View Full Version : Putting on Weight Before a Hike
Special K
03-21-2013, 16:04
I am a female. ;) Leaving on my thru-hike in a week and a half. Over the last 3 months I have been slowly gaining weight (on purpose). I have succeeded and now feel like a bloated tic. I am also vertically challenged. My back measurement for my pack is 14. My pack is very SMALL but it fits beautifully.
My question: Did you gain weight (on purpose) BEFORE your hike? On average, I know men lose more weight than women. Did gaining weight help you?
Lone Wolf
03-21-2013, 16:06
gaining weight before hiking has no benefit
Special K
03-21-2013, 16:23
Why would you do that?
In anticipation of weight loss. I hover around the 108 lb range, normally.
Chuckie V
03-21-2013, 16:26
If the weight comes in the form of additional muscle mass (but only those muscles used for hiking/backpacking) and/or perhaps some well-hydrated cells, there's likely to be some benefit, but it's doubtful this is the weight you've gained over the past three months.
The trail will take care of any added weight in quick order, paring you down to what it deems necessary, almost regardless of intake. As Lone Wolf alludes to, there's really no point in purposefully gaining weight beforehand. It won't make trail life any easier and quite honestly won't do much else than add some unnecessary soft tissue stress (again, unless it's the appropriate muscle mass you've gained).
One theoretical benefit: The extra weight might make you work harder, which will help generate more warmth on those cold days, but that's hardly a benefit when a thru-hike of the trail is hard enough.
There's a reason those who make it to the end of the line are generally at their thinnest. Fitness is what achieves thru-hiking goals...both mental fitness (i.e., tenacity and persistence and perhaps a bit of insanity) and physical fitness/readiness. Luckily, a long walk tends to develop all this en route.
Feral Bill
03-21-2013, 16:35
Take the extra, say ten pounds as food rather than body fat. More tasty and versatile.
Special K
03-21-2013, 16:36
Yes, Chuckie V you are right. My weight gain is not in the form of muscle mass. :o But if I fall below a certain weight, I do feel weaker. I thought maybe giving myself a little extra padding may help.
Special K:
Being around 108 pounds make me think you have done a wise move to add a few pounds before your hike. That extra pounds( normally in form of fat) can help you to cope with the loss of appetite due to new life style that may happen in the first week or so of beginning your hike. I wish you a great and joyful experience.
Special K
03-21-2013, 16:47
Special K:
Being around 108 pounds make me think you have done a wise move to add a few pounds before your hike. That extra pounds( normally in form of fat) can help you to cope with the loss of appetite due to new life style that may happen in the first week or so of beginning your hike. I wish you a great and joyful experience.
Thanks for the well wishes Kookork! About the weight gain, that was my logic too. I've read about people thru-hiking that have lost large amounts of weight that said they felt pretty depleted at the end. If my hike was a short one, I would not have gained any extra.
Chuckie V
03-21-2013, 16:53
Yes, Chuckie V you are right. My weight gain is not in the form of muscle mass. :o But if I fall below a certain weight, I do feel weaker. I thought maybe giving myself a little extra padding may help.
I'm a thin person and I get cold quite easily. But it makes more sense for me to carry additional clothing to combat it than to try to gain body fat. And, as Feral Bill mentioned, it makes even more sense to carry additional food (if any additional weight is going to be hauled, that is), but this depends entirely on the environment to which one is bound (e.g., extra water can save your life much quicker than extra food will, if it's hot-weather heat exhaustion we're talking about, and so on...).
The key point to all this is that preparing for a long-ass hike is best done by hiking (i.e., readiness principle #1: specificity), and, assuming you make positive adaptations and avoid injuries, well, that is what will prepare you for battle.
Being that it's highly unlikely you'll gain weight when doing your thru-hike, you should thus not try beforehand, since the specific demands of thru-hiking would not otherwise allow for it. Carry extra clothes (lightweight stuff) and extra food (also the lightweight stuff) and, if there's time between now and your departure date, go hiking with some weight on your back. Any weight you (or your gear list) lose between now and then will only go to help your cause, if you can adhere to these considerations.
I hope to see you out there!
Special K
03-21-2013, 17:10
Yes, I've been hiking in Maine with weight since last October to prepare. Good thing too since I've been able to correct a TON of things I wouldn't have wanted to correct once I hit the trail. I haven't been doing much exercise lately....just laying low and relaxing since I know that is soon to come to an end. I have gone over my pack (it seems like) A HUNDRED TIMES to eliminate everything but the bare essentials. I am down to 26 lbs with food and water. I wish I could go lower but I am a cold sleeper and need my 0 degree bag.
So has anyone lost a significant amount of weight while thru hiking?
Odd Man Out
03-21-2013, 17:18
I've been putting on weight for the last 25 years to get ready for my thru hike :eek:
Special K
03-21-2013, 17:22
I've been putting on weight for the last 25 years to get ready for my thru hike :eek:
Too funny! :D
Old Boots
03-21-2013, 17:22
I lost 20 lbs. before my hike. I lost more on the trail, but I felt that the reduced load on my knees and ankles was a real advantage.
For me, I lost a significant amount of weight, 12lbs. As for your question, Feral bill hit it on the head. Instead of ten extra lbs on the belly carry ten more lbs of food. Then eat it and do it again, and again. A lot more enjoyable.
but since your already put the weight on..... My official answer is..... Yeah that was a great idea, it will help you out. :) see I have been trained .
Chuckie V
03-21-2013, 17:34
The logic of gaining "extra reserves" before a long-distance backpacking trip is a skewed one, alas. Extra body fat is not easily converted into usable energy and in fact places far more stress on a system (i.e., you) than any believed benefit it may provide (e.g., additional stress to muscles, tendons, cartilage, bones, the heart, arteries, capillaries, the hiker's psyche...I'll stop there). I really don't care to argue with anyone who thinks otherwise, and I really don't give a damn what others "believe" is best for them. The science is fairly straightforward on this one, and if thru-hiking were studied by other physiologists more closely, we might all know this stuff. Specificity! Either you'll adapt en route or you won't, but gaining a bunch of fat beforehand won't help in either case.
The real tricks, in my mind, are to…
a) Be as fit as possible beforehand (i.e., ready for the task ahead; this means psychologically ready too, not just physically ready! Of course, any such readiness is tough for beginners to recognize, but this should never stop anyone from attempting a thru-hike!).
b) Ease into the hike gently (listen to your body and not some preconceived plan).
c) Be adaptable/flexible (the trail chews up and spits out plans quite frequently).
d) Give yourself time to adapt (very few preparations can prepare you for the magnitude of a thru-hike!). This may mean letting other hikers {i.e., friends} go on ahead, until you've adapted accordingly.
e) Be intrigued enough to continually want to know what's around the next corner! Unbridled desire tends to achieve goals when the necessary steps are subsequently taken.
Special K
03-21-2013, 17:35
Excellent!! Old Boots and Malto, did either of you have weight to spare before you started? Thanks!
Teacher & Snacktime
03-21-2013, 17:37
I've been putting on weight for the last 25 years to get ready for my thru hike :eek:
Yeah... That's what I was doing too....that's the ticket....
Excellent!! Old Boots and Malto, did either of you have weight to spare before you started? Thanks!
I started my trip at what I believe is my normal ideal body weight, 187 and ended at 175. The difference between the two is healthy body fat. When I ended I was below healthy in respect to body fat and I had also some upper body muscle loss. So bottom line, I had fat to loss but I likely started close to single digit body fat.
MuddyWaters
03-21-2013, 18:11
As alluded to, it will help keep you warmer too.
Sometimes thats good, sometimes its not.
But you will work harder, every mile you carry that weight.
Feral Bill
03-21-2013, 23:28
Special K:
Being around 108 pounds make me think you have done a wise move to add a few pounds before your hike. That extra pounds( normally in form of fat) can help you to cope with the loss of appetite due to new life style that may happen in the first week or so of beginning your hike. I wish you a great and joyful experience.
Hmm, that makes sense,
fiddlehead
03-21-2013, 23:33
I have been the same weight for the past 45 years (give or take 10 lbs)
When I start a thru-hike, I usually try to fatten up to the upper side of that weight.
Cause I know when I finish, I will be at the lower end.
Up to you.
If you are skinny, I see nothing wrong with trying to start out a little heavier than normal.
I have been the same weight for the past 45 years (give or take 10 lbs)
When I start a thru-hike, I usually try to fatten up to the upper side of that weight.
Cause I know when I finish, I will be at the lower end.
Up to you.
If you are skinny, I see nothing wrong with trying to start out a little heavier than normal.
Thank you , well said.
Hmm, that makes sense,
FB,having your positive feedback made me happy.
Having extra weight can be an advantage, especially if you feel weaker at 108 lbs. I tend to feel stronger and fitter with a little extra weight. I'm 6ft and feel stronger at 200 lbs than i do at 185, even though I have less fat at 185, I have substantially less energy. (and far healthier than when i got sick and was 155). I think as long as you are staying active and acclimating your body to the increased weight it should be fine.
Sandy of PA
03-22-2013, 11:10
As a older woman even hiking doesn't cause much weight loss although I do loose inches. Lost 3 pounds hiking 550 miles last year.
illabelle
03-22-2013, 14:07
As a older woman even hiking doesn't cause much weight loss although I do loose inches. Lost 3 pounds hiking 550 miles last year.
No, no, no! Don't say such things! :(
I WILL lose weight! I WILL lose weight! I WILL lose weight! Think positive.
Seriously, I am 53 and have lost about 20 pounds by backpacking - and I'm REAL glad about it! :D It's soooo nice fitting into clothes I haven't been able to wear for a while!
But I'm not done yet. I have to lose another 15 before the BMI chart says I'm at the top of the "normal" range. And I could lose almost 50 before reaching the "underweight" range. You're right that it's harder for us as we age. I really wish it wasn't so. But I refuse to continue like I am. I WILL lose weight! I WILL! I WILL! I WILL!!!
If you're trying to lose weight, I wish you well.
No, no, no! Don't say such things! :(
I WILL lose weight! I WILL lose weight! I WILL lose weight! Think positive.
Seriously, I am 53 and have lost about 20 pounds by backpacking - and I'm REAL glad about it! :D It's soooo nice fitting into clothes I haven't been able to wear for a while!
But I'm not done yet. I have to lose another 15 before the BMI chart says I'm at the top of the "normal" range. And I could lose almost 50 before reaching the "underweight" range. You're right that it's harder for us as we age. I really wish it wasn't so. But I refuse to continue like I am. I WILL lose weight! I WILL! I WILL! I WILL!!!
If you're trying to lose weight, I wish you well.
She did not say she is not overweight in any shape or form in her comment. Sometimes I say things that I have to say to myself to others to remind myself.
She did not say she is not overweight in any shape or form in her comment. Sometimes I say things that I have to say to myself to others to remind myself.
She did not say she is overweight. I apologize and correct
Old Boots
03-22-2013, 14:48
Yes to your ? About weight. My daughter the M.D. Advised that I carry less body weight and more food.
Special K
03-22-2013, 15:04
I am thinking I will walk it off. My pack is so SMALL that I would not have been able to carry extra food. Maybe next time a bigger bag? It will be interesting to see if the extra body weight helps or not. If I had to do it over again, maybe I would have gained only 5 lbs and added the other 5 lbs to the bag. Hmmmmm.....:-?