Weight Loss on the Trail

[Gunner1776]

I was curious to know if anyone had some serious weight loss success stories on the trail. I personally am 265 and would like to cut down to at least 200. I have trouble getting motivated to hit the gym. However, I have no trouble gaining motivation to walk what-so-ever. I actually am filming a documentary at amusement parks and walk around 10 miles per day (at the least) now. However, my issues is that I still EAT GOOD because I am at home and/or amusement parks. I won't be eating that good on the trail.

I guess I am asking for weight loss numbers following a thru-hike. Just curious I guess.

Thank you in advance,
Gunner

[Pedaling Fool]

Large weight loss stories are very common for those that do a thru/long-distance hiking. This may sound counter-intuitive, but the reason people are so successful at losing weight on a hike is not because of the exercise, sure it factors in, but the biggest reason is because they must ration food, and because they are trying to carry a little as possible they are generally consuming less calories on the trail than when they are at home; and yes, burning more calories. However, if food were so available on the trail as to allow people the choice not to carry it, than such dramatic weight loss would become a thing of the past.

If you want to lose weight you must consume less calories, exercise is for making the body strong. That's my mindset with those two goals (weight loss and health). There are no "super foods", you just gotta eat less, it is that simple.

[Pedaling Fool]

BTW, I lost 50lbs in 50 days. And I keep the bulk of it off to this day because I eat less.

[rocketsocks]

I agree with Pedaling Fool on this topic, it's all about calories in...good luck on your hike, loosin' the weight and the movie.

[Gunner1776]

Thanks guys...I pretty much figured it was due to the calorie intake vs. calories burned. I am actually pretty excited about that concept.

Another question... Pedaling Fool, how did you keep it off? Was your appetite less once you returned? I don't eat a lot now, I just eat at the worst times. I skip breakfast and lunch and typically have a big dinner and/or eat late...Majority of my weight is probably sugar (pop, beer, etc)

[MJGreen]

That's probably your biggest problem, Gunner. Ideally, you should eat 4-6 small meals per day to keep a steady metabolism. Eating breakfast will help boost your metabolism throughout the day so it is vital. Grab an orange, granola bar, kolache, just SOMETHING. I find that eating something in the morning (even if I'm not particularly hungry) greatly increases my appetite and makes sipping lunch darn near impossible. The hardest thing for me to abide to is not eating anything 3 hours before bed. Food will not digest efficiently while you are sleeping and that's where a lot of my weight was coming from (I circumvented this a little bit by not going to bed until 12-1am). Add in portion control (don't eat so much that you hate yourself for it or feel like you're gonna hurl) and I've managed to lose 7 kg (15 pounds) in 3-4 weeks without eating any less, just spreading it out.

[MJGreen]

Also, not eating before bed will make you a lot less willing to skip breakfast or lunch. I know these aren't hiking specific tips but they're helping me to get in better shape for my hike.

[kayak karl]

in the winter months calories burnt and weight loss if even higher. you are burning calories just drinking water.

[centerfieldr162]

The whole small meals throughout the day thing flat out isn't true. Look up "if it fits your macros". At the end of the day it is all about calories in versus calories out. I don't eat all day long until about 8 pm then consume all of my calories and macronutrient needs assigned for my workout schedule. I have lost 30 lbs by following IIFYM, intermittent fasting, and flexible dieting. You don't have to eat "clean" or make yourself miserable on a low-carb diet to lose weight

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[MJGreen]

Let me reiterate then: What works for me to keep me from feeling hungry while also losing fat AND boosting my energy levels (while getting in a fair amount of normal, daily walking but not changing what I eat) is....

[futureatwalker]

Interesting thread. I've read many trail accounts, and almost everyone appears to lose weight while thru-hiking while their appetite spikes.

Doubtless, somewhat limited access to food contributes to the weight loss. But I've got to think that carrying a pack and walking up and down hills all days must create a considerable calorie burn - from 4,000 to 6,000 calories according to this. Also, when you are on the trail, there is a lot of incidental activity - fetching water, setting up camp, etc. - that adds to energy expenditure.

From my own experience in training for marathons, once the weekly mileage starts to increase, I start to lose weight. This occurs despite eating more.

On a slightly-related note, in the U.K. there's this show called "Secret Eaters". Basically, they film people 24/7 to see what they really eat, as opposed to what they claim to eat. Invariably, people eat a whole lot more than they think they do, often with snacking and drinking sugary drinks.

[davismills]

On a ten day hike, I lost 11 lbs. Fewer calories were consumed versus
normal non-hiking days. I way over packed food and sent much of it back at my four day mail drop. I really did not have the appetite I thought I would.

[Pedaling Fool]

On a ten day hike, I lost 11 lbs. Fewer calories were consumed versus
normal non-hiking days. I way over packed food and sent much of it back at my four day mail drop. I really did not have the appetite I thought I would.

That's common, it usually takes ~3 weeks (give or take) for one to get the Hiker's Appetite, but once it hits you're an eating machine -- increible feeling.

As stated in these links extreme exercise dulls appetite, but after about 3 weeks your body acclimates and that hunger doesn't just return, it returns with a vengeance.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/0...ype=blogs&_r=0

http://andrewgelman.com/2013/09/13/y...suppress-diet/

[peakbagger]

The trade off is that various studies over the years have reported that many though hikers have a net weight gain a year after the thru hike. I dont know how good the quality of the studies were but anecdotally I have heard from many thru hikers that learning how to eat correctly again after a thru hike is tough as their metabolism is wound up to maximize calorie input.

[Old Hiker]

30 pounds over 500 miles. MUCH more exercise, FAR fewer calories than "normal". Didn't feel like eating in the evenings for the first month or so - too tired.

Took about a year to gain it all back +5. Sitting for a month and a half with my foot up didn't help.

Can't get motivated much yet, but I've dropped 3-5 over the last couple of months.

[Pedaling Fool]

Another question... Pedaling Fool, how did you keep it off? Was your appetite less once you returned? I don't eat a lot now, I just eat at the worst times. I skip breakfast and lunch and typically have a big dinner and/or eat late...Majority of my weight is probably sugar (pop, beer, etc)

Your appetite is pretty much unchanged once you get home, at least if you hike the way I do, which is I always burn more calories than what I take in on the trail and I make it up in town by basically gorging myself. However, it doesn't take long before you start taking in too many calories, because food is all aroud you and that's the mistake most make, they don't consciously reduce their food intake and they gain it all back.

In my opinion, one of the most important lessons to learn on the trail is to get a sense of what your body can do and my big lesson in that area was just how efficient the body is.

Everyone says we Americans eat way too much, but most don't realize just how much we over eat. And one of the problems are the Health and Nutrition community who are always telling us how many calories we need every hour for X-activity -- it's total BS.

You should figure that out for yourself, just like your max HR (by age) is total BS, you need to figure that out for yourself. You should not rely on charts telling you what HR zone to w/o in, nor should you take in x-amount of calories per day, based on some chart.

I'm too lazy to count calories, so one of my methods is to eat a big baked potato and go for a run. If I get heartburn on the run, it's not because I just ate a big baked potato, rather it's from eating too much prior to eating the baked potato. I use other methods, but basically I just eat a lot less than I use to. I use to eat everything on my plate, because I felt obligated, but now I save more food for later. Basically you gotta not stuff your face just because your stomach growls, that's a big misconception among Americans. It's good to go hungry a little, because it forces the body to become more efficient at burning fat. When I feel the urge to eat, but I know I don't really need food I do something to get my mind off food, because if you're not careful you can take in way too many calories by just snacking to satisfy the hunger.



Here's a great article and it illustrates just how efficient the body can become if you work at it. And it's another of my things I do: Train on an empty stomach and that's totally going against all information out there, but it works. The body is a fat-burning machine, but you gotta train it to be or else it just stays lazy, much like a spoiled kid.


http://triathlon.competitor.com/2014...-machine_31034


Excerpt:

"Torbjorn Sindballe dishes on how he turned his body into a fat-burning machine.

When Torbjørn Sindballe was a professional triathlete, he used the most cutting edge science to make himself the best triathlete he could be. His efforts helped him break the bike course record at the Ironman World Championship, as well as place third there in 2007.

The following is Sindballe’s personal account of how he attempted to make his body into a fat-burning machine, thereby giving his body the most efficient and limitless fuel available to him. It was originally seen in the Nov/Dec 2010 issue of Inside Triathlon magazine.

A good friend of mine once finished a six-hour ride in the mountains on nothing but pure water. No gels, no energy drinks—just water. And he was not out on a Sunday ride—he was hammering, riding hard on the ascents and flying down the descents. Can you do that? Or are you already thinking of how many gels and bars you would need to drag along for the ride?

While research over the last 10 years has improved our understanding of fatigue and the interplay of metabolism, heat and fluids—as well as the role our brains play in all of this—there is still a general consensus that the size of our carbohydrate stores and the rate at which we can derive energy from fat play a significant role in endurance. And while most triathletes are well versed on the carbohydrate side of this equation—how to stock and replenish glycogen stores before, during and after workouts—few understand how to tap into their ability to use fat for fuel.

When we are very fit, our glycogen stores can fuel a six-hour hard ride in the mountains, similar to the one my friend took. But after the ride, the glycogen tank is almost empty. In comparison, even a rail thin triathlete stores enough fat to fuel five Ironmans in a row.

Fat is an almost unlimited resource, but it comes with two problems: The human brain is a sugar lover, and the rate at which fat is burned for fuel is too slow to support a hard, fast Ironman effort. In other words, your body fuels itself with a combination of glycogen and fat (and a little protein), with fat being the source of fuel that lasts but which cannot be tapped quickly enough to keep you moving fast.

The problem of your brain loving sugar can be solved by taking in enough carbohydrates during exercise. And the fat burning problem can be abated by teaching your body to use fat at a faster rate—thus staving off the depletion of the glycogen tank and allowing you to go faster longer. (Once the glycogen is gone, your body can only tap into its fat for fuel, thus forcing you to slow down or bonk.)

The easiest way to improve your ability to oxidize fat—turn fat into energy—is to train for long hours on the trails or in the saddle at a relatively slow pace. Generally, you don’t want to go much faster than your Ironman pace if you’re trying to stimulate your fat oxidation capabilities. While most athletes are well aware of this, there are several diet and training tricks out there that claim to increase the quality of the training stimulus these rides and runs provide. I have researched and tried most of these tricks myself while I was an Ironman pro and now have an understanding of what does and doesn’t work."

Read more at http://triathlon.competitor.com/2014...xLSz26DXU3c.99

[futureatwalker]

The easiest way to improve your ability to oxidize fat—turn fat into energy—is to train for long hours on the trails or in the saddle at a relatively slow pace.

I suspect that this last bit of the quote might be most apt for thru-hikers. You are out there all day hiking at a moderate intensity (exercise-wise), so you're likely burning a good mix of fats and carbohydrates.

[rocketsocks]

in the winter months calories burnt and weight loss if even higher. you are burning calories just drinking water.

For several years now I've wondered if somehow my body knows the cold winds are coming and starts to conserve and store fat, cause every year around Thanksgiving I seem to gain a bit, then another inventory around Christmas shows an additional gain as well. Usually in the spring I can shake this weight...butt not this year, it's been following me around all summer.

[whatnot]

Hey Gunner1776........ Grab a couple of bags of snacks, a few drinks, lie down on the couch and read Robert Rubin's "On the Beaten Path...An Appalachian Pilgrimage". He started out weighing 275 pounds and managed to drop 75 pounds by the time he reached Maine. A well-written book, one of my favorites.

[kayak karl]

as i messaged you i loss 60 lbs in 60 days on a winter hike. i was eating 5000 calories , but not enough. that is too much loss. body becomes lethargic and tired. your thinking is off (i never noticed ) and balance is a problem. if you do the winter hike you posted about, keep this in mind.