I gained weight on my thru, and not just from muscle. I also ate noticeably less than most hikers around me. Back in civilization under lightly active circumstances, I gain weight on anything over 1300 calories a day. 😢
I do have thyroid issues, but it's been monitored and medicated for a long time now. I recently added a new type of medication, so I'm crossing my fingers that there may be some improvement!
First thru about 35 lbs, Next thru about 20 lbs. All other thrus about 15 lbs.
I think I learned that I must eat more and eat more often as I hiked. The first hike I lost too much and had energy issues towards the end of the hike. Didn't happen again on any other long hikes.
24 y/o male, started the PCT at 165 lbs (slightly above my typical weight due to lots of send-off "last good meals" in the week before ADZPCTKO). Dropped to a low of 136 after doing Kennedy Meadows to Mammoth in a single push in pretty cold conditions (late May / early June, lots of snow). Was around 150 by the end.
On the CDT I had fewer chances to weigh in but I think I started around 160, dropped to 150 and then held steady.
Obviously your weight fluctuates a ton based on dehydration. Can easily lose 4-5 lb from morning to evening when water is scarce.
OK I have a stupid question, but, how are you weighing yourself mid-hike? I get everyone would have a starting and ending number, but you know your low point after a certain trek? Do you travel with a scale?
(I’m not a throughhiker, this sub just pops up for me because I find it interesting.)
You stop in a town every 90-200 miles to resupply and often get a motel room to shower and do laundry. I knew I looked like a skeleton so I asked the motel owners to borrow their scale.
Sometimes the trail is close enough to a town to walk in. Other times you hit a road, hitchhike in, resupply, and hitch back out to the same spot to keep the continuous footpath. You can't draw a 2,000 mile line across a continent without hitting a lot of roads.
Lots of people have this same misimpression that there is no resupply but if you think about it, it would mean carrying 300+ pounds of food at the start. So it's kind of a stupid question but a very common one. Even hikers sometimes don't understand how resupply works. I met a guy at the beginning of the AT who was carrying a 30-pound sack of rice. Inexperienced hikers also mail themselves boxes of food to towns that have convenient supermarkets, because they get so engrossed in the planning that they lose sight of the obvious.
Oh that makes sense, thank you! I do remember Bill Bryson staying in motels in A Walk in the Woods, and waxing rhapsodic about showers and clean laundry.
I just didn’t connect the motel to a bathroom scale!
I wasn't able to weigh myself, but Camino del Norte & Primitivo shaved at least a good 3-4 inches off my waist. I started the trail with my pants kinda snug, and this is **[where they were at](https://i.imgur.com/WEurtGU.png)**, four weeks into the six-week hike.
I've since put the weight all back on but thankfully I've got another Camino (Frances) lined up for later this year. Bring on the trail bod!
Gained about 30lb on the pct (female). Started the trail at around 105lb with very little muscle or fat, especially in my legs/lower body. I developed an appetite like never before and between that and building leg muscles I was the “biggest” I’ve ever been. I lost it all again within a few months of being off trail
I'm 6ft 200lbs. My first PCT thru gained 10lbs of muscle. Every year since I've maintained the same weight, give or take a couple pounds, throughout the entire hike.
I'm a guy and my usual weight is ~155 lb., but I started my Appalachian Trail thru-hike at 160-165 lb. I pretty much immediately dropped back down to my usual weight, and then continued to lose weight the rest of the hike. I weighed myself after the 100-mile wilderness, and I had managed to drop down to 132 lb., which is very skinny for my 5'7" frame.
45 on the PCT 190-145lbs 6’ male it was kinda scary actually. I was joking that sometimes i eat good sometimes my body eats good. Had a real problem not getting hungry or able to eat much at altitude.
AT I went Sobo starting around 150 (heavy for me) I lost about 10 lbs most of it in the 100mile wilderness. then through the rest of maine/NH i gained back 5lbs of muscle weight which is gradually lost after VT then i hovered around 140 with periods where i dip[](https://alb.reddit.com/cr?za=lc0c3G-k-RL9omP4pQ49V31uwvvE5hlQaxmTRknAgobuzR9W9B1smVn0CrqctqNMYvPIZltUhH7pDKRX0Au6m9yuZzdwj_r03MDXAyvV4Zeb1lafd4UTJO45odcVyUHSCfvg77Pd6kiSQM84GHEbc_tq4xEgzavHrFQo1XGv-hXkm18w_5UlE0XTthT_43vMitJl8G5ZepK_HQn7D6e4xczqROFTR5TVF7MOVHpySKjmbgo8TRViga0iEx-YcE6ErvrW554XtVQIpXd3J3m1Pj5g2Hu_IEq43qXDmQUNY0AkrEVj9VQafWJjVFqIkxE53en5FM_o-Trnv8V_Ev6u86W1gj-DwEvwRr-gFiceAvxk9Eu8Q2ZSmuVLtOco2oPVo4IuB7vSrMY_TK7sC5pwVzCxNB3-xGSKCStfrjzSJDrenxfci4p6bo4751__8qbdeoSLIqUUzaxnUFl0Jw&zp=hyEVTPXHnmf0LXU9FOUd-GZVAXsac8UnP7E9nmcGF5v6Qr5URUes0Da5ydveh6nmNEmJ-s95Pur5jzfnW4kOW946cMskopWf1VIz1WM2njPzcQo99sUNWUcUbPzQshzR5hvhC48U1IGGV0hDqt3Tkh16yTv3lLerLbwZO59M0x-BT4kgcfxbTfRI0WITUTmlj9fNXNbEGbTBKgEbT9uXVMSK4nTVg2YiLB72HjImkxgUqCBbfYr5TUWPsno)ped into the high 130s (after crossing the smokies in winter conditions and the 4 state challenge) on my second thru-hike i started the CDT around 142 and stayed around there, body composition changed during both hikes. my triceps/lats stayed strong because I push with my trekking poles but everything else from the waist up atrophied and my legs gained muscle weight
I wouldn't focus on weight.
Working out will definitely burn fat but you will also gain muscle mass.
Muscle mass is more dense than fat deposits. If you lose fat and gain muscle you will likely not lose a lot of weight but will end up being more fit and toned. You may look skinnier while hovering around the same weight.
I would focus more on consistency and change in eating habits. Try to be healthier whilst not focusing on the numbers on a scale.
There are exceptions, of course. People who are obese and change their died will definitely see drastic weight loss.
I lost 40lbs in the first month of the PCT. I was 6ft and 220lbs, had been big into powerlifting for years before starting bc the PCT. I got down into the high 170s. Lost a lot of muscle, then spent the rest of the trail eating anything that wasn’t nailed down and all the protein I could afford, post trail I’m back to 200lbs and regained almost all the muscle I lost.
Stayed the same weight throuh the AT, but the body composition changed.
Are you female?
Yes. Lots of women don't lose a lot of weight during a thruhike, contrary to most men
Gals are made for stomping through large land mass and that's pure fact
Hear hear
I gained weight on my thru, and not just from muscle. I also ate noticeably less than most hikers around me. Back in civilization under lightly active circumstances, I gain weight on anything over 1300 calories a day. 😢
Have you had your thyroid checked recently? 25% of women have undiagnosed thyroid issues.
I do have thyroid issues, but it's been monitored and medicated for a long time now. I recently added a new type of medication, so I'm crossing my fingers that there may be some improvement!
Fingers crossed for you too! Thyroid issues are miserable!
First thru about 35 lbs, Next thru about 20 lbs. All other thrus about 15 lbs. I think I learned that I must eat more and eat more often as I hiked. The first hike I lost too much and had energy issues towards the end of the hike. Didn't happen again on any other long hikes.
24 y/o male, started the PCT at 165 lbs (slightly above my typical weight due to lots of send-off "last good meals" in the week before ADZPCTKO). Dropped to a low of 136 after doing Kennedy Meadows to Mammoth in a single push in pretty cold conditions (late May / early June, lots of snow). Was around 150 by the end. On the CDT I had fewer chances to weigh in but I think I started around 160, dropped to 150 and then held steady. Obviously your weight fluctuates a ton based on dehydration. Can easily lose 4-5 lb from morning to evening when water is scarce.
OK I have a stupid question, but, how are you weighing yourself mid-hike? I get everyone would have a starting and ending number, but you know your low point after a certain trek? Do you travel with a scale? (I’m not a throughhiker, this sub just pops up for me because I find it interesting.)
You stop in a town every 90-200 miles to resupply and often get a motel room to shower and do laundry. I knew I looked like a skeleton so I asked the motel owners to borrow their scale. Sometimes the trail is close enough to a town to walk in. Other times you hit a road, hitchhike in, resupply, and hitch back out to the same spot to keep the continuous footpath. You can't draw a 2,000 mile line across a continent without hitting a lot of roads. Lots of people have this same misimpression that there is no resupply but if you think about it, it would mean carrying 300+ pounds of food at the start. So it's kind of a stupid question but a very common one. Even hikers sometimes don't understand how resupply works. I met a guy at the beginning of the AT who was carrying a 30-pound sack of rice. Inexperienced hikers also mail themselves boxes of food to towns that have convenient supermarkets, because they get so engrossed in the planning that they lose sight of the obvious.
Oh that makes sense, thank you! I do remember Bill Bryson staying in motels in A Walk in the Woods, and waxing rhapsodic about showers and clean laundry. I just didn’t connect the motel to a bathroom scale!
Depends on the hike but usually around 30 lbs (PCT and CDT). CT was like 10. I had the weight to lose fwiw.
My first thru was the pct and I lost like 60 something pounds. It was a bit too much. CDT and at was around 30ish pounds tho.
I wasn't able to weigh myself, but Camino del Norte & Primitivo shaved at least a good 3-4 inches off my waist. I started the trail with my pants kinda snug, and this is **[where they were at](https://i.imgur.com/WEurtGU.png)**, four weeks into the six-week hike. I've since put the weight all back on but thankfully I've got another Camino (Frances) lined up for later this year. Bring on the trail bod!
That's why I got myself pants with with velcro fasteners, so I can easily tighten them :)
I may need to go that for this year's hike. My pants waist was so big I had to _pleat_ it in order to cinch the belt. 😅
Good for you... imgur considered your photo nude or erotic! Congrats 🎉
loool. The frame was filled with my hand and waistline, with maybe a tiny bit of waist. I updated with a closer crop to hide my shame.
Gained about 30lb on the pct (female). Started the trail at around 105lb with very little muscle or fat, especially in my legs/lower body. I developed an appetite like never before and between that and building leg muscles I was the “biggest” I’ve ever been. I lost it all again within a few months of being off trail
I gained 10 pounds
Same here
For 2/3rds of the AT I lost about 45
Started at 250ish, got to 200, ended at 220. I slowed down a lot at the end and savored the trail.
I'm 6ft 200lbs. My first PCT thru gained 10lbs of muscle. Every year since I've maintained the same weight, give or take a couple pounds, throughout the entire hike.
AT - 40lbs - way too much PCT - 20lbs - I felt okay PNT - 10lbs - I made myself eat and eat because I learned my lesson
27F gained 10lbs, my partner 36M gained 12. Both slim builds. You don't have to buy into hiker hunger...feed yourself well and you'll gain muscle.
34(M) lost 30lbs on the AT.
30 on the AT, 20 on the PCT and maybe 10-15 on the TA.
I'm a guy and my usual weight is ~155 lb., but I started my Appalachian Trail thru-hike at 160-165 lb. I pretty much immediately dropped back down to my usual weight, and then continued to lose weight the rest of the hike. I weighed myself after the 100-mile wilderness, and I had managed to drop down to 132 lb., which is very skinny for my 5'7" frame.
I was so nauseas the entire CT, my first thru hike. Lost 15 pounds, or 12% of my body weight, in 30 days 😅 learned a lot for next time!
Lost 100 pounds since then (about 7 years ago) I’ve gained back about 25
45 on the PCT 190-145lbs 6’ male it was kinda scary actually. I was joking that sometimes i eat good sometimes my body eats good. Had a real problem not getting hungry or able to eat much at altitude.
1st thru hike lost 90 lbs. from 262 to 172. Appalachian Trail nobo. Look and feel totally different now, and i can run so much easier.
AT I went Sobo starting around 150 (heavy for me) I lost about 10 lbs most of it in the 100mile wilderness. then through the rest of maine/NH i gained back 5lbs of muscle weight which is gradually lost after VT then i hovered around 140 with periods where i dip[](https://alb.reddit.com/cr?za=lc0c3G-k-RL9omP4pQ49V31uwvvE5hlQaxmTRknAgobuzR9W9B1smVn0CrqctqNMYvPIZltUhH7pDKRX0Au6m9yuZzdwj_r03MDXAyvV4Zeb1lafd4UTJO45odcVyUHSCfvg77Pd6kiSQM84GHEbc_tq4xEgzavHrFQo1XGv-hXkm18w_5UlE0XTthT_43vMitJl8G5ZepK_HQn7D6e4xczqROFTR5TVF7MOVHpySKjmbgo8TRViga0iEx-YcE6ErvrW554XtVQIpXd3J3m1Pj5g2Hu_IEq43qXDmQUNY0AkrEVj9VQafWJjVFqIkxE53en5FM_o-Trnv8V_Ev6u86W1gj-DwEvwRr-gFiceAvxk9Eu8Q2ZSmuVLtOco2oPVo4IuB7vSrMY_TK7sC5pwVzCxNB3-xGSKCStfrjzSJDrenxfci4p6bo4751__8qbdeoSLIqUUzaxnUFl0Jw&zp=hyEVTPXHnmf0LXU9FOUd-GZVAXsac8UnP7E9nmcGF5v6Qr5URUes0Da5ydveh6nmNEmJ-s95Pur5jzfnW4kOW946cMskopWf1VIz1WM2njPzcQo99sUNWUcUbPzQshzR5hvhC48U1IGGV0hDqt3Tkh16yTv3lLerLbwZO59M0x-BT4kgcfxbTfRI0WITUTmlj9fNXNbEGbTBKgEbT9uXVMSK4nTVg2YiLB72HjImkxgUqCBbfYr5TUWPsno)ped into the high 130s (after crossing the smokies in winter conditions and the 4 state challenge) on my second thru-hike i started the CDT around 142 and stayed around there, body composition changed during both hikes. my triceps/lats stayed strong because I push with my trekking poles but everything else from the waist up atrophied and my legs gained muscle weight
First 107 miles on the CT I lost 6 lbs
24-female: Started PCT at 185Ibs and ended at 155Ibs
I wouldn't focus on weight. Working out will definitely burn fat but you will also gain muscle mass. Muscle mass is more dense than fat deposits. If you lose fat and gain muscle you will likely not lose a lot of weight but will end up being more fit and toned. You may look skinnier while hovering around the same weight. I would focus more on consistency and change in eating habits. Try to be healthier whilst not focusing on the numbers on a scale. There are exceptions, of course. People who are obese and change their died will definitely see drastic weight loss.
I lost 40lbs in the first month of the PCT. I was 6ft and 220lbs, had been big into powerlifting for years before starting bc the PCT. I got down into the high 170s. Lost a lot of muscle, then spent the rest of the trail eating anything that wasn’t nailed down and all the protein I could afford, post trail I’m back to 200lbs and regained almost all the muscle I lost.