Bushwalking Appetites.

[Bubbalouie]

I still need to chug down a fair few calories (12-14,000kj) as I just don't have a lot of reserves (82kg).

This is a rather odd statement. 82kg is hardly lightweight.

He might be 8ft tall

193cm, a little shy of 8ft I'm afraid.

[GPSGuided]

Right in the middle of BMI range, a pretty decent weight. Endurance comes with training.

[Bubbalouie]

Right in the middle of BMI range, a pretty decent weight. Endurance comes with training.

Agreed, training is a huge factor.

When I started out I found that my second and third days were always harder if I didn't force the food down. I can under eat for one day and that's about it, the second day I'm destroyed. On the other hand if I eat well on my first day the second isn't an issue, at worst I'll be a bit stiff if I've been lazy the week before heading out.

My guess is it has something to do with maintaining glycogen reserves. If they're maintained I'm all good. That said I'm no MD so I might be waaay of base.

I've also found I can avoid dropping a trouser size by "forcing" stuff down when going on long hikes, in the past I've lost as much as 3-4kg on a single hike. I don't see the sense in starving.

This kind of makes me wonder though, with people feeling good on these reduced food intakes how much weight do people lose for a 5 or 6 night stint?

[GPSGuided]

Glycogen storage can be improved thru endurance exercises. Seriously, unless going thru significant climbs, 10-15km walks are pretty benign.

[icefest]

He might be 8ft tall

Without data, we have to assume he is not beyond the 2nd standard deviation.

What is the Australian mean and standard deviation?

[GPSGuided]

What is the Australian mean and standard deviation?

Mean Australian male height is 176cm according to ABS and the SD for white dominated Caucasian countries is around 7cm. As such at 190cm, 80-odd kg is a pretty healthy weight.

[Moondog55]

According this link I need to loose another 8 kg and another 55mm from my waistline, that is going to be HARD

http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/healt ... lator.aspx

[GPSGuided]

MD55, just go on a lot more walks.

[Bubbalouie]

Glycogen storage can be improved thru endurance exercises. Seriously, unless going thru significant climbs, 10-15km walks are pretty benign.

Funnily enough I agree with you again, 10-15km isn't much at all. Depending on the terrain it's as little as 2-3 hours moving time (not much at all really, although in some parts of the Flinders 15km has taken me 6 hours due to climbing peaks). It's also a nice leisurely/comfortable distance to do when doing overnight hikes as you have plenty of time to check things out and enjoy the scenery.

But once the reserves are gone you're left with food, fat and muscle to fuel things. Personally I have very low body fat compared to the general population (inefficient metabolism). Once that starts to go I begin to feel pretty lethargic and set a moving pace of 1.5-3kmh instead of 5kmh (depending how flat things are). Training probably would help with that but the most I find time for is running 5-10km a few times a week and maybe an afternoon hike of 10-20km on Sunday. Keeping the food intake up seems to reduce the need for training and stops me losing weight on hikes.

I guess different strokes and all applies here. In my case I'm a natural bean pole and need to eat+lift a lot to keep a suitable BMI even when not hiking.

[Bubbalouie]

According this link I need to loose another 8 kg and another 55mm from my waistline, that is going to be HARD

http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/healt ... lator.aspx

If you have good general fitness you're probably better off than someone who's much thinner but has poor cardio fitness. Personally I wouldn't worry too much. Also, 55mm would mean buying all new pants, that's expensive!

[Moondog55]

According this link I need to loose another 8 kg and another 55mm from my waistline, that is going to be HARD

http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/healt ... lator.aspx

If you have good general fitness you're probably better off than someone who's much thinner but has poor cardio fitness. Personally I wouldn't worry too much. Also, 55mm would mean buying all new pants, that's expensive!

Actually it probably means all my good suits fit me again. I found dropping the 15kg really easy, but that last 8 kg is my winter cushion so I have a reserve for when I don't really feel capable of eating 4- 5000 Calories

I have to say at 115-120kg I was feeling a little sluggish and losing some excess has made me feel a lot better

[GPSGuided]

But once the reserves are gone you're left with food, fat and muscle to fuel things. Personally I have very low body fat compared to the general population (inefficient metabolism). Once that starts to go I begin to feel pretty lethargic and set a moving pace of 1.5-3kmh instead of 5kmh (depending how flat things are). Training probably would help with that but the most I find time for is running 5-10km a few times a week and maybe an afternoon hike of 10-20km on Sunday. Keeping the food intake up seems to reduce the need for training and stops me losing weight on hikes.

I wouldn't be so pessimistic of your body habitus when 61% of the population is obese. Not really a good group to compare to. Look at those African marathoners, they are thin but have plenty of reserve in their body. Another good group to compare to are those pro cyclists (Giro Italia is on every night now on SBS). Skinny but plenty of glycogen for 250km of high speed riding and climbing, day after day. For endurance work, one needs endurance training that's all. But yes, few have time to do 2-3hrs endurance training on a regular basis. But when done, you'll find your body to be much more capable than what you thought. With your BMI in the 22-23 range, you should be very capable. Sure, need to eat to replenish, but you are not disadvantaged by your weight.

[walk2wineries]

Interesting. Agree I'm not usually hungry when I'm walking... but I'm a great fan of supported walks (CradleHuts, LifesanAdventure etc).... great food, plenty of time to relax before dinner - recommend either of these for the light eater's experiments! or BothFeet's GOW.