I seems obvious to me.

[Rod Lawlor]

Me, I'm so skinny that when I go out on a hike I have to take a half litre (16 oz) can of beer and a big bag of chips for every night that I'm out, or else I just fade away. If it's a really big walk, or the middle of summer, I have to take two cans. Sometimes I have to leave my sleeping bag at home, just so I can carry all the beer.

Rod

[Miguel Arboleda]

Sometimes I have to leave my sleeping bag at home, just so I can carry all the beer.

Aussies….!

[Jim W.]

Presuming there's real dialog somewhere among the wisecracks…

Caraz said: "I was 10lbs over my ideal weight and after enough hiking I can say the most comfortable weight to cut was in my gut."

I'm not sure I agree completely. I'm used to carrying the extra 10 pounds (maybe 20) on MY gut. 10 pounds extra on my back adds unaccustomed stress to neck, shoulder, back muscles, spine, upsets balance, etc. When I was into cycling I agree that reducing the bike weight is fairly unimportant- but I ride on the bike, don't carry it.

Of course at this point I'm trying to reduce base weight down to 12 or 13, from 30, not into single digits.

The other thing I'm trying to do is get used to burning body fat during training hikes so I can carry slightly less food weight. A side benefit is the fat burned during training doesn't seem to be returning!

[Peter Atkinson]

I love this site…

But I do find whisky gets me where I want to be at about 10% the weight of beer.

[Peter Atkinson]

PS 155lbs and 5' 7.5" and quite content!

[Joe Westing]

5'6'' and 115 lbs. (BMI of 18.6)

don't hate me for my teenage metabolism :)

seriously, like Rod I can't afford to lose calories on any of my trips!

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Well, at 65 I still have a 34" waist (at 5' 10" and 180 lbs.) that goes to 33" after a long and steep trip like the Grand Canyon. That means it should be 33" all the time I guess.

But even though I'm retired, have lots of time and have a treadmill & upper level Bowflex at home plus going to the gym a few times a week and taking long weekend hikes that ol' 34" waist is hard to trim.

And I KNOW the reason. It's my love of micro-brew beers. Yep, my one bottle a day is what keeps me at a 34" waist. But life is not to be lived without some sacrifice. I prefer to sacrifice that one inch on my waist while still remaining fairly fit. Yeah, my BP and chloesterol is fine and I'm much stronger than most men my age so what the heck, I'll have my beer until I'm forced to give it up. (burp!)(Pfffft!) (Braaaaap!) Yeah, I'm a Dirty Old Man too.

Eric

[Roleigh Martin]

Last year on my 15 day hike (round trip High Sierra Trail hike), I lost 17 pounds of fat, gained 9 pounds of muscle, and lost 3" around the waist. And I had lost 22 pounds before hitting the trail. This year, I've been unable to lose any weight before hitting the trail although I'm doing 2 day weekend hikes, although I have 7 weeks left before I do a 17 day hike on the JMT.

I bring along about 3,000 calories a day of food (1 lb weight per day of food before cooking/preparation) and I know about the fat v. muscle difference due to a bodyfat scale I own/use.

I agree going UL is enhanced by losing weight, and wish I had more dietary control over my weight. I'm 58 and weigh 202 pounds and should weigh 180. My bad. But I agree with the observation that one can reduce the "spine-out" weight by losing bodyfat ahead of time. I know UL'ers talk of "skin-out" weight, but I think "spine-out" is a better phrase, as bodyfat affects one's ability to comfortably hike at a quick pace.

[Casey Bowden]

Roleigh,

Congratulations on your HST hike and the weight loss.

– Were you able to keep the weight off after the trip?

– Bringing 3000 calories per day, were you hungry or lacking engery?

– Did your appetite pick up a few days into the hike after acclimating to the altitude?

-What food are you bringing to get 3000 calories in only 1 pound of food?

[Roleigh Martin]

Casey, a lot of the answers to your questions are given in this earlier post of mine on another thread.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/xdpy/forum_thread/13490/index.html?skip_to_post=99510#99510

I did put on 13 pounds over the Winter (Minnesota Winters are too cold for me to hike in, getting 50 below zero sometimes — I know some get out, but I'm not a native Minnesotan). My goal this year is to avoid putting the weight back on by doing weight lifting.

We had trouble eating all 3,000 calories but I always came close. Remember, I'm consuming calories from the body fat I burn, so I'm consuming about 6,500 calories a day (isn't a pound of fat 3500 calories?).

As for energy, I bring powdered energy drinks, the muscle recovery drink, and okay, I'll confess, even 1 or 2 NoDoz tabs throughout the hike to keep me going. It's hard work hauling a pack going up 2,000-3,000 feet a day (especially coming out of the Kern Canyon, going up over Kawheah Gap, or over TrailCrest Pass).

I follow Dr. Sears' Zone Diet which believes in providing the most energy for the least number of calories, which optimizes the body's production of Econosoids and optimizes the body's blood levels too. Simply speaking, it advocates maintaining 40 percent of calories from low-glycemic index carbs, 30 percent of calories from protein, and 30 percent of calories from healthy fats (and if possible with an optimal balance of essential fatty acids). I do bring along the ZoneLabs concentrated, pharmaceutical grade fish oil capsules on the hike which besides helping one zone, also reduces inflammation. His web site is http://www.zonediet.com. It's a little hard being zone-perfect on a hike but I try to maintain the balance as best as can be.

ps. The Zone diet is one that strives for one that optimizes the burning of excess body fat too. But one key part of the zone diet is exercise and the reason I do so good on the hike with the Zone Diet is that I'm doing my most amount of exercising while hiking (isn't that strange ).

[Author]

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