View Full Version : AT hiking and weight loss
tucker0104
09-10-2008, 19:32
I was just wondering how much weight everyone lost while they were thru-hiking.
Jack Tarlin
09-10-2008, 19:37
Depends how you're built before the trip.
Skinny guys lose very little. Normal to slightly larger guys lose around 20 pounds.
Stockier guys lose much more, up to 40-60 pounds.
Most of this weight is regained in just a few months after the hike ends.
Blissful
09-10-2008, 19:59
My son lost 50 lbs. He's gained back 30.
I lost 30. Have gained back 10 (cross my fingers)
minnesotasmith
09-11-2008, 09:40
Depends how you're built before the trip.
Skinny guys lose very little. Normal to slightly larger guys lose around 20 pounds.
Stockier guys lose much more, up to 40-60 pounds.
Most of this weight is regained in just a few months after the hike ends.
I lost over 50 pounds during my thruhike, and I didn't go all that fast.
I knew one heavy-set young guy who'd lost 90 pounds just from Damascus (where he started) to Katahdin, seeing him in Troutdale and in Baxter, so can vouch fairly directly for this.
Women supposedly don't lose nearly as much weight on average as men, more ust firming up. Testosterone (which helps build muscle) has its advantages... :)
max patch
09-11-2008, 09:42
I was in decent shape when I started; lost 1 lb per week for 14 weeks then stayed the same the last 6 weeks.
But, as Jack said, I gained it all back in short order.
I was down about 10 pounds at one point, then gained it back by the end of the hike. I was, however, much more muscular at the finish than at the start, and was thinner.
Pedaling Fool
09-11-2008, 11:05
I lost 50 lbs in 50 days between Springer and Damascus, then my weight settled out.
I lost 30 pounds when I section hiked between Springer and Bland, VA in 1999. I gained it all back within 6 months.
Bigglesworth
09-11-2008, 12:03
Just weighed myself (in Andover). 58 lbs lost. I may win the gold medal in the women's weight loss category!!! :eek:
...I had the weight to lose; of course most people don't lose THAT much. I know two people who have lost more - both naturally big dudes.
Footslogger
09-11-2008, 12:09
I was just wondering how much weight everyone lost while they were thru-hiking.
================================
I lost 38lbs by the time I had gotten to Harpers Ferry on my northbound hike in 2003. I seemed to level off there and my weight stayed the same until I reached Katahdin.
Bad news is that my appetite continued well after my level of activity had ceased and by the end of 2003 I was pretty much back up to my pre-hike weight.
'Slogger
Pedaling Fool
09-11-2008, 12:17
I lost 50 lbs in 50 days between Springer and Damascus, then my weight settled out.
As others have stated, it's easy to regain the weight after your hike. I'm not as slim as when I finished in Oct 2006, but I put a lot of work into not going back to the way I was in Mar 2006 and for the most part I've been successful, but it does take a lot of work.
Lost 18 lbs. in 6 weeks, gained it all back within two months of finishing.
jersey joe
09-11-2008, 13:25
40lbs...Went from 175 to 135.
On my AT thru-hike I'd lost about 40 pounds, 17 of those pounds in the state of Maine. Returning to my home town, I was stick-width -- several people I'd known before my AT thru-hike didn't recognize me after my AT thru-hike. They told me I should put some weight back on and I told them I was eating as fast as I could.
I hiked on the AT with one guy who'd lost 50 pounds and had met another who was very tall and had lost 70 pounds on his hike from Springer Mountain to Damascus, VA.
Quite a bit of my weight loss in Maine may have been from shivering. It'd be a good idea for upcoming northbound thru-hikers to get to Katahdin no later than early October rather than being late like I was, finishing October 21st.
Datto
lost 0, gained 0 (so far)
A lot of hikers I saw weren't carrying enough calories, especially in the beginning.
Lost 30 in 2006 and have gained back 20. Should have worked harder at staying slim.