[pct-l] Cal. Cutting on the BIG trip

 Most people I met lost a fair amount of weight doing the PCT this year. Of 
course, if you have alot of fat( As in my case) , it comes off in a hurry. 
Lean and mean hikers tend to lose weight as well. Tralmix  was very fit 
starting his trip and still lost a large amount of weight.Of course your 
hiking style has a alot to do with this. If you go hard like JeffZ. and 
trailmix, you put in big miles and burn alot of calories. If you go slow and 
stay in town for 2 or 3 days per resupply, you may lose little weight your 
whole trip. ( Even though you will built better muscle mass)  Most hikers 
would be helped if they did pack some protein powder of some sort. We all 
crave sweets and sugar out when we hit town, but months on the trail with not 
enough protein does take it's toll. David Green said it best in 1977 and in 
his book. " You end up with the legs of a body builder and the upper body of 
Prisoner of War!!"  Sea Kayakers end up just reversed. Your legs look like 
you live in a wheel chair after a month in your boat. Your body robs your 
upper body's protein to repair your leg muscles. (  Most thru-hikers have " 
Bird Arms" after their trip just and Kayaker's have " Bird Legs" after a long 
paddle. Bottom line is eat like a pig, but don't forget the protein. ( And 
yes, to save any confusion, try to stick with complex carbs, even though they 
taste like sawdust)  Nah, I get a blackberry shake the second I hit town, but 
have a western omlette for breakfast. Right On!!!!
* From the PCT-L |  Need help? http://www.backcountry.net/faq.html  *

==============================================================================
To:            pct-l@backcountry.net