[pct-l] weight loss

[gottago at lindajeffers.com (Linda Jeffers)]

For those who have thru hiked the pct or for that matter any long distance
hike what was your average weight loss?

 

 

 

I weighed about 136 when I started hiking the PCT northbound. I lost about
17 lbs. by the end of my thru-hike. Five of those lost pounds where lean
weight loss -muscle loss. I know because I had done a fat test before and
after the hike. I wasn't happy about the muscle loss. I was reminded by a
nurse on the trail who was concerned with how thin I looked that heart is a
muscle! 

 

Once through the Sierra, I started eating even when I didn't feel like
eating just to keep the little muscle I had left. I added oil to meals, ate
spoonfuls of peanut butter before my actual meals and always carried a LARGE
bag of potato chips to constantly nibble on. It's funny because I started
craving the fatty foods. I also never tired of these foods.  I could not
gain any weight back though until after I finished the hike. And
then...!!!!! Watch out.

 

The following year, I hiked from Campo to Sonora Pass. I ate more food, l
lost much less weight.  However on both hikes I was absolutely physically
and emotionally spent around Tuolumne Meadows north. This part of the trail
from Tuolumne Meadows to So Lake Tahoe seemed harder than the Sierra. I
needed a number of zero days in South Lake Tahoe in '02 on my thru-hike.
Then in '03 I got off the trail at Sonora Pass just short of South Lake
Tahoe. One of the reasons I got off was that I felt so weak.

 

What I'll do different next time is right from the beginning of a long hike
EAT much more and more often (every hour - hour and a half) even when my
mind and stomach tell me I'm not hungry. 

 

BTW in '03 I did eat more food and lost much less weight (10lbs) but I also
ate lots of protein (jerky, cheese and peanut butter) at night. I believe
the timing of when to eat protein is important. Maybe that is why I didn't
lose lean muscle weight. Just a guess.

 

Gottago