View Full Version : at broads gain weight and dudes lose
baerbelleksa
05-22-2006, 20:38
true? and how is this possible? i've been reading tinkerbell's tj, and was surprised to read that women generally gain weight on the trail, while men lose. why is this?
That was not quite what I observed. Comparing notes with the other thruhiking women I met along the Trail we all seemed to stay just about the same weight for the first half then started slowly losing after that.
I think first fat decreases while muscle increases so weight stays about the same, then once muscle development levels off body weight starts to drop. I lost 20 lbs the second half of my thruhike.
Lone Wolf
05-22-2006, 21:00
"at broads". And I thought I was not PC.:D
Frolicking Dinosaurs
05-22-2006, 21:00
Any endurance sport alters pre-menopausal women's hormone balance (likely why so many mention having lighter or no periods while hiking). This may be the reason that women either gain or lose less than men.
Wolf, we can call each other that, but you fellows would be wise not to try it.
I’ve read, from some forgotten but seemingly authoritative source which weighed male and female hikers, and measured their percentage of body fat, at the beginning of a Thru-Hike and at the end, both males and females lose weight. Females tend to lose mainly fat, males tend to lose half fat and half muscle.
Fat weighs less, per volume, than muscle. This helps explain why women beginning fitness programs can actually gain weight yet lose dress size as they lose the lighter weight yet bulkier fat and gain muscle.
You should feel better now.
baerbelleksa
05-22-2006, 21:13
"at broads". And I thought I was not PC.:D
haha. yeah, i figured - being a broad myself - that my choice of words wouldn't be too offensive. here's to broads everywhere!
The post by L.Wolf needs to be taken off. It doesn't matter what he was trying to say, or how funny he thought it was, or what type of comparison he was trying to make. Wrong is wrong, no one should be subject to have to read that.
max patch
05-22-2006, 21:50
The post by L.Wolf needs to be taken off. It doesn't matter what he was trying to say, or how funny he thought it was, or what type of comparison he was trying to make. Wrong is wrong, no one should be subject to have to read that.
I'm sure it will be deleted once one of the mods reads it. LW actually started a thread a few months ago using that same word real late one night and it was deleted the next morning.
The post by L.Wolf needs to be taken off. It doesn't matter what he was trying to say, or how funny he thought it was, or what type of comparison he was trying to make. Wrong is wrong, no one should be subject to have to read that.
Lone Wolf was totally correct in his analogy. He was not directing the word to anyone specifically so therefore it was not wrong to use it. Some folks need to be a bit less 'offendable'.
Skidsteer
05-22-2006, 21:53
The post by L.Wolf needs to be taken off. It doesn't matter what he was trying to say, or how funny he thought it was, or what type of comparison he was trying to make. Wrong is wrong, no one should be subject to have to read that.
I read it. Upon close inspection, I appear to be entirely undamaged in mind, body, or spirit.
Pheww! Guess I was lucky.
Pennsylvania Rose
05-23-2006, 17:13
The post by L.Wolf needs to be taken off. It doesn't matter what he was trying to say, or how funny he thought it was, or what type of comparison he was trying to make. Wrong is wrong, no one should be subject to have to read that.
Didn't phase me. Thought it was a decent analogy. Make a note to never work in a school with a high minority population. I hear the n word at least 100 times a day, although I never use it myself.
As to the original topic...my doctor got upset with me recently - he didn't believe that I've been dieting and working out because the scale didn't budge at all. However, my arms are no longer flabby, my second chin is gone, and I've dropped two pants sizes. I've toned up and replaced fat with muscle which weighs more per volume. This is what happens to most women, and makes it harder for us to lose weight compared to men. Don't ever compete with your husband at weight loss. Mine has lost 20 lbs while eating more and exercising less.
What really stinks is that even at my thinnest (size 8 or 10 - although I still have a long way to go to see that again), I still weigh too much according to the life insurance charts. My bones are extremely dense (YEAH! I don't have to worry about osteoperosis as much), I have a big chest, broad shoulders, wide hips, and am more muscular than the average woman. I'd have to starve myself to skin and bones to be any smaller.
KHamilton
08-15-2006, 13:33
I was one of those women who ended up gaining weight during my thru-hike. I lost inches pretty much everywhere on my body except my thighs and upper arms. At Bear's Den I tried on a pair of size 4 short and they fit (two sizes smaller than normal), but when I weighed myself I'd gained about 10 lbs.! By the end of my hike, my legs were like tree trunks and my upper arms were solid muscle. That was all muscle, and since then I've considered a career as a female bodybuilder, given the ease with which my body likes to pack on muscle! :)