How much weight did you lose on the trail?

[Turtle2]

I averaged about 1.5 pounds per week of weight loss. About 35 pounds over my hike in 2006. I haven't gained it all back, but close. Lighter is nicer.

[BigCat]

I weighed in at about 310 at springer and by the time i had off 714 miles later i was about 260.

[jkstacey]

I'm concerned about losing too much weight on the thru-hike (starting AP 2010). I don't have a lot I can lose (105 lbs); I always lose some when backpacking ... maybe 4 or 5 pounds over a week. I'll try to eat on the trail while moving every 1 -2 hrs. When I hiked across the Grand Canyon I ate a lot of liquid energy, but everything weighs so much ... including trail mix. Ideas for keeping weight up??

[El Toro '94]

Ideas for keeping the weight up?

Weight Gain 4000.

Beefcake!
Beefcake!!

BEEFCAKE!!!

[Marta]

...Course all the time leading up to the hike, I consumed mass quantities.

It's called "pre-eating," and is a common method of hike preparation. I practice it myself. I calculated that I was packing over 100,000 calories of "food" on my own body. (30 pounds above ideal weight x 3500 calories/pound = 105,000 calories of extra food stored for consumption on the hike.)

In other words, even if I needed 5,000 calories/day during the hike, I had "pre-eaten" to the point where I could have hiked for three weeks without eating anything at all!