View Full Version : Hiking and health improvement?
Darwin again
11-24-2009, 13:27
Anyone got any hard data on how long-distance hiking helped your overall health, baseline general health indicators, weight loss, blood pressure improvements, etc?
garlic08
11-24-2009, 20:09
Hard data? No, I don't go to MDs. But based on some heart attacks and gland failures I've seen or heard about, not all long-distance hikers are the picture of good health and I believe poor nutrition may have contributed to some serious health problems. Myself, I don't feel real healthy after a long hike. It takes a few weeks for me to recover and gain weight and feel real good again. I generally start in nearly peak condition, and try to maintain that from there on. I'm getting better at it, but I always loose something along the way.
brian039
11-24-2009, 21:07
Cardiovascular-wise I think it's good for you, but I'm not sure if the overall wear and tear on your body is worth it. I have a friend who thru-hiked and his cholesterol was almost non-existent, but then he had a heart attack a year later.
Lone Wolf
11-24-2009, 21:13
Anyone got any hard data on how long-distance hiking helped your overall health, baseline general health indicators, weight loss, blood pressure improvements, etc?
i firmly believe a piss-poor diet while LD hiking led to my heart issues
i firmly believe a piss-poor diet while LD hiking led to my heart issues
My exit physical from the Marine Corps in October 1998: cholesterol 160.
Entry physical for a job in December 1999 (after my thru-hike): cholesterol 230.
Hard data. High fat, high carb diet for 6 months...
whitelightning
11-24-2009, 22:33
Before I thruhiked I had borderline high blood pressure. After my thruhike, I took a physical for work and my blood pressure was optimal. So far it has remained so. my cholestorol level is still high, but mostly HDL "good". I lost over 40 lbs. but have gained that back.
Sorry, no hard data.
Pedaling Fool
11-25-2009, 09:51
I had high blood pressure and cholesterol and the typical fat gut prior to my hike. I used my hike as a way to hit the reset button on my health. And carrying heavy weight was part of the plan, I averaged a 60 lb pack and heavy leather boots (Limmer boots).
I also ate a sensible diet, which I mailed along the way (a lot of self-dehydrated veggies/jerky), stayed away from the typical snicker-diet of most hikers and the processed foods (such as ramen noodles, mac & cheese…), therefore I didn’t experience the wasting-away look most do (despite carrying over twice the weight of guys 1/2 my age). I felt lean, mean and strong. My only problem was a really bad bout with lyme disease, took a lot out of me for a while.
Now: My cholesterol, blood pressure are still way down, because I continued a physical regimen after the hike (all part of the plan).
I’m now an avid runner (was an anti-runner before the hike) and I’m feeling stronger than ever. My resting HR is 48.
.
Pacific Tortuga
11-25-2009, 15:55
Check this site out. I just found it, not sure if this has been posted before.
www.fatpacking.com (http://www.fatpacking.com)
I think they want 2,$$$ for their trips.
Is planning a trip on your own so hard?, plus double the fee and take 6 month's off and really go for it.
Darwin again
11-25-2009, 16:02
Thanks for your replies, guys.
I think I screwed up the question by asking for "hard data," which isn't really what I meant, but I didn't figure that out until it was too late...
Cookerhiker
11-25-2009, 22:19
My exit physical from the Marine Corps in October 1998: cholesterol 160.
Entry physical for a job in December 1999 (after my thru-hike): cholesterol 230.
Hard data. High fat, high carb diet for 6 months...
Was the "high fat" diet high in saturated fat, e.g. meats & cheeses?
What does "high carb" have to do with elevated chloresterol?
Jim Adams
11-25-2009, 22:33
Lost alot of weight.
Dropped resting B/P drastically.
Dropped resting pulse big time.
Aerobic capacity increased thru the roof.
Best shape that I was ever in...better than when I was a professional racer.
Gained the weight back over the years but my B/P and resting pulse are still pretty good. Aerobic capacity is gone...I have to stop for a break everytime I walk to the shelf for another whiskey shot. :)
geek
FritztheCat
11-25-2009, 23:41
My cholesterol has gone from around 270 to 221 in the last year of hiking. I changed my diet after the initial high cholesterol screening about two years ago and that brought the number down to 270 from where it was but the hiking has really brought it down.
I felt pretty good during the hike. Afterwards, not so good. I have some permanent foot pain. The weight came back pretty quickly. I can feel my stomach jiggling. I don't like that at all.
I think there's only one solution. Find a way to live on the trail, but with better food and maybe not so many 30 mile days.
double d
12-01-2009, 01:27
Pure and simple: hiking long distance is good for you. Anyone can sit around the house and watch mind numbing tv shows, eat loosey McD's all day, gain weight, have high blood pressure and high LDL levels. Long distance hiking burns alot of calories and is a good workout. Nothing wrong with a high calorie/fat diet while hiking, but one must adjust their diet when their hike is over.
Here's an interesting journal entry: http://trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=206376
I believe this guy was 50 yrs old at the time of his hike.
Hi, many of you reading this had requested that i post my medical results.
On the diabetes aspect my sugar reading was very good even with all of the candy etc., that I ate while hiking.
With regard to the heart disease the news is not as positive. My cholesterol was 238, triglycerides were 439, HDL was 34, and LDL 116. I think i can say without hesitation that medication and extreme exercise are not enough, diet is probably the most important factor of all. While on the trail and especially when in town i ate the most fatty foods available. I always mixed my mash potatoes or pasta or ramen noodles with pepperoni and cheese etc. When in town i ate lots of ben and jerrys ice cream, beer, pizza, burgers, etc.
Toward the end of my hike the illness totally wore me out. I have done nothing but eat and sleep for the last 10 days. I lost close to 50 pounds and have regained 10 but still feel run down. I went to the gym for the first time today and can tell you that I am half the man i used to be. I feel the trail aged me; I honestly believe that if I had to go another 100 miles i could not have finished. My blood tests ruled out Lyme disease and hepatitus A but the stool test and heart doctor have yet to weigh in. I may yet have to go in for a stress test.
I can not bench press, curl, or run as much or as far as I could before i left. I have read past journals where others have returned feeling stronger and more fit than ever in their lives. Just the opposite for me, perhaps due to the Giardia.
take-a-knee
12-01-2009, 09:37
Wow, that guy needs a new MD. An ideal ratio of LDL/triglycerides is 1/1 or less (fewer triglycerides is even better). A ratio of 1/3 is diagnostic for insulin sensitivity, meaning diabetes is in his near future. His ratio is 1/12.9! He needs to be on a strict Zone or Atkins/Paleo diet like, yesterday. If all these lipid profile numbers are immeadiately post hike, that means that his hiker diet of refined carbs did some serious damage to his health.
What does "high carb" have to do with elevated chloresterol?
Extra carbs turn to fat which is then eliminated in the bloodstream. My guess is that our bodies need more time to process the change in eating habits and are not ready to process the extra carb and fat taken in. So, the body ends up eliminating most of the extra calories that hikers eat initially. This would lead to higher fat in the bloodstream, leading to higher cholesterol.
Then you throw the "I can eat anything" mentality on top of that, and you not only have an increase in carbs and fat, but also processed foods with really bad fat which again leads to higher cholesterol.
How many hikers get there meals from convenience stores? :-?
Pedaling Fool
12-01-2009, 10:32
Here's an interesting journal entry: http://trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=206376
I believe this guy was 50 yrs old at the time of his hike.
Gatorgump was not in great shape when he started, he was diabetic and just getting over a heart attack. Then he takes on a strenuous activity feeding himself typical thru-hiker meals. What did he expect?
That's why I invested the time and energy to dehydrate all my meals and probably why I finished my hike feeling strong and lean, as opposed to many that finish having that wasted-away look. And many think that's normal, it may be normal, but it is not right.
max patch
12-01-2009, 10:50
Gatorgump was not in great shape when he started, he was diabetic and just getting over a heart attack. Then he takes on a strenuous activity feeding himself typical thru-hiker meals. What did he expect?
Or it can all be explained as karma.
Bad karma might just bite one in the butt.:eek:
Don't know if thru-hiking is bad for you ...
I do know many people return to their bad habits after a thru-hike and the formally fit people are no longer so fit.
SB said:
I think there's only one solution. Find a way to live on the trail, but with better food and maybe not so many 30 mile days.
You don't have to live on the trail or hike 30 mile days to retain good shape. Sure..it can be hard work and needs discipline...but so is hiking for 4+ months. ;)
I just don't have enough time for real walking when I'm home. I work all day in front of a computer. That is bad for anybody's health. Walking all day is good for your health. I truly feel great living on the trail. Like superwoman. But the 30 mile days wore me out. So something less strenuous than 30 mile days and more strenuous than sitting in front of a computer would be perfect. And the fresh air and beauty of nature relieves stress.
As I like to mention, my buddy back East works 6am to 3pm (up at 4:30 am) as the charge nurse who basically runs two methadone clinics (talk about a stressful job! I think his role is like a senior sgt in the army. Considering he rec'd his LPN as a sgt in the army a decade ago, seems appropriate. :) ), has two children..and manges to eat healthy and be in shape.
RI is not exactly Colorado, but somehow he finds time to hike in the local trails near his home on a Saturday or Sunday.
If he can do it with all his responsibilities, I can get my ass off the couch and do something as well. I have no children, no major responsibilities and have the foothills minutes from my home..and the real mountains less than an hour away.
And, to repeat myself, it is not easy (compared to sitting with my ass on the couch)....but neither is walking for 4+ months. :)
It helps I enjoy being active instead of looking at it as chore.
YMMV.