In my earlier submission to the thread, I suggested losing the weight so as to enjoy the health benefits. In retrospect, I now see that there may be advantages to the alternative (lightening the pack.)
A lighter pack means there is now room available for a nice bottle of single malt, and you won't be carrying any more weight than you started with.....
This was a big issue when I was road cycling heavily. People were spending big, big bucks on titanium everything--measuring every gram saved if this steel screw or that steel screw on the bike was replaced with a titanium equivalent. But overall, losing a pound of fat off your butt was more effective than spending $1000 to shave a pound off the bike.
...because for a person actively cycling, losing that pound of buttfat inevitably meant having gotten faster and stronger along with it. That can't necessarily be said for a couch potato--dieting alone can make you weaker, as has been mentioned.
But if you are an avid hiker, a smart regimen of careful diet and additional exercise that works to increase your abilty to hike and sheds fat will also enable you to carry more pounds on your back, just as it will enable a cyclist to go farther faster.
The activity you are striving to improve is the test of the regimen. If you diet and exercise and your hiking ability suffers, then your regimen is incorrect.
Lighten your pack to carry more water.
wouldn't carrying a heavier pack make you (lose weight and) get you fit(ter) more quickly?
...sorry, couldn't help myself.....
http://www.jeffbridges.com/perception.html "Whether you think you can, or think you can't, you are right."
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks