water in the tube back to the bladder after drinking. During the summer it helps to keep the water from getting warm in the tube, hopefully it will also work in the winter to keep it from freezing. – zoul Nov 13 '12 at 8:08
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Energy bars are a good example of a food which turns to rock in cold temperatures. Keep a bar in an interior pocket of your jacket or be prepared to break a tooth. – furtive Nov 16 '12 at 21:18

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