Lose weight?

[humunuku]

Is it a good idea to lose weight before a thru hike? When I use to race bikes, my weight was upper 150s, presently i weight upper 170s - do i want to be race weight for a thru? or is it better to keep a little insulation (and spare energy) on me?

[Lone Wolf]

170? No. You don't need to lose weight. This ain't a race. Start slow, build up. No biggie.

[Peaks]

I'd say that the better physical shape you are in to begin with, the easier the first couple of weeks are going to be.

[Brushy Sage]

At your age you will probably lose some weight and increase strength and endurance in the first few weeks, no matter what your present condition -- as long as you have no major health problems. Be well, and enjoy!

[Almost There]

How tall are you? If your too skinny you will find yourself even skinnier. More important to work on your flexibility and endurance. You'll get in the groove as you go. HYOH!

[ARambler]

How heavy a pack did you carry when you raced bikes? The bikes probably beat you on the down hill, so I guess you can really haul A up hill

With your time frame, you cannot increase your training too slowly or too much. Your weight will be just right for that training.

The most important training is in the footware you will be using on Springer. Bad blisters might only cost a day, but could lead to your hike spiraling to Dots and the internet. Right LW
Rambler

[VictoriaM]

I'm going to hijack this a bit and ask how thin is too thin? At what point should the OP - or I - think about gaining weight before a thru.

[Bravo]

I'm going to hijack this a bit and ask how thin is too thin? At what point should the OP - or I - think about gaining weight before a thru.

I'm trying to gain about 10-12 pounds before April. I only weigh about 140 now. I'm 5'6".

[Almost There]

Men should be up above 10% or right around.

Women should be around a minimum of 15%

Going below this isn't dangerous but leaves you little room to lose weight. Can you do it? Sure I have seen numerous thin cross country types tearing up the trail, but many of these people know how to take care of themselves and have trained themselves to do so. The danger is if you have almost zero fat...your body will go to muscle for stored energy, which can lead to overuse injuries. Each person is different so this is a hard topic to explain in a general sense. BTW, my expertise in weight loss, etc. is as a wrestling coach where body fat and weight monitoring is mandated by a national federation now. I have over 20 years of doing this both as a competitor and a coach. If this can affect a wrestler throughout the season, believe me it can affect you on a 6 month hike. Then again with proper nutrition you should be just fine. Isn't something to scare you, but I do know of a few people that ran into problems because of it about half way up the trail. Too little fat leads to getting sick/catching colds frequently. The one gal I am thinking of had this problem and went to a doctor who told her she wasn't eating enough and was too thin/too little body fat.

[Bravo]

Men should be up above 10% or right around.

Women should be around a minimum of 15%

Going below this isn't dangerous but leaves you little room to lose weight. Can you do it? Sure I have seen numerous thin cross country types tearing up the trail, but many of these people know how to take care of themselves and have trained themselves to do so. The danger is if you have almost zero fat...your body will go to muscle for stored energy, which can lead to overuse injuries. Each person is different so this is a hard topic to explain in a general sense. BTW, my expertise in weight loss, etc. is as a wrestling coach where body fat and weight monitoring is mandated by a national federation now. I have over 20 years of doing this both as a competitor and a coach. If this can affect a wrestler throughout the season, believe me it can affect you on a 6 month hike. Then again with proper nutrition you should be just fine. Isn't something to scare you, but I do know of a few people that ran into problems because of it about half way up the trail. Too little fat leads to getting sick/catching colds frequently. The one gal I am thinking of had this problem and went to a doctor who told her she wasn't eating enough and was too thin/too little body fat.

Any tips on gaining weight. I've put on about 6 pounds over 4 months but I'm still only 140 pounds. Not much fat here either. Most women hate me for this but if I stop working out I lose weight fast. I get skinny sitting around. I'd like to put on about 10 more before April.

[Michele]

Any tips on gaining weight. I've put on about 6 pounds over 4 months but I'm still only 140 pounds. Not much fat here either. Most women hate me for this but if I stop working out I lose weight fast. I get skinny sitting around. I'd like to put on about 10 more before April.

Ben-n-Jerry's and pepperoni pizza. I didn't need to gain weight, but those two things did it for me!

[jlb2012]

Ben-n-Jerry's and pepperoni pizza. I didn't need to gain weight, but those two things did it for me!

pizza pie ala mode???

[Peaks]

Weight loss can be minimized by eating right on the trail. Not easy, but can be done if you don't rely on Ramen, Snickars, etc.

[Bravo]

Weight loss can be minimized by eating right on the trail. Not easy, but can be done if you don't rely on Ramen, Snickars, etc.

Yeah that's what I was hoping for.

[Almost There]

Jealous!!! Wish I had that problem, if I don't work out...the opposite happens. You could take weight gainer while working out/lifting weights. Check out GNC, I know guys getting ready for college ball that put on twenty-twenty five lbs in a few months. You should be able to do it if you increase caloric intake and use the right supplements. Of course, you'll probably lose it within a week or two on the trail.

[Bravo]

Jealous!!! Wish I had that problem, if I don't work out...the opposite happens. You could take weight gainer while working out/lifting weights. Check out GNC, I know guys getting ready for college ball that put on twenty-twenty five lbs in a few months. You should be able to do it if you increase caloric intake and use the right supplements. Of course, you'll probably lose it within a week or two on the trail.

That's funny. I've thought about that losing it quick part. I guess I'll just see what happens. I already take a protein drink. I hate GNC and those kind of stores because most of the employees don't know much more than what the label on a can can already tell me.

Is there a particular weight gainer you'd recommend?

Thanks

[Almost There]

To be honest, no, never have had to use it and I don't recommend teenage/high school athletes to take any supplements, think it can mess with growth cycle. I'll ask around, if I come up with something I'll get back to you. You could also search weigh gainer supplement reviews and you might find some stuff on the Inet from real people.

[TurkeyBacon]

I'm skinny (140, 5' 8") and had some intersteing weight results. It tried to gain weight before the trail with a cheeseburger and icecream diet, but could not gain any weight. Once I hit the trail, I actually gained weight in muscle. However, what little fat I had, I lost it all. The final 1/3 of the trail was a constant battle for me to pack in the calories in towns. When I could weigh myself, I noticed that in a 24 hour town stop, I could gain about 7-10 lbs. About 2-3 days after leaving towns, I would get light headed in the afternoons and have to ration my lunch food so it would last the entire food drop. I got so sick of it during the 100 mile wilderness, that I looked for the fastest way out. Fortunately for me, that was going forward. I ended up having to do one less day, more miles per day, but more food per day to get me out of the wilderness. Another hiker, Kentucky Slim told me that he had similar experiences with weigh gain and light headedness. So if you are skinny just be aware that you will might have issues for the final part of the trail of gettting enough calories to keep you going. I also beleive women have a completely different story.
If you are Bravo, stop trying to gain weight, those 10 lbs you gain now, will be gone before leaving GA. Enjoy eating unhealthy but don't get frustrated over a lack of weight gain. The only way you are going to have meaningfull weight gain is to do major muscle workouts and gain it in muscle, wich as a skinny fart, you (and I) will have problems doing that too, we are who we are.
humanuku, what Lone Wolf said...
TB

[Bravo]

,
The only way you are going to have meaningfull weight gain is to do major muscle workouts and gain it in muscle, wich as a skinny fart, you (and I) will have problems doing that too, we are who we are.
humanuku, what Lone Wolf said...
TB

Yeah working out is the only thing I can do to gain weight. Eating pizza and ice cream till the cows come home just doesn't do it. I used to eat pizza 6 days a week and I'd go through 1/2 gallon of ice cream every 2-3 days. I wasn't trying to gain weight then I just happened to work in a pizza shop and I really like ice cream.

I quit lifting weights a few months ago. Weights aren't for me. Lifting makes me look good but doesn't give me the same functional strength as body weight exercises. So now I do a couple hundred hindu squats and hindu push-ups per day. I also do core stuff like bridging and crunches. I'm the biggest and strongest I've ever been but if I stop even for a couple weeks it all goes away. That sucks. So I just have to keep my ass in gear.

[Ender]

stop trying to gain weight, those 10 lbs you gain now, will be gone before leaving GA. TB

Exactly. Any weight gained right before the trail will be the gone within a couple hundred miles at most. It's best to just try to keep in decent shape (without going overboard) and to eat healthy.

I'm also a skinny guy, and ended up gaining 15 lbs on the AT in muscle weight. The end of the trail was hard for me as far as keeping up on calories, and I ended up having mac&cheese for every dinner for the high calorie content, even though I hate the stuff. And snickers... lots and lots of snickers. And then loading up in towns on town food.