View Full Version : Is weight gain the dirty little secret of thru-hiking?
How many former thrus are heavier now than before their hike? Is it the dirty little secret that thru-hiking can ruin your metabolism?
I do not think I am the only one with this experience. I started my hike slightly overweight, lost 25 pounds, then gradually gained back enough weight until I didn't have the sunken cheeks going on anymore by the time I took my picture at the terminus.
When I got home, weight came back slowly. I figured it would stop when I got back to where I was when I started. But it didn't. It kept coming. I tried to keep active, maintain a healthy, moderate diet, exercised at least 2 hours a day. I didn't scarf down pizzas or fast food. I had my one celebratory dinner in Manning Park and after that, I ate normal portions.
Have you been to a hiker gathering and seen that the former hikers look a little doughy? How many of you long to return to the trail partly because you want to try to lose that weight again? Does hiking ruin your metabolism?
Yep! I have the same thing going on. I have even continued to train since the CDT last August since i am hiking the AT and it would be pretty sad if i fell on my face.
But just like you described. I lost 20 lbs on the CDT until somewhere in Wyoming. Then i began gaining the weight back until i finished in Alberta Canada and i was just 10 lbs down.
Now I have regained those 10 lbs and about 10 more!
I have been hiking like a mad dog and even getting out during the week.
... Guess i just need to push away from the table a little sooner!:rolleyes:
I want to be trim to start the AT so I have given up beer for now until i start in March. I know.. it's crazy: a plumber that doesn't drink beer.:eek:
More hill climbing until then as i am doubling my training.
fiddlehead
02-14-2011, 01:27
I look at a thru-hike as a way to get my body in it's maximum efficiency.
I love to jog when not hiking so, after a hike, I can jog for hours on end where now (haven't thru-hiked in 7 years now) I can only go an hour or two.
But, all that being said, I usually lose 5-10 lbs on a thru and gain the same back a few months after.
I never let myself get too far out of shape.
Even now, since I can't thru (have a 5 year old son), I run a marathon (or at least a half) every June.
StormBird
02-14-2011, 02:22
I lost 15 pounds on trail and have gained about 10 back since I finished my thru 4 months ago. It's a little frustrating. I eat pretty healthy and in small portions, but if I don't get out running or hiking everyday, I don't loose any weight. I blame it on getting older (I'm a 30 year old woman). But maybe my metabolism is a little out of whack from trail. Even though I am 10 pounds heavier than my end trail weight, I still look thinner than before i started the trail. Probably muscle weight.
Am I the only person in history to gain weight hiking? After 800 miles I had gained close to 10 lbs....
I stay very active but my body has a rhythm or weight cycle that it goes through - the range is 164-174. I'm 6'2" so I'm either on the thin side or "normal" looking.
To get under 164 I have to noticeably starve myself (not worth it) and to get over 174 I've got to eat more than I really want too (also not worth it).
Of course, the backstory to this is that I was in an accident in 1999 and gained 50 lbs afterwards and became a 2 pack a day smoker. One day I woke up and said W-T-F is going on with me and got myself back together.
Before my accident I always weighed between 170-180.
Best I can tell, the human body has a mind of it's own. Even pro's are only in peak condition a few months out of the year.
I've wondered about the long-term health effects of a Thru. Perhaps weight gain is due to the total weight lost; the more lost, the worse rebound? I know there is a vast difference between hiking and a medical experiment but the Minnesota Starvation Experiment (1940s) might hold a clue for some. Severe calorie restriction, through excessive exercise, limited intake, or poor food quality could have the same end result:
Many also reported eating excessively after they left Minnesota; Jasper Garner described it as a "year-long cavity" that needed to be filled. Many, like Roscoe Hinkle, put on substantial weight: "Boy did I add weight. Well, that was flab. You don’t have muscle yet. And get[ting] the muscle back again, boy that’s no fun." Estimates for how long it took to fully recover ranged from 2 mo to 2 y, but none of the men believed there were any negative long-term health effects from participation.http://jn.nutrition.org/content/135/6/1347.full
Overall metabolism seems to realign itself to the change in activity/diet. I find a way to limit this "adjustment" is to vary the diet/exercise routine enough so the mind/body does not find a way to "fix" what is going on. When the mind adapts to a starving body through exercise/diet, it is very hard to lose additional weight and easy to gain when you cut back on exercise or increase your intake. Best to alter your routine by cycling through the hard-easy days, altering diet by random decrease and increase of intake.
I guess the saying "variety is the spice of life" holds true here.
handlebar
02-14-2011, 12:36
Yep! I have the same thing going on. I have even continued to train since the CDT last August since i am hiking the AT and it would be pretty sad if i fell on my face. ....
Now I have regained those 10 lbs and about 10 more! ....
Hey Ice Axe! Maybe you need to get off the Fritos and peanut butter diet instead of giving up beer. :)
I found these two articles:
Can hiking make you fat? (http://180metabolism.com/blog/?p=70)
Why hikers get fat (http://cduane.net/WhyHikersGetFat.html)
They refer to each other but one recommends a totally different diet from the other. And one is selling a diet, so that's probably the difference.
Tenderheart
02-14-2011, 16:56
How many former thrus are heavier now than before their hike? Is it the dirty little secret that thru-hiking can ruin your metabolism?
I do not think I am the only one with this experience. I started my hike slightly overweight, lost 25 pounds, then gradually gained back enough weight until I didn't have the sunken cheeks going on anymore by the time I took my picture at the terminus.
When I got home, weight came back slowly. I figured it would stop when I got back to where I was when I started. But it didn't. It kept coming. I tried to keep active, maintain a healthy, moderate diet, exercised at least 2 hours a day. I didn't scarf down pizzas or fast food. I had my one celebratory dinner in Manning Park and after that, I ate normal portions.
Have you been to a hiker gathering and seen that the former hikers look a little doughy? How many of you long to return to the trail partly because you want to try to lose that weight again? Does hiking ruin your metabolism?
I think thru hiking does wreck your metabolism. If I didn't run 40 miles a week and watch every gram of fat that goes in my mouth, I would look like the Pillsbury dough boy. I don't know what the answer is.
litefoot 2000:-?
Hey Ice Axe! Maybe you need to get off the Fritos and peanut butter diet instead of giving up beer. :)
No Doubt! :D
garlic08
02-14-2011, 17:30
Maybe it depends on your pre-hike shape. If you were overweight before the hike, I can understand the tendency to eat too much for too long afterwards.
I think we skinny folks don't have the same issues. I have never been able to put on more than a few pounds, and will quickly loose that with any strenuous activity at all.
I also believe hiking can do systemic damage. I'm not sure it can change something as fundamental as a metabolism rate, but I'm not a doctor.
How many former thrus are heavier now than before their hike? Is it the dirty little secret that thru-hiking can ruin your metabolism?
I do not think I am the only one with this experience. I started my hike slightly overweight, lost 25 pounds, then gradually gained back enough weight until I didn't have the sunken cheeks going on anymore by the time I took my picture at the terminus.
When I got home, weight came back slowly. I figured it would stop when I got back to where I was when I started. But it didn't. It kept coming. I tried to keep active, maintain a healthy, moderate diet, exercised at least 2 hours a day. I didn't scarf down pizzas or fast food. I had my one celebratory dinner in Manning Park and after that, I ate normal portions.
Have you been to a hiker gathering and seen that the former hikers look a little doughy? How many of you long to return to the trail partly because you want to try to lose that weight again? Does hiking ruin your metabolism?You say you lost 25 pounds during your hike and even had sunken cheeks. How do you know it wasn't mostly muscle mass you lost and not fat. In other words, it is pretty easy to understand what occured. This may not be the case with everyone, as everyone is different. Like some said they are predisposed to being and remaining lean, other's are predisposed to gaining weight(fat). So basically this is what I believe happens. When somebody sets out to do a super long distance hike (multiple months on end), and they basically push themselves day after day, possibly also coupled with the fact they are mostly eating "trail foods" (which may be low in essential nutrients, like protein especially) their bodies begin to burn off their available fat stores. But pushing day after day after day, the body (having gone threw starvation and famine periods when we were in our caveman days, etc..) has established what is know as a "fat setpoint". Basically what this is is the bodies point in which it decides (and everyone is different) that it simply is burning and losing too much fat, and for survival purposes, it does not want to give up any more of it. The body likes to stay at a certain amount. So what the body does, is it switches over to burning muscle instead. The body really doesn't get the fact you are hiking and need your muscle etc...and since it is only programed for survival as such, it decides that the remaining fat stores are necessary for survival, and since it doesn't have a lot left, it will begin to burn muscle tissue for sustenance. This is occuring most likely more in hikers who don't eat as well as they need to. Long distance hiking day after day for months on end is extremely demanding and burns huge amounts of calories. Most hiker's just aren't going to be able to properly eat and replenish this amount of calorie loss while eating mostly trail meals, etc...So the body begins to consume muscle. This is where the hiker is in trouble. As the muscle is consumed, the hiker begins to have less and less (hence the haggard and emaciated looks of the long distance hikers as they begin to near their goals). When the hike finally ends, and these individuals go back to their original lives, they find out that they are becoming fat and not eating any different than they did before their hikes. They ask themselves,"What gives?" What gives is they have lost a very significant amount of muscle mass. Muscle is metabolically active tissue, whereas fat tissue is not. Muscle burns calories. So now that they have less of it after their hikes, they don't burn as many calories as they did before their hikes. They simply now will gain fat and weight easier eating the same number of calories as they did before their hike, when they weren't gaining any additional weight at all:-?. This, like I said may not be every hiker's explanation for weight gain after multiple month long hikes, but I believe this explains many hiker's problems with weight gain after their long distance hikes, especially the ones who didn't eat well while hiking, pushed themselves too much, and are naturally predisposed to gaining weight easily. If they are healthy enough, a weight training program may be a great answer to this problem. By weight training, they can eventually rebuild the muscle that was lost, and then the body will begin to burn more calories again, even while it is at rest:sun
Red Beard
02-14-2011, 21:05
DapperD, sounds like I should take up weight-lifting when I get back then, eh?
my town weight is 152-156 - I get down to 145-147 after about 2-3 (200-300 miles) weeks on the trail and gain it back about 2 months off - even though I run, work-out, etc. - just the rhythm of life - you eat less on the trail and burn tons of calories - I've heard of folks that gain on the trail, but that is the exception - not the rule - it's all good.
DapperD, sounds like I should take up weight-lifting when I get back then, eh?This is just one explaination. I know people who diet and deprive themselves too strictly can and will fall victim to this too. The body will begin to consume it's own muscle. It just cares about surviving. This is why many dieters fail and wind up becoming even fatter after their diet. They cut their calorie intake too much and push too hard. This is why if you are healthy enough weight training can/will help. If you take it easy on your hike, eat as well as you can, and don't push yourself too much, especially if you become worn down, you may not even need to afterward:-?
I don't think I consumed any muscle. I finally gained some muscle definition I didn't have before! I never got as thin as your average bikini model. The closest I came was I almost lost my boobs in the Sierras when I ran out of food for a few days. The poor things were like deflated balloons with stretch marks and everything.
I ended the trail at a hearty normal weight. I didn't overeat for my celebratory dinner in Manning Park. I didn't continue to eat like a hiker after that dinner. After my first hike I was really hungry and thought if I just ate only grapefruit whenever I got hungry it would be okay. Eat as much grapefruit as I needed to get the hunger to go away and eat normally. That didn't work. But eating normally hasn't worked either. And it's not me. I've met a lot of former thrus and they often look pudgy like me.
I'm going to start running because the daily one hour of walking plus weekend day hiking ain't doing diddly squat.
garlic08
02-14-2011, 22:06
...The closest I came was I almost lost my boobs in the Sierras when I ran out of food for a few days. The poor things were like deflated balloons with stretch marks and everything.
I had to laugh at this. Thanks for the great image. My friend Pickle tells about looking in a mirror in a motel in S Lake Tahoe and noticed his ass wasn't there anymore!
We women are gifted for thru-hiking. We carry not just food on our backs but on our chests, too. Emergency back-up. They're not just for children!
In 2009, I 'saw the light' and made a conscious decision to maintain a thru-hiker shape (if not better) off-trail.
Unlike my friend Garlic, I tend to the stocky/muscular side rather than the thin side. The line is thin (no pun intended?) between stocky and chubby. Throughout my life, I crossed back and forth this line.
My dedication to fitness was the best last year in where I weighed slightly less than my PCT weight except with more muscle definition and lower body fat (I was looking pretty darn good if I do say so. :D). Being laid off, with lots of hiking, backcountry skiing and being really dedicated to working out helped. ;)
Now I am back in the 'real world' of working full time.
I am five pounds over my PCT weight but slowly creeping down again (and, again, with more muscle definition).
I slacked off a little bit since starting work..but being strict again during the week.
Chicken and fish, lots of veggies, whole grains (rolled oats), raw nuts, low fat cheese, fruit. Couple with intense exercise Tu-Fri and my usual weekend activities of lots of outdoor activities. And my indulgence of a beer and burger on weekends!
So..yeah,weight can come on after a hike..but not because of the hike itself.
Most people (myself included) have to learn healthy eating habits and make fitness a part of their daily routine. A thru-hike is NOT when most people learn healthy eating habits or learning to make fitness part of the routine.
It is hard work in a sense to maintain a level of fitness of what was on a thru-hike. But so is hiking when you are 20 lbs overweight. :)
On weekend, my 15 mile skis are enjoyable... the off-trail trekking is awesome. And when I do a longer hike? I can put in the mileage I want w/o worrying about if I am in shape for it.
So yeah..it takes dedication to maintain a level of fitness enjoyed on a longer hike. But so does walking GA to ME.... :)
DapperD, sounds like I should take up weight-lifting when I get back then, eh?
Or you could eat more protein and fat while hiking. This would allow you to keep more muscle over the long haul.
Usual hiker fare is part of the problem.
DapperD--great explanation. On the part about muscle burning more calories than fat...how much of an advantage is there in metabolic terms? I've been linked to these studies by my son:
http://exercise.about.com/od/exerciseworkouts/f/muscle.htm
http://www.thefactsaboutfitness.com/news/cals.htm
Building muscle is important for good health, of course. Do you have recent information on the caloric advantage?
Thanks for your time.
Tom
So yeah..it takes dedication to maintain a level of fitness enjoyed on a longer hike. But so does walking GA to ME.... :)
Staying in shape is easier than getting in shape once I got past the mental part.
One point of confusion for me was mistaking "in shape" for "peak condition".
It's almost impossible to get and stay in peak condition - even Olympians and professional athletes don't do that.
However, it's really not that hard to stay fit enough to go on a hike or run a medium distance race at a moments notice.
It's impossible to maintain trail weight, for me, anyway. Before I left for the trail I ate dessert every night and drank as much beer as I wanted. I bottomed out, weight wise, in VA. I gained a little back but by the end I was losing again. I probably ended around 112# or something.
I did not intentionally eat a lot when I came home. Truthfully I was sick of binging on food and I had no desire to eat like that at all. But the weight came back and now I am back to my 'off peak' weight or whatever. I could never maintain an underweight frame. Just impossible. Unless I liked starvation. Or just excercising for 12 hours a day.
I think the problem lies in the mythic 'hiker metabolism.' I met a lot of people who had the attitude of, "I'm a hiker, my metabolism is really fast, and I can eat whatever I want to for awhile after I get off the trail." In truth your metabolism is probably slower on the trail than off. Humanity wouldn't be here if your metabolism sped up during times of starvation and intense activity.
That, and the longer you hike the more efficient your body becomes at hiking, thus burning fewer calories to do the same amount of work.
By the time you get to Damascus, 5000 calories isn't what it used to be. :)
Am I the only person in history to gain weight hiking? After 800 miles I had gained close to 10 lbs....
.
Nope. On my AT thru I gained 15 pounds. Went from 140 to 155. My PCT hike I did lose weight... went from 165 to 155. Apparently 155 is my "in shape" weight.
Red Beard
02-15-2011, 11:06
I'm guessing that my 240 pound frame is going to be a LOT lighter (by the time / if ) I make it to Katahdin. I'm hoping anyway.
mweinstone
02-15-2011, 11:08
weight is neither dirty, little or secret.
please leave my comic book store at once.
thank you.
The only time I've ever been thin was when I starved myself in highschool. A 500 calorie per day diet while being on the track team. That's the only time I could wear a bikini and even then I didn't have a flat stomach. I weighed 109, my lowest weight ever at 5'3" which according to weight charts at that time put me on the borderline of overweight (they've adjusted them upwards since then). I didn't even get that thin hiking the PCT.
I definitely believe my metabolism slowed way down on the PCT. I try to keep in shape with 1-2 hours of exercise each day. I still need time in the day to take care of life business. Anyway, I'm going to switch to less hours of exercise but more intense exercise and see if that jump-starts my metabolism again. It does leave me thinking twice about another thru-hike.
jersey joe
02-15-2011, 11:30
I lost 40lbs on my thru hike.
I lost fat and muscle.
It is hard to stop eating so much after a thru.
It is also hard to come close to the amount of exercise you get thru-hiking.
I put the weight back on pretty fast.
Harder to put muscle weight back on than fat weight.
I think a thru hike has a temporary effect on your metabolism and your body corrects itself after a while.
stonedflea
02-15-2011, 12:38
so for the most part, would y'all say that the "binging" after a thru is more mental or is it actually an intense, physical, 'my stomach hurts because it's empty' need to eat?
would y'all say that your body actually needs the excess calories after a thru to recuperate and rebuild/restore your energy levels, or do you think it's just that your mind hasn't adjusted to the fact that you're no longer in the 100-mile wilderness and you can get plenty of food right down the road at the grocery store?
in the case that it's a mental thing, what would y'all say about a short-term prescription of phentermine as an appetite suppressant to try and control the "binging" after a hike? good idea or no?
Or you could eat more protein and fat while hiking. This would allow you to keep more muscle over the long haul.
Usual hiker fare is part of the problem.
DapperD--great explanation. On the part about muscle burning more calories than fat...how much of an advantage is there in metabolic terms? I've been linked to these studies by my son:
http://exercise.about.com/od/exerciseworkouts/f/muscle.htm
http://www.thefactsaboutfitness.com/news/cals.htm
Building muscle is important for good health, of course. Do you have recent information on the caloric advantage?
Thanks for your time.
TomI believe there is a big advantage if a person has significant muscle mass over a person with little in terms of the ability for that person to remain lean and in shape (especially those predisposed to weight gain). According to this article, there is a big caloric burning advantage:http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/calories/burning_calories/starvation.htm
Ladytrekker
02-15-2011, 13:05
I wish I could find it again but I read a gender study that someone did about several thru hikers on the AT and weight loss. The basic analysis was:
Men: lose 20 to 40 lbs and have a gaunt or thin look at the end of a thru
Women: lose approx. 10 lbs and their legs take on a more muscular look with no gaunt or overly thinness look to them.
I thought it was interesting.
Sickmont
02-15-2011, 13:11
If i lose 40 pounds on the trail then i'll just look kind of big, and not wide like i do now.
Slo-go'en
02-15-2011, 13:22
It's really hard to keep from eating like a pig after a long hike. I think it's a genetic responce to loosing all your reserve fat during the hike.
Pedaling Fool
02-15-2011, 18:02
Some of us just have a slow metabolism and gain weight fast and usually the metabolism decreases (quickly in spurts) as we age. At least that’s the case with me. I don’t see my TH screwing up my metabolism, it’s as sh1tty as it was before the hike, that’s just the cards I’ve been dealt.
Luckily I did a TH and learned one very important lesson. The body can be trained to be very efficient and the reason I was fat before my TH is not because of some defect in my exercise regimen, rather it was because (and this is very important) I was eating too much. This is something we hear a lot – cut back on calories – but we’ve gotten to the point when we now hear this we just seem to say, “Yeah, yeah…” and then focus on some other technique to lose the weight. That’s why billions have been spent on the fat-lose industry (and the lucky ones have made billions). It really is all just a scam. When you see that you’re gaining too much weight just reduce input, it’s that simple. What's not simple is the will power it takes to do this, I know from experience, there's not many other things I like to do than eat.
Exercising is to make the body strong. Dieting is to provide the body with the fuel it needs to do what it needs to do. If you want to lose weight you gotta focus in on the fuel. If you want a strong body you gotta focus on your physical activity (exercise). There is overlap there and one does affect the other, i.e. when I do a lot of cycling my fuel is different than when I do a lot of weights. But you just gotta learn to say NO to extra food. Look at how much you eat in a typical day (I’m not talking about counting calories), just look at the portions you eat and compare that to a thru-hike. And remember one important thing, the amount of calories you burn in your typical day is a fraction of what you burned on a typical day on the trail. You simply don't need the amount of food you think you do. Your thruhike proved that. Yes you were deprived of calories and that's why your first stop in town was an AYCE establishment, but look at how much you did on that little bit of food. Most people in their daily liveseat way more food than a Thru-hiker, but burn a fraction of the calories, that's why they're fat and that's why there are so many health issues today, it's that simple.
A lot of times when you feel hunger pains, you end-up feeding your body way too much. Why? Because it feels good. Just like a cigarette feels good, alcohol feels good….but that doesn’t mean it’s good.
Pedaling Fool
02-15-2011, 18:17
It's really hard to keep from eating like a pig after a long hike. I think it's a genetic responce to loosing all your reserve fat during the hike.
I think the bulk of it is just because it feels good, but there probably is an underlying genetic instinct to eat more than you need. However, I think most of us use this instinct as a crutch.
Instincts are trainable.
Slo-go'en
02-15-2011, 18:25
I think the bulk of it is just because it feels good, but there probably is an underlying genetic instinct to eat more than you need. However, I think most of us use this instinct as a crutch.
Instincts are trainable.
That and the fact that the highly processed and fast food most of us eat these days is very different than the types of food mankind eat for the last 100,000 years. Suger, fat and salt used to be hard to come by, so we crave it most of all.
Pedaling Fool
02-15-2011, 18:33
You have to wonder how our bodies will change over time with this new diet. Like our body changed so we can drink milk. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6397001.stm
Early man 'couldn't stomach milk'
A drink of milk was off the menu for Europeans until only a few thousand years ago, say researchers from London.
Analysis of Neolithic remains, in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests no European adults could digest the drink at that time.
University College London scientists say that the rapid spread of a gene which lets us reap the benefits of milk shows evolution in action.
But intolerance to milk remains common in modern times, say nutritionists.
In order to digest milk, adult humans need to have a gene which produces an enzyme called lactase to break down lactose, one of the main sugars it contains.
Without it, a drink of milk proves an uncomfortable experience, causing bloating, stomach cramps and diarrhoea.
Today, more than 90% of people of northern European origin have the gene.
Skeleton study
Working with scientists from Mainz University in Germany, the UCL team looked for the gene that produces the lactase enzyme in Neolithic skeletons dating between 5480BC and 5000BC.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gifhttp://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gif The ability to drink milk gave some early Europeans a big survival advantage http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/end_quote_rb.gif
Dr Mark Thomas
University College London
These are believed to be from some of the earliest farming communities in Europe.
The lactase gene was absent from the DNA extracted from these skeletons, suggesting that these early Europeans would not be tolerant to milk.
Dr Mark Thomas, from UCL, said: "The ability to drink milk is the most advantageous trait that's evolved in Europeans in the recent past.
"Although the benefits of milk tolerance are not fully understood, they probably include the advantage of a continuous supply compared with the 'boom and bust' of seasonal crops, its nourishing qualities, and the fact that, unlike stream water, it's uncontaminated with parasites, making it safer.
"All in all, the ability to drink milk gave some early Europeans a big survival advantage."
Milk exposure
The big question for scientists now is how the human population changed and took advantage of milk consumption.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42616000/jpg/_42616711_skulls203.jpg The researchers took DNA from neolithic skulls
One theory suggests that small groups who could tolerate lactose became dominant because they could then farm cattle for milk.
But the UCL team says it is more likely that the genetic mutation allowing the digestion of milk arose at some point after dairy farming began.
Dr Thomas says the absence of the gene in the remains studied supports this theory.
If lactose tolerance had come first, the farmers would have already have had the gene.
As they did not, he suggests the genetic mutation took place at a later point.
He added: "It's likely that the gene variant arose in one individual somewhere in northern Europe, and was such an advantage, it spread quickly.
"This is probably the single most advantageous gene trait in humans in the last 30,000 years."
Today's intolerance
Anna Denny, a scientist with the British Nutrition Foundation, said 'lactase deficiency' affected about 5% of white British people, and a larger proportion of those from some ethnic minorities.
In some parts of the world, such as Asia and Africa, the vast majority of people are lactose intolerant to some degree.
Once diagnosed, the usual way to control its symptoms is to restrict the amount of milk products eaten every day, although nutritionists say that eliminating dairy products entirely is usually unnecessary.
Anna Denny said: "Lactose intolerance tends to be dose-related and some people are more sensitive than others, consequently only about a third of the people with lactase deficiency are actually lactose intolerant.
"Patients with severe lactose intolerance can usually eat yogurt, hard cheeses and lactose-reduced milk and all are encouraged to eat these as a source of calcium and other nutrients."
Some research suggests that disease-causing bugs can be passed on in milk
so for the most part, would y'all say that the "binging" after a thru is more mental or is it actually an intense, physical, 'my stomach hurts because it's empty' need to eat?
would y'all say that your body actually needs the excess calories after a thru to recuperate and rebuild/restore your energy levels, or do you think it's just that your mind hasn't adjusted to the fact that you're no longer in the 100-mile wilderness and you can get plenty of food right down the road at the grocery store?
in the case that it's a mental thing, what would y'all say about a short-term prescription of phentermine as an appetite suppressant to try and control the "binging" after a hike? good idea or no?
I felt like I had developed this gnawing beast inside of me. I was intensely, physically hungry, my stomach growled every time I went uphill. I was truly hungry. It was not "cravings" or whatever.
I don't think you need excess calories to recover after unless you end the trail in a gaunt state.
After my first hike I tried to manage the hunger eating all the grapefruit I wanted. If I was going to feel starving all the time, I figured I would satiate myself with grapefruit rather than cookies. I still gained weight.
I had considered going to an herbalist to see if there was anything I could take. I kind of fear weight loss drugs. I never got around to it.
twsmith001
02-15-2011, 22:51
when i got back from basic training i had this same problem....and we definetly had enough nutrious food....what i think it is is your body is use to needing so much energy that when you get back it just thinks your in a low activity period and starts hoarding.....like putting money in the bank for a rainy day.
Ravennessa
02-16-2011, 01:55
I haven't read it all but if someone else ahs posted my appologues... its like jojo dieting..
When you starve the body for a longer period of time the body will put on extra pounds after in case you get something similar happening again... Hence why women that are on and off dieting often shed the pounds and then gain more again...
and the older you get.... the harder to get rid of them...
I can vouch for it as a woman at 230 lbs.... Im lucky though Im massive so its not all fat Im heavier than average even when skinny at 180 lbs being a size 8.. but Id be guessing that its the same effect...
StormBird
02-16-2011, 03:42
great articles! It definitely sheds some light on what I have been experiencing in the last 4 months since I finished my thru. I guess I am going to hit weight training pretty hard from now on and load up on my carbs through veggies instead of the normal staples. Thanks for the info guys!
fredmugs
02-26-2011, 11:10
I have never been on the trail for 3 weeks or more so I have never experienced thru hiker hunger. When I talk to thru's or read their journals the crap that they eat amazes me.
I'm no dietician but I think one of the worst things you can do is continuously spike your blood sugar levels. Eating a half gallon of ice cream to me sounds incredibly stupid. I would imagine that eating high fat worthless calories every time you get to a town has got to take it's toll on you over time.
I remember rolling into the Bears Den hostel and getting the hiker special. The pizza was horrible enough but then when I saw that a pint of Ben and Jerry's has 56g of fat I was shocked. If they truly cared about people they would stop making their products.
I'm doing a Biggest Loser contest right now. I'm eating 1,500 calories or less a day with no more than 35g of fat and 100g of net carbs. I'm also buring 600 - 900 calories a day exercising. I have done this every day since the super bowl. The weight is coming off like crazy and I'm not hungry. Normally I try to weigh 195 in the summer and I'm currently at 187. 25 years ago when I got out of the Marine Corps I weighed 182.
BTW - one grapefruit has 25g of carbs and a very hugh sugar content. Eating all the grapefruit you want is probably a bad thing.
It is amazing how much you need to eat when hiking 20-30 miles a day. Here's what I ate after a few months on the trail and after a section that included my longest day, 36 miles.
At Timberline Lodge I ate:
2 cups of yogurt
fruit salad
bowl of granola, maybe two
Belgian waffle with berries and whipped cream
small croissant
other small pastries
some kind of cheesy potato casserole
bacon
about 7 cups of coffee
I only stopped because I couldn't slouch in my chair anymore.
I skipped lunch that day but ate dinner. Was quite hungry. I may have also had a pint of ice cream that day, but I wouldn't call that lunch.
Hummingbird was a woman running the PCT, doing 45-55 miles a day. After her first 60 miler, to celebrate she and a friend both ate:
- a big ice cream
- then a full dinner
- then another big ice cream
- a second full dinner
- another big ice cream.
My friend says they could have continued like that all night but eventually restaurants close and people get sleepy. Hummingbird probably weighed about 100lbs!
I honestly did not believe that hiker hunger would affect me. I thought it was just young men being young men. I had always lost my appetite while backpacking. But somewhere around 300 miles or so I had absolutely no energy on the trail and absent-mindedly I ate my entire week's ration of trail mix in one sitting. Suddenly I felt a lot better. That's when I realized I really needed to eat. Then the hunger began.
It became like a grave responsibility to eat as much as possible in town so I could make it through the next section of trail. And then I'd run through the next section of trail fast enough not to run out of food. I didn't go overboard on pizza and ice cream. I did the pint of ice cream trick only twice. I never once ate any pizza on my 2 hikes. In Ashland I ate an entire platter of meat at the Indian restaurant. Lots of times I'd get a big salad. I favored real food over junk food in town. But I did eat a lot of food and I did start making my choices for what food to carry based on calories primarily. The more calories per item the better, and that naturally favors food with more fat.
I am convinced there is no healthy food for the trail. Dehydrated food is not as healthy as fresh. I cannot see what difference there is between fig newtons (cookies) and oatmeal. A great deal of food eaten on the trail is the same as food eaten at home such as pasta, tuna, crackers, hummus, cheese, peanut butter (I even brought the natural style.)
That's all during the hike, though. Afterward it is back to normal life again. It was really hard after my first big section to curb my raving hunger. The second time my body weight had already started creeping up while on the trail. It was an easy switch to stop eating like a hiker. But the gnawing hunger took almost a year to be completely gone. I think I could easily backpack now with pasta dinners that only fill my pot 1/3 up instead of to the brim and I'd probably lose my appetite again like I used to.
I have never been on the trail for 3 weeks or more so I have never experienced thru hiker hunger. When I talk to thru's or read their journals the crap that they eat amazes me.
I'm no dietician but I think one of the worst things you can do is continuously spike your blood sugar levels. Eating a half gallon of ice cream to me sounds incredibly stupid. I would imagine that eating high fat worthless calories every time you get to a town has got to take it's toll on you over time.
I remember rolling into the Bears Den hostel and getting the hiker special. The pizza was horrible enough but then when I saw that a pint of Ben and Jerry's has 56g of fat I was shocked. If they truly cared about people they would stop making their products.
I'm doing a Biggest Loser contest right now. I'm eating 1,500 calories or less a day with no more than 35g of fat and 100g of net carbs. I'm also buring 600 - 900 calories a day exercising. I have done this every day since the super bowl. The weight is coming off like crazy and I'm not hungry. Normally I try to weigh 195 in the summer and I'm currently at 187. 25 years ago when I got out of the Marine Corps I weighed 182.
Before I thru'd I kind of thought the same thing, too. If I only knew the amount of crap that I would be eating on the trail! Oh my.
Unfortunately crap food is the best hiker fuel. If I'm out for a few days or weeks, I have plenty of reserves. But once I'm on the trail for 10-12 hours a day, eating about 3 or 4 thousand calories of flat out crap food gave me great energy. That kind of exercise day in and day out, yeah, you're going to use all the simple sugar you put in your body.
I remember coming into Waynesboro after 8 days on the trail. I was STARVING. I was so horribly hungry. I wanted to go to McDonalds. The night before I was possibly fantasizing about eating at McDonald's.(I normally eat at fast food establishment maybe once a year, and I haven't eaten a meal at McDonald's in years, even.) I probably ate about 4 egg/cheese muffins, about 3 cups of coffee with plenty of sugar and cream, 6 six hashbrowns, and a large milkshake. You get the idea. I heard some one say in disgust..."How does someone so skinny eat so much food?"
Your hunger levels just change. The base of what I ate in town and on the trail was "healthy" in relative terms, but I had to supplement with lots and lots of ice cream. I was one of those 'stupid' people that ate probably a gallon of ice cream in every town...every day. If you're hiking every day, you will be in a caloric deficit by day 2 of your day out of town. I doubt that I'd be sustained with only a salad and the equivalent of a skinless chicken breat (I don't eat much meat.) Also, you need the fat. And the carbs. And the protein. You need it in huge amounts.
Now thinking about it, I don't even want to mention what I ate at Cowboy's on my way out of Damascus. Or even calculate how many pints of Ben & Jerry's, quarts of Breyer's, or boxes of Klondike Bars I ate over the course of the hike.
I weigh the same as I did before I left. No way could I maintain an underweight hiker frame in the regular world. And no way could I eat what I eat at home one the trail. I would starve.
I'm eating 1,500 calories or less a day with no more than 35g of fat and 100g of net carbs.
I'm going to guess the lowering your carb intake is playing a major role in your success. The graphic from MDA shows his research into weight loss (scroll down the page a bit). It looks like you are right there...keep up the good work! Your success is a motivation to others!
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/dial-in-your-carb-count/
It's not really a secret, just a fact. Most of us eat more than we need for good health, and exercise less. I doubt if hiking does anything harmful to most metabolisms. At least I've seen no convincing evidence that it does.
Before I thru'd I kind of thought the same thing, too. If I only knew the amount of crap that I would be eating on the trail! Oh my.
Unfortunately crap food is the best hiker fuel. If I'm out for a few days or weeks, I have plenty of reserves. But once I'm on the trail for 10-12 hours a day, eating about 3 or 4 thousand calories of flat out crap food gave me great energy. That kind of exercise day in and day out, yeah, you're going to use all the simple sugar you put in your body.
I remember coming into Waynesboro after 8 days on the trail. I was STARVING. I was so horribly hungry. I wanted to go to McDonalds. The night before I was possibly fantasizing about eating at McDonald's.(I normally eat at fast food establishment maybe once a year, and I haven't eaten a meal at McDonald's in years, even.) I probably ate about 4 egg/cheese muffins, about 3 cups of coffee with plenty of sugar and cream, 6 six hashbrowns, and a large milkshake. You get the idea. I heard some one say in disgust..."How does someone so skinny eat so much food?"
Your hunger levels just change. The base of what I ate in town and on the trail was "healthy" in relative terms, but I had to supplement with lots and lots of ice cream. I was one of those 'stupid' people that ate probably a gallon of ice cream in every town...every day. If you're hiking every day, you will be in a caloric deficit by day 2 of your day out of town. I doubt that I'd be sustained with only a salad and the equivalent of a skinless chicken breat (I don't eat much meat.) Also, you need the fat. And the carbs. And the protein. You need it in huge amounts.
Now thinking about it, I don't even want to mention what I ate at Cowboy's on my way out of Damascus. Or even calculate how many pints of Ben & Jerry's, quarts of Breyer's, or boxes of Klondike Bars I ate over the course of the hike.
I weigh the same as I did before I left. No way could I maintain an underweight hiker frame in the regular world. And no way could I eat what I eat at home one the trail. I would starve.I have not thru hiked but I have held physical jobs where I would be working lifting and moving all day long in the cold for months on end, and I don't mean just a little but really going non stop. If one attempts to eat very little or diet you will just basically burn out with no energy. During something as grueling as a thru-hike, you can probably eat the most fattening and sugar laden foods around and have no problem doing so (unless you have certain medical problems or issues). And also one thing that may not have been mentioned, is the fact that the body many times will crave what it is lacking and for what it needs. Ice cream, pizza, cheeseburgers, etc...all have much needed fats and proteins. Cakes, pies, sweets, etc...all have that much needed fats and sugars the body craves to give it the energy necessary to keep going and making progress. This is why being at home and watching ones food intake to avoid weight gain is simply not practical, needed, or wise to do for most who are undertaking such an arduous journey. I do believe though that attempting to include as many healthy foods such as fresh vegetables and fruits, etc...that one can get while doing their hikes is still wise to do, just for the nutrients and fiber that these foods provide.
fredmugs
02-28-2011, 09:58
I'm going to guess the lowering your carb intake is playing a major role in your success. The graphic from MDA shows his research into weight loss (scroll down the page a bit). It looks like you are right there...keep up the good work! Your success is a motivation to others!
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/dial-in-your-carb-count/
Awesome article - since I agree with it!
I've done a few 150+ mile hikes where I am doing 20 a day. For these hikes I eat the following:
Ziplock sandwich baggie of trail mix
Ziplock sandwich baggie of summer sausage
Snickers bar
MetRx Big 100 Meal Replacement bar
Some type of dehydrated meal.
I'm pretty sure that's less than 3,000 calories and pretty low on the carbs. I never get hungry but then again we're only talking about 7 days or so at a time.
Here's my Waynesboro experience. I was hiking from Waynesboro to Daleville where my car was parked. It was in the middle of a severe drought and I got competely dehydrated and was suffering from heat exhaustion. I was maybe eating 1,000 calories a day and when someone commented that I was forcing myself to eat I knew it was time to get off the trail. On my off the trail I met another hiker who also needed to get off and after hitching back to my car we drove to Waynesboro. By the time I drove back there I felt better and we hit the chinese buffet. After 4 over flowing plates of food we left because we were tired of eating - not because we were full. I'm guessing that's what thru-hiker hunger is like.