Lesson 3: Other Factors to Consider in Your Walking Program
Food and Water
The amount of food and water that you carry depends on the length of your walk and the weather conditions. It stands to reason that if you are sweating more, you will need to drink more water. This can be tricky, however, because when it is cold, we often do lose a lot of water through evaporation, but we are not aware of it because we don't feel ourselves sweating.
Before you begin your walk, you should be well hydrated. In fact, it is a good idea to drink at least 8 glasses a day and, if you are trying to lose weight, drinking water has the additional advantage of helping your stomach feel full. About an hour or two before walking, drink a large glass of water. Give yourself enough time to let the water work its way through your body, so that you can use the bathroom before starting your walk.
If you are going for a walk of 30 to 60 minutes, you should carry water and drink as you get thirsty. Methods of carrying water will be covered in the gear section later in this lesson. For walks longer than 60 minutes, you may want to consider some sort of electrolyte replacement drink. There are several commercial brands or you can make your own! For recipes see
Sports Drink Recipes.
With regard to food, it is best to eat an hour or two before you walk to allow sufficient time to digest. Again, if you are planning on walking for 30 to 60 minutes, it's probably not necessary to carry food with you. For longer walks, you have many options. Some walkers like to use the very popular power bars that are a mixture of carbohydrates and proteins in a small package. Others like to bring fruit or nuts or some sort of trail mix. What you bring will partly depend on what you have to carry your food. If you are bringing a small fanny pack it is more practical to carry power bars.
Fanny Packs
A fanny pack (or waist pack) is a bag that fastens around your waist. They vary in size, but some are quite roomy and give you enough room to carry food, some clothing, your cell phone, money, and keys. The advantage of fanny packs over day packs is that you don't have any weight on your shoulders.
Water Bottles and Hydration Packs
You have many options when it comes to how you want to carry water. The low tech approach is to take an empty bottle and fill it with tap water and carry it in your fanny pack. Many fanny packs have special pockets just for a water bottle. There are also special water bottles made, traditionally thought of as bicycling water bottles, but they have the advantage of having a spout that can be left open, thereby avoiding the hassle of having to take the cap on and off.
Hydration packs are specially designed to be carried on your back. They are a small backpack filled with a plastic bladder which you fill with water. There is a long hose that is connected to the bladder, which goes over your shoulder and attaches to the straps in the front of your pack. The hose has an open/close adjustment that can be operated with your mouth. Hydration packs vary in size, but some can carry up to a gallon of water! There are two advantages to these packs. One is that they allow you to drink water continuously (if so desired) in a hands-free operation. And second, they enable you to carry enough water for a long day of hiking without if feeling as heavy as it would if you were carrying water bottles. Most, if not all, of the hydration packs, also have pockets so you can carry some amount of food, and other necessities such as money, keys, sunglasses and sunscreen.
