losing weight

[bald tires]

First time posting. I am an old fart just getting back into backpacking after taking care of my elderly mother for years and then moving into a fixer upper house that took more time to fix up than I imagined.

A little history. My first backpacking experience 50 years ago was a disaster in some respects and very insightful in other respects. A friend said lots go backpacking for a weekend. He had plenty of gear for both of us. We were gone for two days up Mcgee Creek. My pack weighted over 60 lbs. I thought to myself that if this is what backpacking is all about I wanted no part it.

Fast forward a couple of years and I met a nice lady who later became my wife who was into backpacking. Her gear was heavy. Just like my first experience. No way Jose was I going to repeat that experience. After my first experience I came to the conclusion that just like expenses always rise to meet income and then some, the amount of crap you carry will always increase to to fill your pack with more stuff hanging off the sides, top & bottom of your pack. So we went to a local sporting goods store to look at gear. Might have been Sport Chalet. I don't remember. We bought the smallest packs that fit us and were comfortable to wear. They were made by Jansport. I still have and use the frame of mine. The bag gave up the ghost after my JMT hike. The bag was 14" W x 18" L x 8" high with two side pockets. Except for my sleeping bag, tent and pad it held everything I needed on my JMT hike. My BV 400 fits inside the pack.

After a trying a couple of different bags that were larger and carried more crap on that frame, I ordered a yard of Silnylon from Ripstop by the roll and recreated the original bag minus the side pockets.

I have paired down the weight of all of my gear as much as I can and still meet my needs on the trail. My pack weight with everything but food is 16 lbs. That only leaves one other place to save weight. My body weight. In all of the threads I have read all over the internet about saving weight on backpacking gear I have yet to see any mention of losing weight. I am a little overweight like most of us. So I decided to get back to my weight when I graduated college or a little less. That's 200 lbs. I am down to 209 lbs and my goal is to get down to 195 lbs before my next trip next summer.

Isn't losing 10, 15 or more pounds of body weight just as good or even better than pairing weight off of the gear we carry? Has anybody else on here gone on a weight loss program in addition to pairing the ounces off gear weight?

[Gogd]

Unnecessary body weight is the worst! You not only have to carry it, but also have to feed it and make your heart and lungs work harder to supply it blood and oxygen. Cutting kit weight has its limits. When pack weight reduction sacrifices comfort to the point you are underfed, chilled or your sleep system is uncomfortable, the fatigue these factors create cancels out whatever you are attempting to achieve going UL.

Ironically when we used to go on extended high altitude mountaineering trips we purposely "porked up" our body weight, as the demands of these adventures always resulted in us returning home 5-15 pounds below our nominal, fit body weight.

[bald tires]

When I did the JMT I porked up before the hike and lost it all plus another 10 pounds or so. What's interesting is that I never felt hungry or any energy loss. I was surprised about the amount of weight I lost.

As I am getting older I think that it is important to lose some weight. Not that I needed to lose a lot weight. I have about 10 pounds to go to get to the weight I want to be at. My doctor thought that it was a good idea last time I saw her. We went over what I eat on a daily basis and her only suggestions were to add some protein and fruit to my diet.

I found an old thread that talks about losing weight to prepare for backpacking. Interesting discussion.

I am not a fanatic about UL backpacking. I cut weight on gear where I can but I don't skimp on food or comfort. My biggest gear weight reduction lately has been making a new pack bag. I like external frame packs and have been using a Jansport pack for decades. In its latest form it weighs 1 lb 14 oz. I have removed everything I can from the frame and the new pack bag weighs 3 oz compared to the old bag that weighed well over a pound.