Edible Adventures Away From Home

This past week I visited with my family that lives out-of-state.

In order to stay active during the week I was away my fitness regime included daily walks, light weights every other day, and daily yoga.

On my walks I took advantage of a favorite paved walking trail that is in a near-by canyon.  Although  I have walked in this canyon in all seasons of the year - including what my daughter refers to as our "winter marches"- the canyon is particularly beautiful and tempting in the autumn.

The scenery was so inspiring that what is ordinarily an hour walk in the summer easily becomes a two hour walk in the autumn.  Each time I walked I tried to push myself to go further or faster up the trail.

Even though these walks were not what I would consider peak intensity challenges - I still managed to find a way to make them a bit more challenging than my usual walks at home.

1 - I was at a higher elevation than at home.  4,500 feet.

2 - I sometimes took turns pushing a rather sturdy baby stroller along with two 13-pound babies.

3 - I walked in the afternoon instead of the morning.

This past month I have been consciously adding more carbohydrate food into my daily diet.  I have been eating more baked yams and sweet potatoes, red potatoes and fruit.  What I found food-wise is that even though I was exerting myself a bit more at 4,500 feet elevation and even though I sometimes took turns pushing the baby stroller, my blood sugar remained stable as long as I remembered to eat a snack within 30 minutes of the walk.

The ideal snack for me was to take some fruit and nuts along with water for hydration.  I either took an apple or a banana and almonds.   One day I had some coconut water.  These simple precautions helped prevent my fairly typical post-hike energy slumps.

This is actually the first time I have been away from home for a very long time that I have been able to manage my blood sugar and energy levels this consistently and this well.