Hello all, I am starting a thru-hike in March, hopefully finishing in late August/early September…I was wondering about the caloric deficit. I am a pretty heavy man, weighing in at 260 pounds, most of it fat because i am short. However, how many calories does the average AT thru-hiker burn in a typical hiking day, let’s say averaging 13-16 miles per day?
Babaganoosh
Babaganoosh, Per Ronald Mueser’s book Long-Distance Hiking his study showed average weight loss for men your size was about 50 lbs for those who finish. During Karen Lutz’s 1982 study she found that the average weight loss for all men was 20 lbs or about 10% of body weight. Lutz also found that her subjects were consuming an average of 4,306 calories per day and still losing weight. This would translate into a caloric burn of around 5,000 calories per day. Studies also show that women lose proportionally less weight due to fat loss being replaced by heavier muscle gain. Average weight loss for women was around 6% of body weight due to this.
Big B
It’s odd, but long distance hiking every day is pretty much the only way left for us to what were designed to do, which is to say: “Walk endlessly.”
We don’t do it to track animals, as we once did. But, it’s still the activity that puts us into maximum shape and best health.
Conan
Conan
I’ve often wondered what single food item has the most calories. So far it looks like a package of two pop-tarts - 244 calories. There’s probably something else, though.
The Unknown Hiker
GORP with peanuts, raisins, and I like to add m&m’s has a lot of calories. I ended up with anemia because my diet lacked sufficient iron. Had to visit a hospital to see what was wrong with me. Started taking a chewable vitamin with iron, protein powder shake for breakfast, and emergen-C which is a powder you mix with water that has all the electrolytes you need. Once I added those 3 I could really put the hammer down.
Steady On