Weight loss

[mateozzz]

I'm 5'10" and only around 150 lbs and on a 10 day section hike @ 14 mi/day I usually lose 2-3 lbs and I eat pretty good. I have wondered how much I would have to eat on a thru hike to keep from disappearing!

[Cookerhiker]

Weighed about 200 at start of Colorado Trail thruhike, about 20 lbs too much. I'm 5'11". Hiked 482 miles, averaged about 13 mpd, lost 25 lbs, gained about half back in the 2 months since the hike ended. That's misleading - after the CT, I also hiked 200 miles on the Superior Trail. It's hard to keep off; I still have problems laying off sweets.

Maybe I shouldn't bake so much....

[JAK]

My own experience is the only way to get it off and keep it off at my age is to stay active and injury free. When I take a rest day, my body wants to eat more, store some fat, like 50 pounds isn't already enough. lol. Gotta exercise at least an hour a day, 10 hours a week, even if its just a walk.

Even a 3-5 day hike is a great way to kick off a diet and exercise program. It's what the body wants and needs, plus some upper body stuff, just to get everthing reset and working as it should. Heading out this week.

[T-Dubs]

I eat low fat in order to reduce cholesterol.

Seems a tad misguided in light of current research.
I eat whole foods to ensure cholesterol can do what it is supposed to do.

[Tenderheart]

Seems a tad misguided in light of current research.
I eat whole foods to ensure cholesterol can do what it is supposed to do.

Then someone needs to alert the American Medical Institute, or whoever, to let them know that all of their data is incorrect or misguided. And isn't it wonderful that, once again, the snafu was discovered right here on WB?

[Jukebox]

I have seen a couple threads about weight loss on peoples thru-hike, people post they lost 20 pound or 50 or whatnot. But without some context if hard to really fully understand, i mean for me, my weight is 200 pounds , im 6'0 tall, in good shape. if i lost 50 pounds i would look like a concentration camp survivor.

I was/am pretty similar to you - 6'2", about 205, and in good shape when I started. When I hit Harpers Ferry, I was 165 and my ribs were pretty prominent. I was eating pretty much what everyone else was, and had to make a real effort in the northern half to eat as much junk food as possible to keep from losing any more weight.

[T-Dubs]

Then someone needs to alert the American Medical Institute, or whoever, to let them know that all of their data is incorrect or misguided. And isn't it wonderful that, once again, the snafu was discovered right here on WB?

I stand corrected. Once the 'diet-heart' hypothesis was developed and the AMA et. al. got involved in telling us what to eat for our health, things have really gotten better. Follow the recommendations of the food pyramid (AMA approved) and this is what you get:

http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html

We limit gluten grains, avoid sugar and never use seed oils. We cook with butter, lard and coconut oil. We eat some green vegetables but don't think there is anything to 'superfoods'. I supplement with replacement minerals but avoid vitamins (with the exception of V-D). I'm not about to tell anyone what to eat or why (nor discuss religious preferences) but in the information age one should take advantage of the opportunities to research those life and death topics as one's health. Here's a start:

This blog cataloged some of the science behind a traditional diet.
http://girlgoneprimal.blogspot.com/p...e-science.html

We follow this blog as it seems to be close to our diet and it's fairly smart in content:
http://perfecthealthdiet.com/?p=5027

As to low cholesterol being healthy, here are two recent published studies:

....clinical and public health recommendations regarding the 'dangers' of cholesterol should be revised. This is especially true for women, for whom moderately elevated cholesterol (by current standards) may prove to be not only harmless but even beneficial.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21951982

--(effects of low cholesterol on mortality)-Specifically, excess causes of death included cancer (primarily lung and hematopoietic), respiratory and digestive disease, violent death (suicide and trauma), and hemorrhagic stroke. On the basis of this and other reports, a debate arose on whether recommendations for lowering cholesterol should be directed at the entire population.....

http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/92/9/2365.full

[Ladytrekker]

I saw a study once cannot find it now where someone surveyed thru hikers by gender. The findings were that males lost more weight approx. 30 lbs and would more likely have a gaunt look at completion. Where as women lost approx. 10 lbs but had a more muscular appearance especially in the legs. And from the pics I have seen of many to the thrus at Katahdyn I would say it seems fairly accurate.

[T-Dubs]

I saw a study once cannot find it now where someone surveyed thru hikers by gender.

Sounds familiar; could it have been in this book by Mueser?
http://www.amazon.com/Long-Distance-.../dp/0070444587 <--Amazon link

[Sue_Bird]

I think if I was thruhiking I would maildrop a "meal replacement" protein powder weightlifting supplement. Mix it with easy-to-find carnation breakfast and you have a tasty, 100+ calorie/ounce, no-cleanup-required milkshakeish drink that gets you a ton of protein along with a ton of good vitamins/minerals, carbs and often some fiber too!

heh. my hiking partner carried those from harpers to katahdin. he lost something in the dept of 30 pounds and kind of did look like a "concentration camp survivor" at the end. he tried really hard not to lose weight, but it was kind of unavoidable.

how much weight you lose I think depends partly on what you have to lose, as some have said, and also how many hours a day you are hiking. you'll lose more weight if you are spending more of your day hiking, even if you are hiking slower. You'll lose less weight if you hike fast for less hours per day. (also obviously it depends on how many calories you're taking in too.)

i say don't worry about it and have fun. you can correct whatever happens with a well-balanced plan once you get off-trail. Eat what makes you feel good and hike well.