Hi all, I am currently 5’9" and 260 pounds. I plan on thru-hiking the AT in 5 months from March 15-August 15. My 260 pounds is not muscle, but unfortunately mostly fat. In everybody’s opinion, what do you think I will weigh if I summit Katahdin after 5 months on the AT, eating normal thru-hiker foods. Thanks.
chubby checker
My son weighed 220 when he started and ended at 170 (he is 6 feet tall). That gives you some idea.
Blissful
You will probably lose a fair amount of weight if you complete your thruhike. Fifty pounds or more is a possibility, especially if you spend minimal time in town, as your five month schedule seems to indicate. The problem is, it all comes back after the trail. Hiking teaches nothing about eating well - on the contrary, it teaches you to crave the high fat and high calorie foods that you need to power up the trail. It also seems that you can eat whatever you want and still lose weight. That’s a dangerous lesson for post-trail life. It is VERY hard to eat normally after you’ve gotten used to the AYCE diet.
One last point: Start training now - it will make a big difference in your enjoyment of the hike, and your probability of finishing.
Ginny
Ginny makes a great point. definitely plan on a good lifestyle change when you get through or the weight will come roaring back.
do whatever you can to strengthen your ankles before you go, too. everyone rolls their ankles a lot in the beginning as you get accostomed to the rocks and roots, and at 260 you run a bigger risk of a hike-ending ankle injury.
but losing 50+ lbs. is definitely reasonable. plus you might be able to get by with a lower-fat (by hiker standards, anyway) diet, provided you’re getting good nutrition from your foods.
0101
I met lots of people early on who planned on starting out slowly and conditioning on the trail. I think this works if you’re young and relatively active, but do yourself a favor and lose all the weight you can BEFORE you start hiking. How sad to see people in Georgia carrying an extra 50 lbs on their stomach, struggling to hike 5 miles a day, and getting off at NOC because the idea of struggling to Maine is unbearable.
Give yourself every advantage you can- it’s enough of a challenge on its own!
Cheers,
Chardonnay
PS. I lost 30 lbs by eating everything possible for 5.5 months. Females tend to lose less than males.
Chardonnay
I weighed 250 in 2000 when I started… had no problem doing as many miles as anyone else. Did 20 - 28 mile days most of the time. There is nothing normal about hiker foods. Actually I think skinny people fared less well. They had less to burn when our bodies kicked into high gear. Getting to Katahdin has absolutely NOTHING to do with age, body size, physical fitness or lack thereof… getting to Katahdin has EVERYTHING to do with wanting to get there. 95% of the USA population can hike any part of the trail, one legged people have done it, blind people have done it, fat people have done it, skinny people have done it, old people have done it, young people have done it, gay people have done it, straight people have done it… the difference is your mental strength… The really hard part of hiking 2,167.8 miles, or whatever the hell it is, is waking up eating oatmeal (again) putting on the same stinky socks, shorts and tee shirt that you have been wearing (especially when they are wet and clammy) and walking however far you choose to walk that particular day eating yet another ramen noodle or mac and cheese knock off.
So my friend, forget the hype, focus on enjoyment and merriment and the shear joy of living in a Gilligan’s Island situation for five or six months. Don’t worry about your ankles… I broke both legs, hip, pelvis, ankles, etc and had more metal in my body and had extra weight and never had ankle issues or any other problems. Your mind will be your greatest enemy. You will lose fifty or sixty pounds… The hardest part will be slowing the over the top hunger at the end of trail and trying to maintain any weight lose encountered. Most people fail at keeping it off… understandably… you are not walking 20 mile days anymore… you probably are going back to a cubicle job and not moving much…
Peace and have Safe Travels… I am planning some massive hiker feeds next summer along the AT so I hope we meet… Peace ASWAH
aswah
Yeah, eat well after the trail or you’ll blimp back up again. Good luck with that. :cheers
Bushwhack
Dear chubby checker:
Don’t forego weight loss because some people regain weight. Remember that many people, once they get their physical situation where they want it to be, are in fact able to maintain it.
Walking before starting your hike would be a good idea. A one hour walk would be about three miles, add in some two hour walks for six miles, and you’re on your way. This would serve to strengthen your body and start your weight loss plan immediately.
Best of luck, Conan
Conan
Dear chubby checker:
Don’t forego weight loss because some people regain weight. Remember that many people, once they get their physical situation where they want it to be, are in fact able to maintain it.
Walking before starting your hike would be a good idea. A one hour walk would be about three miles, add in some two hour walks for six miles, and you’re on your way. This would serve to strengthen your body and start your weight loss plan immediately.
Best of luck, Conan
Conan
I’m 5’5" and weighed 165 when i started, a healthy weight for my height. I only sectioned so it’s a bit different but I lost 15lbs by Damascus to give you an idea. In the 3 months before my next section i’d gained a whopping 40lbs. all down to bad eating habits i’m afraid. You can only fool yourself that the hiker metabolism will last forever for so long. Happy to say i lost it all again but with hard work. So yes, you will lose weight for sure, but it’s the posthike you will need to watch, as people have already said.
Good luck!
P.S Hiking through the whites, being a midget, and weighing almost 200lbs is no fun at all!
Cheers
I got on the trail at 250lbs and totally out of shape. I had planned to do small miles until I gained the stregnth thAt I needed. and it worked for me. it took until I was halfway through (Harpers Ferry) before I could keep up with anyone. and I pushed myself until I developed a hernia. Hernias run in the family.
We had another guy who was 300lbs and he did 5 miles a day until he made Damascas. and by then he was down to 250 !
BUY your boots and start walking each day 1 mile 2 mile 3 mile until you make 5 miles a day. better to break em in.!
1\4 of the way
Well, my trail name says it all. I started from springer in 06 with only 6 weeks to hike. I was 23 and weighed 287 and I did almost no exercise before hand. I averaged 13 miles a day and lost 22 pounds in the first 4 weeks. I gain and lose weight constantly (right now im at 259) so I gained most all of it back after my hike.
I knew each excrutiating step was helping me lose weight, which was one of the main reasons for hiking, so I looked forward to an all day work out every day.
You can lose a lot now or lose it while hiking. But, it is always a good idea to get healthy
Big Un’
I was sobo in '05, I’m 5’6 (almost) and was worried about starving my self to death so I “bulked up” to a whopping 140lbs. b4 I started. I don’t retain fat well so this was somewhat difficult and I lost it all the first month. By the time I hit springer I was 109lbs. This was bad because it was cold and I had started burning muscle mass. I took about a year after that to get back to my Pre-hike size. I think that after the pain of “break in” you will be glad for the reserves.
anon.
I agree with Aswah. I was overweight, retired, high blood pressure, etc., etc. But I saw young guns that were lean and mean, quit at Neel’s Gap, GA. It is 90% mental. Stay focused and enjoy your hike. Don’t worry about staying up with everybody you meet. You’ll see them down the trail.
I lost 56 lbs and gained 15 back in three days after summiting big K. It is hard to cut back on the amount of food you’ve been eating. We averaged 14.7 miles on our hike and you don’t do that after the trail. I plan on doing it again in 2012, but I will be lighter then at the start. Getting too old to carry the body weight I could when younger (less muscle more fat).
Have a great hike.
GA-ME '02
Papa Smurf