High altitude and the sleeve

So on Saturday I'll be at an elevation of 11,000 ft. and will be there for a week. I'm in Dallas now, so obviously a significant difference. I know one of the big preventative measures against altitude sickness is drinking lots of water while the other is taking diuretic. I'm concerned about both of those since I can't just gulp water. Should I be concerned? Does anyone have experience with this?

Another question, more related to the eating portion of the trip, which is ten days total in Peru: good snacks to take that won't blow my carb intake? I'm no fan of jerky. How long will low fat cheese sticks last outside the refrigerator?

I guess the good part of this that even if the portions of protein that are served are small, they'll likely work for me! (This is a mission trip so almost every meal is fixed in advance.)

I'll be interested to see what my weight is after ten days away from the scale!

Ok, I'll stop rambling...thanks, guys!

Wehn you are at a normal high altitude (like CO or mountains, for instance) your body will burn more calories - at least for the first few days, until it gets adjusted.

Your breathing deepens (less Oxygen), your body's pH changes slightly (so you burn more), you need more avail calories (usually from glucose/or carbs) to function. These all lead to your metabolism going up - ergo burn more calories.

If all this happens for a couple of days at normal high altitude, imagine what it will do at 11k ft! Plus it sounds like you will be doing alot of walking/hiking, etc. I wouldnt worry about eating too many carbs for something like this - you will more than likely burn them off easily, and get less fatigue being that high.

You dont need to gulp, just drink all the time. You might want to try something like Clif bars or protein bars for snacks (I love the Clif PB bars for meal replacements in emergency). And no - cheese needs to be refrigerated =)

Sounds like you are going to have a great time! You will be so active that your not going to even notice the extra carbs. You will probably come home and find you have lost weight! Have a GREAT trip!

Great information and so helpful! Thank you for taking the time to type it all out for me.

I had heard that more carbs would be necessary and helpful, but hadn't heard the explanation behind it. Cool!

If you make cheese crisps to take with you, you should be good! Get some good quality Parmesan cheese (not the stuff in the boxes) shredded. Spread a thin layer on PARCHMENT paper (NOT wax paper). Microwave for two minutes. Let cool and you have cracker-like cheese! If they're not done enough, they can be chewy... Blah... So, make sure they're done by tapping the center with your fingernail. If it "clicks" it's done! I took two ziploc bags of these camping and they were great!

Hey JeniJeni,  does that recipe work with other cheeses, too?  Maybe a hard cheese like parmesean?  It sounds delish!

Hey! You're here! I was just wondering about you this morning. Thanks for the tip! I have made Parmesan crisps but would never have thought to do so for the trip.

 Take a camelback with you...it's a back pack that holds liquid in it....you can sip all day ...
put some electrolytes in it also...you can get them in little packs at the GNC ...the big problem is dehydration ...i'm a big liquid drinker when I travel....protein shakes...because when I eat I can't drink as often...so I just do liquid diet a lot....cheese can last forever outside the fridge...most people don't even refrigerate their cheeses....europeans that is...the cheese sticks will get soft but they won't go bad...have a great trip...SEAVIEW

 Love mine!  I got it for skiing, Tahoe is super dry.  I also taking it hiking.  Good suggestion for her!

 :)

Definitely do NOT take a diuretic. Water, water, and more water. Before your trip if you can, eat high-water foods also, like watermelon.