[at-l] Re: Weight Loss

[charles at uswnet.com (Charles Copeland)]

Our crew was told last year by the staff at Philmont that we would, with a 
40lb pack, burn an average of about 900 calories per hour when we hiked.

Charles

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jim Bullard" <jbullar1@twcny.rr.com>
To: "David Hicks" <daveh@psknet.com>; "~~ AT-L List" <at-l@backcountry.net>
Sent: Wednesday, August 24, 2005 1:15 PM
Subject: Re: Weight Loss -- [Was: Re: [at-l] Pack Liners]


> Wow, I had a little trouble following that :) but I think that any loss of 
> muscle is the byproduct of inadequate intake of calories/nutrients 
> relative to those being expended. A hiker can easily exceed burning 4000 
> calories/day so if you don't take in 4000 calories, they have to come from 
> somewhere. You body is programmed to retain some fat as reserve so when 
> you get down to a certain level it will start converting your less used 
> muscle tissue to make up the deficit. Quite a few thru-hikers report 
> reaching a point in their hike of having low/no energy only to discover 
> they weren't eating enough and their body was 'eating itself'. When they 
> upped their intake, their energy level was restored.
>
> BTW there is a handy activity/calorie burn calculator at 
> <http://www.caloriesperhour.com/>.