Ultra Light Weight Vs Overweight?

[Don H]

Starting a thru hike when you over weight is (IMO) stacking the odds against success, the same as those that carry excessively weighted backpacks. Yes, I am aware of people who started overweight and have succeeded. But how many people leave the trail prematurely and needlessly, because they are overweight? The greater the overall weight, the greater the risk of injury and or serious fatigue. It therefore matters not, if overweight people were carrying a 4lb base weight when they started their thru hike.

I'm just shooting the **** and my comments are not intended to offend anyone. Lightweight Vs Overweight?

I started in Springer in 2011 at 5'-9' and 230 pounds, 5 months later I was 185.
The guys I saw leaving the trail early on were the guys who thought they were super fit and could do 20 mile days out of the gate.
I would think experience in hiking long distances would be more important your body weight.
How much have you hiked the AT?

[Nyte]

Starting off with extra body weight doesn't cause the trouble. Actually, it's a great reserve while setting up for trail shape. It gives your body that fat reserve to burn for energy while it adjusts, and you adjust to the developing effort and appetite that is building.

What hurts "overweight" hikers is the same issue any hiker can have, pushing too hard, too fast. As has been said many, many other places, there is no exercise that develops the strength, stamina, and coordination for hiking, other than hiking. Unless you are hiking 8-10 hours a day as your daily job already, or something close (professional athletes of stamina varieties come to mind, like long distance runners, soccer players, et al), you are going to need time to adjust. Start off thinking because you are in good shape, you can just power through 10+ hour days at 2+ MPH, and you are going to burn out, injure yourself, or similar.

[Foresight]

I got tired of reading the response and skipped to the end.....

I'm 48, 6' 4" and weigh 228. I eat a paleo diet and have for the last three years (those of you struggling with weight and diets that don't work and/or diabetes please look it up or simply PM me and I will not preach, but I will offer all the assistance I can). I also do crossfit. Combine that with my occupation as a surveyor and I can honestly say that I am in the best shape of my life, including the 6 years I spent in the military. Because of all this I do not cut my toothbrush in half and I don't carry a travel tube of toothpaste. I don't obsess about weight because I'm fully capable of carrying a lot more than I do. I also don't mean that to condescend or condemn, it's simply what I'M willing to accept.

Maybe I'm dead ass wrong, but I believe that anyone that hikes any length of time or with any regularity will eventually reach that equilibrium where they know what they can or are willing to carry and that in and of itself is a purely individual number. Feel free to offer all the assistance you can to help them achieve that number, but pontificating beyond pointing out where ounces can be cut is simply wasting bandwidth.

[squeezebox]

With a paleo diet what kind of trail food do you bring ?

[squeezebox]

With a paleo diet what kind stuff do you bring as trail food ?

[Merrell]

People seem to get awfully offended when you point out to them that a 2-mile run will shed more weight off their load than cutting the handle off their toothbrush.

Doesn't matter where the weight comes from, it's less weight on your knees, ankles, less effort to push uphill, etc. It's pretty ludicrous to obsess over ounces and then eat a cheeseburger.

But then, it's pretty ludicrous to obsess quite that much over ounces when even a small human is going to weigh something like 150 pounds geared up. The math here doesn't add up to anything significant. You lose more weight going pee than you do tearing the unnecessary pages out of a guidebook. Daily fluctuations in weight are far larger than ounces

For that matter, you can be in amazing shape, single-digit body fat, and your legs would benefit from lost upper body muscle. You could make an argument for traps, most back muscles in fact, certainly the posterior chain and abs. Does a deltoid workout benefit you carrying a pack? Not if you're wearing it right. Pecs do nothing here. So maybe I should stop lifting to save a couple pounds. Good grief.

A thru-hike is nothing I'll probably ever get to attempt due to work and other commitments but no way would I go out there and try in anything but the best possible condition and no way would I get offended at someone telling me that.

People post threads saying "THRU HIKE 2015!!!" and then show up 2 years later with 30 extra pounds of body fat? That's borderline insanity, and nobody can blame a desk job. I have a desk job and I work out after work every day, and I bring my lunches with me, and nobody would ever look at me and think "fat".

Excuses.

[Foresight]

With a paleo diet what kind stuff do you bring as trail food ?

Since I'm never out for more than a few days at best I can get by staying with a paleo diet by bringing vacuum sealed bags of fresh veggies, bacon, eggs, jerky I make and "Lara" bars that I also make myself out of dates, unsweetened cocoa, honey, coconut and walnuts. For a long duration hike there's no way I would put in the effort to try and stay paleo if you want to know the God's honest truth

And I agree with Merrell with the muscle groups that are important. Truth be told, I think a program of planking and nothing else would be of great benefit to most hikers without an exercise background. I personally would do more than that, but I think strengthening the core is important for life in general, but definitely for hiking.

[Merrell]

And I agree with Merrell with the muscle groups that are important. Truth be told, I think a program of planking and nothing else would be of great benefit to most hikers without an exercise background. I personally would do more than that, but I think strengthening the core is important for life in general, but definitely for hiking.

Combine planking and glute bridges and you really have something. (If you're not familiar think upside down plank, feet on floor, body from knees to shoulders straight) The posterior chain from hamstring to glutes to spinal erectors is basically what makes us bipedal - that's your standing-up-with-weight-on muscles.

Of course a few deadlifts and squats wouldn't hurt, with someone who knows what they're doing watching your form - but I could go on for hours and we're a little off topic so I'll stop until someone else says something and I can't help myself again

Then again, for this thread off-topic might be the best thing...

[Nyte]

People seem to get awfully offended when you point out to them that a 2-mile run will shed more weight off their load than cutting the handle off their toothbrush.

Doesn't matter where the weight comes from, it's less weight on your knees, ankles, less effort to push uphill, etc. It's pretty ludicrous to obsess over ounces and then eat a cheeseburger.

But then, it's pretty ludicrous to obsess quite that much over ounces when even a small human is going to weigh something like 150 pounds geared up. The math here doesn't add up to anything significant. You lose more weight going pee than you do tearing the unnecessary pages out of a guidebook. Daily fluctuations in weight are far larger than ounces

For that matter, you can be in amazing shape, single-digit body fat, and your legs would benefit from lost upper body muscle. You could make an argument for traps, most back muscles in fact, certainly the posterior chain and abs. Does a deltoid workout benefit you carrying a pack? Not if you're wearing it right. Pecs do nothing here. So maybe I should stop lifting to save a couple pounds. Good grief.

A thru-hike is nothing I'll probably ever get to attempt due to work and other commitments but no way would I go out there and try in anything but the best possible condition and no way would I get offended at someone telling me that.

People post threads saying "THRU HIKE 2015!!!" and then show up 2 years later with 30 extra pounds of body fat? That's borderline insanity, and nobody can blame a desk job. I have a desk job and I work out after work every day, and I bring my lunches with me, and nobody would ever look at me and think "fat".

Excuses.

I don't think the affront is taken at the idea of being careless about adding extra body weight, nor at the idea that loosing it will help. I think the issue comes when people are told they are crazy for trying to lighten the packed/worn/carried weight, when they still have body weight they could lose.

Losing the stuff weight is something that will still help when/if the body weight is lost, and people are usually more comfortable talking about lighter gear vs. talking about needing to lose weight.

[SoulSista]

Just had to chime in on this issue, more for fun. Squeeze, at 50, I still wear the same size I wore in High School. While not an excersize nut, I do enjoy walking, so I use that to take off a few lbs when I see it sneaking back up on me.

That being said, a heavy pack is never going to make for a pleasant hike. A lighter pack, no matter what your starting body weight, is always going to make for a more pleasant hike.

[Ken.davidson]

I hiked with a ~30 year old guy March 2013 in Georgia that was ~400 lb.. He was on the AT to get his life back and loose weight. I don't if he regained control of his life. I do known he lost a lot of weight. He was at Harper Ferry 9 Sept. 2013 and he was almost half the size of six months earlier. I can not applaud him enough. It looks like it may be a life changing event for him. HYOH

[aficion]

Fat hiker + fat pack = Slim chance.
Fat hiker + fit pack = Better chance.
Fit hiker + fit pack = More better shot.
Fit hiker + fit pack = Best chance.
Fit hiker + no pack = Fat chance.

[aficion]

3rd line should read Fit hiker + Fat Pack

[Tuckahoe]

http://www.sunherald.com/2014/01/11/...s-to-earn.html

[Wolf - 23000]

Fat hiker + fat pack = Slim chance.
Fat hiker + fit pack = Better chance.
Fit hiker + fit pack = More better shot.
Fit hiker + fit pack = Best chance.
Fit hiker + no pack = Fat chance.

aficion

I've seen many hikers who have both completed the AT and those that have choice some else. Some of the most fitted hikers I have met did not make it. On the other hand I've seen some hikers who were either over weight or did everything complete wrong be some of the most successfully hikers. My point being, I would never say someone has either a "Fat chance" or a "Better chance". It all depends on the hiker and their drive to complete their goals.

Wolf

[ULterEgo]

The more overweight I am, the more I appreciate a light pack, but I agree that taking off fat pounds is a good way to go and is part of my New Year's resolution - trying for a pound a week - so far so good (-3 YTD).

[JAK]

Good job ULterEgo. Keep it up. Hope to join you soon.

[Catavarie]

But the extra weight in my gut balances out the weight in my pack.

[snail2010]

Fat hiker + fat pack = Slim chance.
Fat hiker + fit pack = Better chance.
Fit hiker + fit pack = More better shot.
Fit hiker + fit pack = Best chance.
Fit hiker + no pack = Fat chance.

Sorry sweetie but I started as a fat hiker with a fat pack in 2010 and finished while bunches of fit ultra lighters didn't make it. Yes both I and my pack got lighter as the hike went on and yes it was hard but the AT is always more mental than physical.

[Mags]

Blah.blah.blah..blah

Let's look at the hikers who did NOT achieve their goal. I am (almost ) willing to place money that the 3 out of 4 who did not make it were generally not in trail shape, inexperienced and/or had heavier packs (or, at the very least, did not have their gear system dialed in).

Can some one please explain to me why on this site people advocate the "just do it!" attitude?

If I was investing a fair amount of money, quitting a job and negotiating time with my family to take off, I'd darn well make sure I have a moderate base line of health, had some previous backpacking experience and that my gear was dialed in. A few weekend outings would be all it takes...and it is more fun, too.

Yeah..the AT is more mental, but if have the criteria above dialed in, the mental part is A LOT easier.

Again, we always hear from the 1 out of 4 who made it. The other 3 have much different stories and typically less likely to post.