ULers Carrying an Extra 20-40 lbs – WHY?!

"Are you going to be my next Rog, Brian? I'll stop arguing with the True Believer, now. :o)"

Aw, c'mon, guys. Don't stop now; This is waaay better than the Great Carbon Flame War. And much more informative. Sorry Rog. :)

Im not going to "prove" anything on an internet forum so Ill stop trying. There are already good researched books out there on the subject and you can either believe them or not.
On the subject of moderation- Things like moderation are pretty subjective (too a point). I bet the way I eat, and that lots of other people also eat, would in truth be pretty moderate. the idea is after all that fat and fiber is so filling you have a hard time eating too much and our bodies are well equipt to tell us when enough is enough because these are more or less the foods we evolved to eat.
Its worked for lots of people many of whom that have degrees in nutrition and are crazy fit.
So, bottom line if makes sense to you try it. If it doesn't there are other ways to go about it.

>> because these are more or less the foods we evolved to eat.

I have stopped arguing with the True Believer… :o)

">> I am still dubious that saturated fat is as entirely evil as it is portrayed.

>Well, honestly, me, too. It is certainly bad for you, but probably not AS bad as we thought back in the 80s and 90s, when everyone was really upset about it, avoiding eggs, etc."

Umm, eggs are actually low in saturated fats, and are a powerstore of healthy nutrients.

We are sooo off topic now that I might as well push my position. A mostly vegetarian diet can be extremely healthy, as can a meat/fish-based diet. However, this planet cannot sustain 6 billion people eating a diet high in animal proteins, so ethically (not religiously), I choose to eat a healthy very low meat diet. I do however have a nice collection of laying hens in the backyard. They take care of all our kitchen and garden scraps.

The Amazon rainforests are disappearing due predominantly to the world's demand for meat and dairy products. It's not just the loss of native environments, it's the loss of a huge carbon sink that we should be thinking about. The oceans are also not coping very well with the demands of supplying *healthy* fish (some of which are too toxic to eat now). Grains and vegetables can feed far more people for the same amount of land, water and fertilisers.

Of course, this could get me on a whole new topic of world population control….!

Sorry, This thread should die but I was watching this lecture and it was too relevant to pass up.

I don't think it's all that relevant (I didn't watch it but I am very familiar with the literature). No one in this thread is suggesting a diet high in sugars, especially high fructose corn syrup, is a wise long term diet for health and longevity. As I've agreed before, I really like your original statement that "if it has a label, don't eat it".

Aside from that, there are plenty of folks like me who don't eat sugar AT ALL. I mean it, I so don't have a sweet tooth that I can't stand to eat sweet foods (including sweet fruits). Yet I gained weight very quickly when my energy expenditure situation changed (and notably my diet…I got sucked into the low carb, high meat and dariy fad and ballooned like crazy until I realised my mistake). And I am pretty confident that weight gain was triggered by a leptin deficiency rather than leptin resistance. Basically too many rounds of extreme bodybuilding dieting left me with an insatiable appetite. Dieting is BAD!!!!!

Anyway, his is just one opinion. There is equally good argument that the obesity epidemic can be blamed on our parents in an epigenetic fashion (genetic imprinting). Basically, if your mother (or possibly father) was insulin resistant while you were conceived or incubated, then you are at greater risk of being obese too, and from a young age. If you are a female, this imprinting can even affect the next generation since a women's eggs are all formed (and imprinted) while she is still in utero. Chances are it's a combination of epigenetics and too many fruit drinks and soda, etc…

Random afterthought…artificially sweetened drinks seem to cause the same type of weight gain as HFCS drinks. It's the sweetness that causes increased hunger, not the sugar per se…

I see this far more in the cycling industries. People who are carrying either a low body fay but are over thei supposed "BMI" or people who are just carrying some extra weight worrying about how light their bikes are or buying superlight parts or having someone like me build themm a set of "climbing" wheels lying about their weight.
Many bicycle parts have weight limits posted because of people pushing these envelopes.
The problem with ultralight bikes and parts is the are designed for flyweight cyclists [even Lance Armstrong is 5'9 1/2 and 165#,this year's TDF winner Alberto Contador is the same height and 140#]and they disentegrate underneath bigger folk, not an experience anyone wants having a front wheel come apart or a handlebar fail while smoking a twisty downhill.
Ultra-light backpacking equipment can be argued will allow someone to carry less weight therefore have less impact and stress to the body. I want people to have good outdoors experiences and we do want people to buy this stuff whether it is a bike part or a light tent so there is incentive to keep making these products.
I have a friend who works in a health food store with a coffee bar. She sees people buy supplements, special foods, fiber, or whatever then sit down to deal with weight loss or overweight issues and order some insane calorie dense beverage. I stopped in one day and had her make me a triple shot latte cuz I was dragging. A few days later she asked me if I liked the drink [which I did, told her it picked me right up] then told me it was decaf because she didn't think I needed to get on the caffiene treadmill.
I don't build lightweight wheelsets for people I don't physically see anymore and if I rebuild a wheel that has come apart I use larger gauge spokes and brass nipples instead of aluminum. I absolutely love to see big people on bikes because it is less stress to their bodies and they are being proactive about their weight,they aren't going to ride in the Tour so lets stop comparing them to racers and the same can be said for those folks we see with ultralight kit; they aren't heading for a grand crossing of the Alps anytime soon so let's encourage them and keep heading out.
I was a guide long time ago and used to cringe when some really big person showed, it didn't take me long to realize they weren't going to summit and my job was just to make sure they had an outstanding trip otherwise. We need to apply this same kind of discretion to everyone we meet on the trails or in the shops.

Getting back to the OP's question again, one month after this thread started I have lost 3kg (6.5 lb). Alex's question (and the improving spring weather means it's time to get moving again) have inspired me. I have merely cut all animal foods from my diet (except the lovely eggs from our backyard). I'm finally getting back to what works well for me. Not a diet, but a lifestyle change. Wooo hooo

I'm 70 years old and weigh about 40 pounds more than my doctor's age/height/weight chart says I ought to. I'm in pretty fair shape cardio-vascular wise and can hike, comfortably, at about 5% above my "target" pulse rate. The money I have invested in light weight gear allows me to continue to enjoy an activity that was beginning to "lose its luster".

Being out on the trail is certainly more fun than spending hours in some stuffy gym.

On the trail, and enjoying it.

the OP's comment doesn't make sense. getting out and exercising is part of why i like backpacking, and i lost over 25 pounds in a year as a result. carrying a heavy pack while being overweight and out of shape is asking for injury and won't be very much fun.

it only makes sense to carry a lighter load because it will allow one to go further. the more miles you can hike, the more pounds you'll shed.

reading this thread makes me want to get out and drop the weight again. plus i miss being out in the woods.

Sara …..

You should know better than to feed the Trolls.

This post was obviously designed to be controversial and to stir people up … and it worked for 9 whole pages worth.

Alex,

Careful, your ignorance is showing.