Weight loss and hiking.

[Trail Dog]

I hardly think this is a new trend but i think it seems to be catching on. First you Got Steve AKA the Fat Man Walking accross the USA to lose over a hundred pounds and then there is the people at www.fatpacking.com with their lose weight while hiking idea.

Anyone want to share their weight loss stories from the trail? I need to shed a few pounds the food here in Iraq is just too good cant wait to get home and hit the trail again.

On all my hikes from a week long to three months i have lost weight.

Very good article and disscussion about this below

http://jwbasecamp.com/Articles/Weight_Loss/Weight_Loss.html

http://www.backpacking.net/forums/showthreaded.php?Number=72637

[neo]

i can hike my but off and never loss wieght,i like to eat to much:cool: neo

[Curt]

I lost 32 pounds on my 1999 thru-hike.


Corsican

[Moxie00]

I started my 2000 thru hike at 217 pounds and weighed 156 six months later when I climbed Kathadin. My waist went from 40 to 34. Today I weigh 209, hike 3 days a week but nothing takes weight off me like a very long distance hike. I just got back from a week long backpack trip and a single week made no change in my body weight. I didn't notice any real weight loss until about Hot Springs in 2000.

[Footslogger]

I lost 38 pounds by the time I reached Harpers on my 2003 thru. Levelled off there. Came home and within 4 months it all mysteriously came back !!

'Slogger

[Icicle]

I only hiked about 300 of the AT this year and all told I have lost 24 pounds since I weighed myself at my mom's a few days before we started in March.

I am pleased with the weight loss....I just wonder how much I would have lost if I had continued with my husband.

Of course now it's a real pain - as I have *nothing* to wear. All my work clothes are about 3 sizes too big. As well as losing pounds I have lost about 6 inches in the waist. And I *hate* clothes shopping!

[Trail Dog]

Of course now it's a real pain - as I have *nothing* to wear. All my work clothes are about 3 sizes too big. As well as losing pounds I have lost about 6 inches in the waist. And I *hate* clothes shopping!

Better to swim in your cloths than to find that you out grew them

Congrats on that weight loss.

[Spirit Walker]

A lot depends on two factors - how much weight you have to lose and whether you are male or female.

Women rarely lose a lot of weight. Our bodies tighten up and look better, but the scale doesn't change all that much.

And men who are already lean usually don't lose a lot of weight. If you are 50 pounds overweight, on a thruhike you may lose 40-60 pounds. If you are 5 pounds overweight, you will probably only lose 5 pounds. It may be that thin people already have their intake/output well balanced. Whereas people who are heavier are used to eating a lot of extra food - which they may not be getting on a long hike. And most who are heavy aren't getting a lot of exercise before their hike, so the change in muscle mass and metabolism will make a real difference in the amount of weight they lose.

Unfortunately, almost everybody gains it all back afterwards. Unless you can keep up that high level of exercise, your metabolism will slow down again. And it is hard to go from the mindset of 'eat what you want' to 'careful what you eat.'

[kyhipo]

I usually gain weight eat more :D and well i just dig the diet:dance ky

[Icicle]

Unfortunately, almost everybody gains it all back afterwards. Unless you can keep up that high level of exercise, your metabolism will slow down again. And it is hard to go from the mindset of 'eat what you want' to 'careful what you eat.'
Well I have been off the trail since the beginning of June and I haven't gained anything back. Thank the *spirit that moves through all things*!!!

I even bought some....*ahem* special items from a certain site to wear for my husband when I see him next month...and I am pleased as punch with how they looks....no sorry...no photos for you guys! :D

[Deerleg]

A friend of mine while doing survival training in the army was dropped in the Panamanian jungle with a side arm and no food. He said he gained 5 pounds. I’m not sure how far he hiked, but it took him more than a week to get to the designated pick up area. He grew up on a subsistence farm in WV and was a crack shot, which probably explains the weight gain.:rolleyes: If it were me I probably would have crawled out half starved!:o

[Jaybird]

i can hike my but off and never loss wieght,i like to eat to much:cool: neo


ME TOO! (i'm a FOOD hound!)


Even tho' i DO lose weight when hikin' more than a week...
i was out for just over 3 weeks this past Spring & lost 11.5lbs.

i probably wouldve lost MORE had i not "PIGGED-OUT" @ Erwin Burritto (X-L Burritto, El Grande Chips & Salsa), Trent's Grocery (Cheeseburgers, fries, ice-cream, candy bars, chicken steak biscuits) & Pearisburg (large BURGERS, LARGE FRIES, X-Large CHOCOLATE SHAKES, pizza)


WOW! all this typing is making me HUNGRY!:D

[silvereagle]

I lost 40 lbs last year while hiking, started at 190 and now I'm down to 150, but have I taken it too far?? Now my metabolism is so way out of whack that If I miss a single meal I will lose 3 or 4 lbs in a days time. My energy levels are beyond anything I have ever experienced. Even my body fat percentage is too low, around 5% which means I have to load up on potassium, and stay hydrated more often to prevent cramps. I love to hike and keep seeking new challenges but I lost way too much weight too quick and now I can't get it back. Doctor is puzzled.

[Footslogger]

If it wasn't for all the energy you say you have I'd think you might have a tapeworm ??

'Slogger

[silvereagle]

Nope, no tapeworm, no Tuberculosis (yes I even got tested for that too)....Endocrinologist (?) told me that my metabolism is way too high and the best advice my doctor could give was "stop hiking so much".......yeah right........although I do exercise a little too much. Hell if you got the energy, use it.

[Chickety]

Lost 12 pounds on my thru-hike this year, which doesn't sound like much, but it was 10% of my body weight! I'm looking forward to gaining some of it back now! Been home less than a week and just *had* to go hiking today, it was too nice of a day to pass up, so I guess I won't be gaining anytime soon.

[skeeterfeeder]

I lost 25+ pounds this year on my thru-hike. Started at 172 and finished around 145. Too much of it was upper body muscle mass. Now to get back to the weight room.

[boomerang]

The first day of my thruhike I weighed 197 lbs. I had "fattened up" by about 7 lbs. by eating everything in sight for two weeks, knowing that the fat might help in the cold February temps (and it did!).

35 days into the hike I hit Damascus and came home for Easter. I found out, via the same scale, that I had lost 23.5 lbs in that timeframe. Wow.
I went on to lose more weight, weighing in at WHL and Shaw's at 160 - for a total loss of 37lbs.!!!

I didn't think I would lose that much weight, but I did. I put 12 lbs. back on immediately after finishing my hike, and have been holding semi-steady at 173 to 176-ish. I'm re-training my biomechanics in order to run a marathon at Thanksgiving, so hopefully that will keep the pounds off.

Here's to hiking, the greatest weight loss plan invented!

[Wandering Bull]

This year I lost 75 pounds on a back2back thru-hike of the AT & Florida Trails. I weighed 255 pounds when I started, weighed 180 when I summited Katahdin on July 27th and weigh 180 now. I feel great!

Check out these photos to see the difference:

Beginning of my hike in Florida:

http://www.trailjournals.com/photos.cfm?id=77107

My Katahdin summit photo:

http://www.trailjournals.com/photos.cfm?id=106756&back=1

All the best,

[Shroomism]

At 6'1" and 160lbs max.. my goal is to usually not lose ANY weight while hiking.. as I don't think losing any more could be healthy.. I'm already as thin as you can get. I try to aim for about 5,000 calories a day.. or as much as I can eat.