Unable to gain weight.

[skinnbones]

I will start my spring A.T. thru hike pushing 140 lbs. The heaviest weight that I've ever been was 150 lbs. I'm not a big fan of food but, could gobble down an entire turkey and gain nothing. Have you ever met any thru hikers beginning their long distant hike this light? I have a weird body system when it comes to food. I have more than once gone an entire day without eating anything and still function as normal. I have a very strong mind to overcome what my body lacks. Any thoughts for this skinny hiker?

[Lnj]

What's your secret to not being a big fan of food? I suffer from the extreme opposite and I would love to gain your mindset. Seriously, do your taste buds not work? Or maybe you can't smell very well, which will affect taste? I am sincerely baffled and genuinely interested, as I have never heard of such a person... even other skinny people I know like food. I can't wrap my brain around it.

[Coffee]

I'd see a doctor ASAP. Certainly before starting a long hike. No appetite and inability to gain weight are big red flags for possible health issues. All anyone here can do is speculate. Good luck.

[skinnbones]

What's your secret to not being a big fan of food? I suffer from the extreme opposite and I would love to gain your mindset. Seriously, do your taste buds not work? Or maybe you can't smell very well, which will affect taste? I am sincerely baffled and genuinely interested, as I have never heard of such a person... even other skinny people I know like food. I can't wrap my brain around it.

If you have ever heard of the term "picky eater", I'm much worst that that. I think the biggest reason for my odd eating habit may be psychological. As a kid I was punished for not eating everything that was placed on my plate. So, I guess over time I've learned to adapt to survive without food (or much of it). Like I said, I'm very strong minded. I'm even planning on going stove less for my hike. Maybe this trail will teach me to be hungry .

[rafe]

Maybe this condition you describe will change when you start hiking. If not, you will have a problem.

Typically even the fittest thru hikers start looking ragged and emaciated by the time they get to Maine. It's difficult to carry enough calories, and pigging out in town is the norm.

[AfterParty]

I'm skinny and can't gain weight too. it would be a stretch if I put on 20 lbs since high school 15 years ago. I could eat a bus full and still maintain. If you get hungry eat. Its that simple your not currently walking 10+ mpd up mountains with pack but when you do and your hungry eat.

[Bronk]

What I noticed happening once I had burned off all of my body fat was that I didn't get hungry anymore. But I got tired. At first I couldn't figure out why I was so tired but then I eventually realized I needed to eat. Like every hour or two just to keep hiking. I'm six feet tall and got down to about 167 pounds by the end of a 4 month 850 mile hike. So if you're already thin you may just find that you need to eat to keep your energy up.

[Sarcasm the elf]

Get a high stress desk job, I think I've gained 2lbs this week.

[saltysack]

Get a high stress desk job, I think I've gained 2lbs this week.

+1....or drink good beer! I used to be -5% body fat @200lbs now 215.....damn Sierra Nevada to blame and I have a windscreen to prove it!!




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[Sarcasm the elf]

I will start my spring A.T. thru hike pushing 140 lbs. The heaviest weight that I've ever been was 150 lbs. I'm not a big fan of food but, could gobble down an entire turkey and gain nothing. Have you ever met any thru hikers beginning their long distant hike this light? I have a weird body system when it comes to food. I have more than once gone an entire day without eating anything and still function as normal. I have a very strong mind to overcome what my body lacks. Any thoughts for this skinny hiker?

First talk to your doctor to make sure everything's good. Then, if you really want to gain weight, grab a blender and learn to make healthy but calorie rich smoothies. Drinking calories is easy to do even when you don't have an appetite and you could provably add this in to your diet fairly easily. To give one example On her 46 day speed record A.T. Hike Jen Pharr Davis resorted to drinking much if not most of her calories towards the end because she could still consume shakes and smoothies even with little appetite left.

[Maineiac64]

I can walk by a milkshake and gain 2lbs.

[cliffordbarnabus]

skinnbones...

how TALL are you. that's a huge factor! pls let us know bro!

[garlic08]

I'd see a doctor ASAP. Certainly before starting a long hike. No appetite and inability to gain weight are big red flags for possible health issues. All anyone here can do is speculate. Good luck.

Ditto this. You may have an eating disorder that may be treatable.

Friends say I have negative body fat, a polite way of saying "scrawny." I'm still at my high school weight (150) and clothing size (but I don't take off my shirt in public any more). Yet I had a very fun, healthy, and successful AT thru hike, and a stoveless one at that. But I like to eat and I did it pretty much constantly.

I've heard of breatharianism, but can't imagine it.

I think skinny hikers, even those who are painfully so, have an advantage over obese hikers. Many would love to trade places.

I've heard hikers talk about developing an aversion to favorite foods on the trail, but don't know how they resolved it. I've heard others say, and I've often felt, if I ever get sick of eating (your favorite food here), I don't know what I'll do. It's a real fear and a problem for some.

[cliffordbarnabus]

height is key. 150 pounds at 5 ft 8 in is VERY different from 150 at 6 ft 3 in!!

[skinnbones]

skinnbones...

how TALL are you. that's a huge factor! pls let us know bro!

5' 10" and right at 140 lbs

[Leo L.]

5' 10" and right at 140 lbs

And what's wrong with this?
I'm 6'1" and had 140lb most of my life, doing all kind of outdoor things OK.
Now I'm closer to 165lb and during every multi-day hike I lose 5-10lb, just to gain it back within a week or two of happy family life.
Nothing wrong with this, I believe.

[Maydog]

Is it possible that your eating habits are still being influenced by your childhood rebellion against your parents? It may have started as rebellion and a way to gain some control, then turned into a habit. Habits can be changed, even past 50 years of age. It isn't easy, but it's possible.

[skinnbones]

Is it possible that your eating habits are still being influenced by your childhood rebellion against your parents? It may have started as rebellion and a way to gain some control, then turned into a habit. Habits can be changed, even past 50 years of age. It isn't easy, but it's possible.

I'm sure this has something to do with it. I'm also sure that after I start my thru hike my eating habits will improve. Thanks.

[OkeefenokeeJoe]

Perhaps you suffer from Asperger's Syndrome. I have a friend who is ULTRA-ULTRA picky about his food, which is driven by his Asperger's. Honestly, he looks absolutely emaciated, almost to the point of resembling people in old photos of Holocaust survivors on the day of their release from imprisonment. He is about your size and I suspect he weighs in around 110 pounds or less, fully clothed.

My recommendation ..... go marry yourself an overweight Southern Girl (a real Southern Girl, not a frikken transplant who happens to live in the South) who knows how to cook giant cat-head biscuits. Now that right there will put some weight on that dried-up arse of yorn in short order. Why, you'll be sporting a a big ol' punkin haid and multiple chins in no time at all!

OkeefenokeeJoe

[skinnbones]

Perhaps you suffer from Asperger's Syndrome. I have a friend who is ULTRA-ULTRA picky about his food, which is driven by his Asperger's. Honestly, he looks absolutely emaciated, almost to the point of resembling people in old photos of Holocaust survivors on the day of their release from imprisonment. He is about your size and I suspect he weighs in around 110 pounds or less, fully clothed.

My recommendation ..... go marry yourself an overweight Southern Girl (a real Southern Girl, not a frikken transplant who happens to live in the South) who knows how to cook giant cat-head biscuits. Now that right there will put some weight on that dried-up arse of yorn in short order. Why, you'll be sporting a a big ol' punkin haid and multiple chins in no time at all!

OkeefenokeeJoe

Lol, I did marry a hillbilly from WV, except I picked one that was too lazy to get off the sofa to cook. Then it took me 12 years to get away from her. Bad advice Joe....