hiker weight

[ricksavard]

I've heard a lot of talk about overweight hikers tackling the AT. What about hikers starting the trail already thin or even underweight? I can't seem to gain any weight no matter how hard I try. Thanks!

[Nuggz]

You will eat more than you had ever thought possible

[peakbagger]

The bigger issue is malnutrition, its easy to load up on calories while backpacking and skipping the proper nutrients.

[Coffee]

I've heard a lot of talk about overweight hikers tackling the AT. What about hikers starting the trail already thin or even underweight? I can't seem to gain any weight no matter how hard I try. Thanks!

I also don't have much excess weight to lose so this concerns me when it comes to a 5 month thru hike. On the JMT last year (my longest hike to date), I think that I only lost about five pounds or so from the day I flew out to CA to the day I returned but I suspect I lost more on the trail since I pigged out quite a bit in Lone Pine and Reno before I had a chance to weigh myself back at home. 5-10 pounds lost over three weeks is OK, 25-30 pounds over a 5 month thru is not. I suspect that at some point, an equilibrium is reached where weight stabilizes OR (what I'm worried about), the hike ends prematurely.

[Meriadoc]

Bring olive oil and add it to your dinners. And get checked for a tapeworm :P (Just kidding. Although it could be true.)

[garlic08]

I have the same problem, even at my age. My strategy is to hike to what I can eat. If I start losing weight, I'll slow down or take a day off and eat even more.

A light pack weight is somewhat important for skinny people like us. That's what allows me to hike as much as I do--less work, fewer calories burned, etc.

Ditto what was said above about nutrition vs calories. If you're in it for the long haul, you need to fuel your system correctly, and not subsist on Little Debbies.

[Coffee]

Bring olive oil and add it to your dinners. And get checked for a tapeworm :P (Just kidding. Although it could be true.)

I went through 16 ounces of olive oil in the final seven days but in retrospect maybe I should have gone through more. I got pretty sick of it after a while but it sure is an efficient way of getting calories for the weight carried.

[Sarcasm the elf]

Pack light and plan on some additional weight and space in your pack for extra food. I commonly go through a jar of peanut butter a week on the trail. Also, eat fresh fruits and vegetables whenever you get the chance, like others have said you need nutritious foods in addition to the extra calories.

[Starchild]

The bigger issue is malnutrition, its easy to load up on calories while backpacking and skipping the proper nutrients.

This, this and more this.

It's not so much calories but proper nutrition. Your body, even if underweight, has a vast store of calories, (and trail towns easily replenish them) but it needs to repair and build, that requires protein and also some essential oils, that comes primarily through meat (though you can vegan the AT ). If you don't get those your body will scavenge itself. I believe that is the major cause of AT wasting syndrome.

I did try to carry olive oil, I found it basically useless except as a fire accelerate and eventually left it at a hiker box. It did not work for me in a dietary sense at all. After my thru I have heard that some have brought butter and that would have worked better then olive oil.

So it comes down to knowing your body's needs and also listening to them, each person is different.

[coheterojo]

I'm 6' 2" and 150 lbs on a good day. My trail name is El Flaco which means "the skinny one" in spanish. I've done 3 thru-hikes in my scrawny condition. I did not develop the standard thruhiker appetite I don't think ever. What I had to do was eat more frequently during the day.
My favorite 2nd breakfast was Nido whole milk powder with a couple of Carnation Breakfast Essential packets shook up with some water in my used gatorade bottle. Chewing's overrated I always say...

[garlic08]

I'm 6' 2" and 150 lbs on a good day. My trail name is El Flaco which means "the skinny one" in spanish. I've done 3 thru-hikes in my scrawny condition. I did not develop the standard thruhiker appetite I don't think ever. What I had to do was eat more frequently during the day.
My favorite 2nd breakfast was Nido whole milk powder with a couple of Carnation Breakfast Essential packets shook up with some water in my used gatorade bottle. Chewing's overrated I always say...

El Flaco, you should meet Malto. I believe he drinks most of his nutrition, too.

Good point about eating often during the day. I no longer think of three meals a day. You don't want to wait for "lunch" or "dinner" if you're hungry. I eat whenever I'm not hiking, at least every two hours.

[Another Kevin]

Go hiking with Coach Lou and have him stuff you with Overload's cheesecake!
(Sorry, inside joke - but she does make a mean cheesecake, and he does bring it to share with his hiking partners.)

If you're hiking strongly, and not hungry, don't worry too much about what your weight is doing. Your body will tell you if you listen. If you're hungry, eat! If you can't carry enough to stay fueled (or at least make up for the deficit in town) then you probably do need to go more slowly.

Most people who lose weight spectacularly when hiking start out with a few pounds extra. Some people who start out slim even gain a few pounds as they put on muscle mass in the legs.