Unrealistic Weight Gain

My first step in this weight loss endeavor was to hike the Appalachain Trail. When I started that trail I couldn't walk 3 miles with my backpack on. It would take me 3 days to go from checkpoint to checkpoint. It took me 64 days to get out of Georgia.

By the last 2 months (of the 8 I spent out there) I was doing 20+ miles (often 30+) daily over tougher hills and feeling good. I was still a huge fatass, people still looked at me like I was a huge Fatass, everytime I ran into new people I would have to explain why/how a person weighing over 400 pounds was out hiking a 2800 mile cross country trail. That really motivated me to keep up with the other hikers from day to day. I got really sick of talking about it, and no one ever asked more than once.

I became OK with it. I lost 107 pounds hiking that trail and the day I got home I RAN up the stairs in my house.....

Calling myself a Fatty Fatass is a badge of honor, nothing less.

Thank you for your opinion but , I like my username just fine

I am SO jealous/impressed thaf you hiked the AT!!! That is definitely one of my life goals; I'm afraid I won't have the time/money to do it until close to retirement, though. How did you manage to do it in eight months? Did you start really early or was it just really cold/snowy by the time you finished? (Or both - like March 1 - October 31?) Either way, that is so cool.

I'll add in also to the other poster who said starvation mode messed with her metabolism for 2 years - I had a pretty serious ED, and my metabolism was extremely messed up for about two years afterwards, and I still think a little more "clunky" than average today (7 years later). So I'm really glad to hear you are considering upping your calories. May I suggest as you keep losing, slowly work up to eating back at least 50-75% of your exercise calories (I know that would be like 3500-4000 calories/day). I really think this will be best for your long-term health. I think if you take 1.5-2 years to work up to that, your weight loss will continue at the same (amazing!) rate, at least until you get into "normal" BMI. Then you'll have to be content with the measly .5-1 pounds per week the rest of us deal with.

I actually started in early March. I didn't make it to Katahdin by the cutoff in October. ( I got there on October 21st and Baxter State Park closes on the 15th) It was incredibly cold when I started in Georgia, but, by the time I got to Maine I had no issues with the cold, I was covering a lot more miles then, and my internal temperature probably had a lot to do with that. The gear I had in GA was also VERY different than the gear I was carrying by ME. I learned alot about what types of things to carry and what types of things not to carry!

I had run into some very cool hikers in Vermont who were hiking a different trail that shared part of the AT which was called the Long Trail. I went up with them to Canada and then Yo-Yo'd back to route 4 which is where the trails branch away from one another. This added pretty close to 600 miles to the nearly 2200 that is encompassed by the AT. So I actually covered closer to 2800 than 2200 miles.

At the route 4 junction is an awesome place called The Long Trail in, which serves some pretty hearty food and is set up to accomodate hikers. Its a must stop place when you are hiking the trail. Make sure you try a bowl of thier Guiness Stew. I spent almost a week there. It was the longest rest I took over the hikes duration.

I did "cheat" a little in some areas by following the White Blazed trails ( White blazed are spurs and they are sometimes longer and sometimes shorter , but generally easier, Blue Blazed trails signify the actual AT) but thats a pretty common practice , especially if you want to avoid or catch up to someone, or if you just want explore a little. The portion in Connecticut has some pretty cool Indian Caves out on the White Blazed Spurs.

I went back the following April to cover the last few miles thru Baxter and over Katahdin. So, even tho I know I failed to one-shot it, I am 100% certain that I covered 100% of it. It was heartbreaking to not finish it in a season, but, as far as I am concerned I could have done it if I hadn't took the extra 600 mile Yo Yo up and down the Long Trail (which was definetly a very enjoyable portion of the hike and well worth it).

Would you like some pictures?

As far as eating back my spent calories.........

I decreased my calorie deficit by 330 calories today. This brings me into line with MFP's reccomendation (which is now 1530 due to the change in my weight).

To be very honest I had a hard time trying to figure out what to do with the extra 330 calories. I ended up adding 6 oz Lowfat Yoplait Yogurt to my breakfast cereal instead of the 1/4 cup of Lactaid I usually eat, increasing the amount of protien I ate at dinner, having a 100 calorie pack of Raisel's (gosh I LOVE those things) at lunch and then an extra orange at snacktime. I do not feel any more sated than usual and I didn't experience any kind of energy boost thruout the day, but, I am sure that will come in time.

I checked out the website you have linked to in your signature (http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/ ) and I found the information excellent and compelling. I know from the size of the font on the direct link that you feel strongly about eating back excercise calories.

We all know that the initial design of fat storage was to help primitive humans thru the cold seasons when hunting was poor and food was scarce. This logic leads me to believe that high BMI's actually counteract high deficits. When fat is burned it is converted to energy, albeit more slowly than food is, making it a poorer (but viable) source of energy. I know it goes against the grain to not eat back my spent calories, and, I certainly do want to eventually develop a furnace and as I become leaner I will increase my intake slowly and see what effect it has on my wieght, BMI and energy level until I find the "magic numbers" for me.

I really appreciate you taking the time to share your wisdom with me, and I hope that my last statement didn't come off as argumentative or rude or haughty or esoteric.

It definetly was not meant to.......... I am sure you are far more knowledgeable and healthier than I.... and I do not question that you are right .....and .......your way is the right way......

Its just that what I have been doing so far has been working, and I am feeling great........

If I had tried to do everything the right way, I am not sure what may have resulted......

For me it was more important to just start DOING something and stop looking for the best way to go about it.

I know thats foolish. I don't claim to be wise and I know I have a lot to learn..... but the learning is part of the journey too......

I hope I am not sounding arrogant.......... its just that sometimes I am able to cope better when I take things in stages.

Thank you so much for all the great advice, I really do appreciate it !

The values for MFP for protein is low. I would say 1 gram per pound of body weight. I am betting you've lost quite a bit of lean muscle tissue since you're calories are set low based on your body weight. I tell people to eat 400 calories over their BMR if they are consistent exercisers and they lose weight.
And yes, it's not uncommon for people who diet too hard to eat some denser foods and retain the weight for 5 or more days. Especially if it's a "shock" to your body, meaning it's been awhile since your body has had that influx of salt/fat/carbs.

Thanks for the further response here NinerBuff,

I am very surprised to hear that the retention / temp gain can last that long........ I am kind of glad to hear it though.

I am not really sure how to measure loss of lean muscle mass so I can't take your bet.........

however I can say this..................

I have been doing strength training 3 times a week on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday for close to 9 months.....

When I started strength training I was doing 2 sets of 10 reps of 80 pounds on the bench and now I am doing 1 set of 20 reps of 140, 1 set of 20 reps of 170 and 1 set of 10 reps of 200. I don't limit myself to the bench, I also do curls, flys, leg presses and leg curls, and I have seen similarly increased performance on all fronts. I use the weights one morning a week.

On my second strength training day I avoid the weights and do Pushups (standard, wide-arm and diamond), Flutter Kicks, Sit ups, Pull ups, lunges and 1 "new and exoctic" excercise which I usually pull off of U tube. The number that I do in the time alloted has multiplied on all counts.

On my third day of strength training I do Astanga Yoga with a resistance tube, and resistance band. I keep it fresh and do a variety of routines, but I have definetly noticed that I am way more stable than when I started. I used to jitter and bounce and really hurt.......... now I am rock solid balance and can hold even the more advanced position without much bouncing.

I can also see (like visibly see) seriously increased buffness and defintion in my arms, even thru the fat and loose skin.

I mean my arms aren't cut like yours by any means, but they are no longer bubbles of flabby disgusting fat either..... and when I flex its firm.

This of course may simply be that they are leaner than they were.......

I think I am gonna do some "then and now" pics on my profile if I can find any from "then" lol

Of course you are probably right, I probably have done some damage to myself thru catabolism, but, hopefully its not undoable.

Thanks very much for the proffessional advice, its really nice of you to share your expertise with someone who is struggling. I appreciate it !