Half Assed Fitness

Want to hear something funny?

Me. 

Consuming 3400 calories.

In one day.

I never thought I'd see the day but here I am, planning for this very thing.

We've got a hike planned for Saturday. A 16 mile backpacking trip and I'm planning out my meals. Actually, for the most part I'm planning liquid calories since I can't eat that much food. I just can't.

Here is a screenshot from Cronometer, an INVALUABLE tool for planning and monitoring your calories and nutrition. (not affiliated)

You'll notice that I still have some calories to spare as well as only replenishing 40% my daily allowance in fat. Hiking is an endurance sport which means you operate in the fat burning zone for the most part so in essence, this hike should result in some fat loss. Yay! I've got a few to shed right now. 

When we're going long term on the Appalachian Trail though, this will be something I'll need to correct.  It's very hard to consume enough calories on a thru hike to keep from losing too much weight but the more fat you consume, the more you have for fuel. It's really sort of the opposite of every single thing I've known to be true in the past but...the goals are different so the goalposts have moved!

I'm looking forward to this hike. I feel ready and I'm excited to try out the liquid diet as well as some other gear testing my husband I are planning. We've got ourselves a new tent that is 3 pounds lighter than our last one and he got a new sleeping bag so I'm going to test out his old one which is another 3 pounds lighter than my existing bag. That's a big difference!

Wish us luck!

 First hike:

• 16.5 mile loop
  
• Moderate difficulty
• 1340 ft elevation
• Finished in 7.5 hours

This was the first exercise I'd had in about 3 years. We've been living on a tiny island in the Pacific doing nothing more than riding my bike to work 10 minutes each direction on flat ground.  I have a desk job and I was NOT in shape. 

The goal is to get into better shape gradually so that I don't die on the Appalachian Trail. This is the first hike my husband decided to drag me on. 

I made it. Barely. 

I didn't eat enough food to fuel myself and I drug my butt over the last few miles until we started going downhill gain.

Seriously, this should not have been my first hike. 

It probably took me 4 days of hot tub time, ibuprofen, ice, and stretching before I could walk around the house without gimping. 

Second hike:

• Backpacking trip out and back 9 miles (18 miles total)
• Moderate difficulty
• 1650 ft elevation
• Finished in 4.5 hours each day
• Pack weight 32 pounds

I did pretty good on this one. It's the first time I've carried a full pack in 20 years. 

The major improvement was that we got ourselves a set of trekking poles. What a life saver. It helps so much, especially on the uphills. 

I made sure to eat every hour or so so I was fully fueled this time, along with plenty of electrolytes and water. We also added a recovery drink at the end of the hike. This facilitates healing. 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein and a dash of caffeine as well.

Still, very sore for about 3 days.

Third hike:

• Day hike 6 miles out and back (12 miles total)
• Moderate difficulty
• 1340 ft elevation
• Finished in 6 hours

This seemed like a piece of cake compared to the last time with the trekking poles and proper nutrition. 

I made sure to add some stretching when we rested and decided I REALLY don't like eating as I'm trying gasping for breath on the uphills nor do I enjoy a full lunch. I'd rather just wait until I'm done to eat. This started my search for liquid calories vs solids. More to follow on that.

Fourth hike:

• Backpacking trip out and back 8 miles (16 miles total)
• Moderate difficulty
• 1750 ft elevation
• Finished in 4 hours each day
• Pack weight 30 pounds

 Vastly improved performance on this hike. It was dry this time so actually pretty pleasant. 

I did not have to take ibuprofen after this trip, I had started doing Pliability and did it again the day after for some really deep stretching. A little twinge of soreness in my legs but that's to be expected, especially considering this was the steepest trail we've done so far.

So, that's the beginning of my hiking career. 62.5 miles so far, only 2110 more to go if I was on the AT. 

Next up....Hiking is an Endurance Event