Due to the strenuous activity of rowing more than 15 hours a day while at sea, Rose will need to start her solo row with an additional 30 pounds of bodyweight. This means, she needs to eat at least 3,000 calories a day before she leaves on her 90-day journey. Her nutrition plan also calls for ramping that caloric intake up in the months before she actually leaves harbor in San Diego.
The extra weight needs to be fat that Rose can lose, opposed to muscle that is needed to row. Rose goes against what is commonly considered healthy eating. She has been known to eat piles of ice cream in the months before a row. However, she's quick to point out that it gives her the fat reserves she needs to accomplish her task.
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On the Boat
In order to lose no more than 30 pounds before she arrives in Hawaii, Rose will need to take in nearly 8,000 calories a day while rowing.
In order to keep her calories and strength up, Rose will need to eat double the normal amount of food she would typically consume for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Then, she will need to snack in between.
One dilemma: She'll never leave the boat once she starts her 2,400-mile journey. And most of her meals will be dehydrated food packs. The vegetarian dehydrated food packs are not high enough in calories to get Rose to her 8,000 calories for the day. Consuming enough food to keep her properly fueled will be difficult.
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Rose can bump her calories up by eating chocolate. She has added a couple of chocolate bars each day to her eating plan. In addition, granola bars, dried fruit, nuts, protein shakes, powdered whey milk are also solid calorie boosters. In the morning, she plans to add oatmeal or powdered eggs for higher-calorie breakfasts.
She's confident with the nutrition plan above that she'll make it 2,400 miles solo in three months while raising awareness for endangered birds and her avian charity.
Photos by Chirping Central
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