i'm working up a 5 day menu...

on 2 and 3 day trips i usually come home with with a bunch of extra food. i've noticed that some evenings when i thought i'd be ravenous i wasn't and just ate a small amount of my planned meal. on an overnight or weekend trip, the extra pound of food isn't going to bother me, but if i plan for being hungry and only eat a portion of my planned meals, i very well might end up carrying several extra pounds of food.

how are others addressing this? i don't want to take less food and then be hungry.

Take enough for each meal, plan to eat it all, and fine tune the amount so that you won't go hungry, for long. Then maybe take one extra meal for safety. My current food list goes something like this,

Breakfast: Oatmeal, snickers bar

Morning Snack: Almond M&M's

Lunch: Peanut butter crackers, fig newton bar, granola bar

Afternoon Snack: Almond M&M's

Dinner: Oatmeal, ramen, salmon or tuna

Maybe less meals and more snacks? I usually carry a small bag during the day of easily eaten food. I eat more that way - and don't crash. Easier to do than stopping for a long lunch :-)

1. If I am working so hard that I am too tired to eat, then I am doing something wrong.
2. I always take along some food that is so good that I can eat it under any conditions.
3. I always take along some food that requires no cooking or other preparation.

--B.G.--

+1 on Sarah's comment. Large cooked meals take effort and when very tired I just don't feel like cooking. You might also try doing a trip where you only take you absolute favorite foods like say Oreo Double Stuffs. Then see if you still have trouble eating the calories. If you can eat them adjust the food to get a bit more balance. I also find salty is easier to eat than sugary on a tough hike.

Also..if you get dehydrated it can really slow down your appetite. On the nights when you feel tired and not hungry have a cup of soup and a drink. Often your appetite will come back after that, you just have to kick start it.