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  1. #1
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    Default Long distance hiking and weight loss surgery

    My dream for several years now is to attempt to do a thru-hike or perhaps hike the AT in sections. However, partly do to carrying excess weight for quite some time but mostly from the job I just retired from, I need a hip and 2 knee replacements. However, my orthopedic surgeon does not want to operate until I lose around 65-70 lbs. But with the pain and discomfort I experience from my bad joints, the needed exercise to lose cannot be done. Even water exercise is somewhat uncomfortable. Definitely the proverbial catch-22. So I am beginning to explore the possibility of having bariatric surgery. (And the desire to hike is not the only reason- wanting to have a looonnnggg retirement, playing with the grandkids and just feeling great are just a few of the other perks I want.) The bariatric surgery I am favoring, if it comes to pass, will be the non-reversible type. I've said all that to get to my question- has anyone here had WLS and been able to do a lot of backpacking afterwards, including a thru- or section hike? My concern is being able to take in enough nutrition on a daily basis to sustain myself while hiking. Any comments pro or con will be greatly appreciated.

  2. #2
    Registered User ams212001's Avatar
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    Have you worked on changing your diet? I am mean truly changing how you eat. Most people believe that exercise is the main reason why people lose weight and that is simply not true. Diet is the main reason why people lose weight. Exercise helps but it is only like 10% of the equation where as diet is 90%. Perhaps, look into a nutritionist first.

    What they don't tell people about weight loss surgery is that a good amount of people gain all of the weight back because they do not change their diet.

    As far as hiking no idea.

  3. #3
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    Is there a local physical therapist that specializes with obese folks? What about ace bandages on your knees for extra support in the water?
    Keep pushing as hard as you can. Tiny steps now will turn into big steps later.

  4. #4

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    I agree that diet is the only real way to lose weight; I can NOT do enough exercise to keep the weight off. The reason hiking the AT is such an effective approach to weight loss is not so much because of the walking, rather the rationing of food one must do. Yes, I know the walking helps a lot, but if it were not for the food rationing there wouldn't be so many people who talk about losing such large amounts of weight on their hike.

    I took that lesson back with me. We eat way too much in society; everyone hears this, but they simply don't know just how much is really needed to be cut out of our diets.

    The fact that people must wait at least an hour to swim/exercise after eating is not something our ancestors had to do. It is only something we modern people have to do, simply because we eat too much and by too much I don't mean necessarily at one sitting, rather eating too much is an accumulative thing. Meaning if you eat 3 meals per day (or even 6 smaller meals as some fad diets have you do) you are eating too much.

    I first learned this when hiking out of NOC, this is when my Hiker Appetite really hit me since leaving Georgia. At that little restaurant I ate an AYCE breakfast with an incredible quantity of coffee. I could feel my body soaking up every bit of calorie and drink. I then headed north and anyone who has been there knows of that climb out of the gorge. Normally I would have been suffering from terrible bouts of heartburn and cramps. But I didn't even feel it.

    For true health I really do believe you gotta reduce the amount of food you eat; I say for true health, because I really believe that that is what causes most of the health problems in America, over eating, not to mention excess fat.

    The body did not evolve to have this much food without the associated exercise. In nature if you want food you got to go hunt/gather it, you don't just go to the frig. I also belive that you can reduce the amount of food you eat to the point of losing an acceptable amount of weight, but still eat too much for good health. Again if you can't exercise comfortabally after eating, then you're stuffing too much food in to your body, which then must figure out what to do with that excess food, at the expense of your health.

    So why exercise? My basic mindset is to diet to keep the weight off, but to exercise to keep the body strong; you have to do both for good health. No matter how healthy the food you eat is, both in quality and quantity, it does not build/maintain bone, muscle and connective tissues... on its own; only stressing your body during exercise does that.

    Now, if I eat something filling like a baked potato and then go running or something and feel cramps/heartburn, then I know I've been eating too much, not that I ate too much at one sitting (the baked potato), but too much over time.

  5. #5

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    Strenuous excercise certainly helps. It raises the bodys metabolism and you burn more calories for a significant time, few hrs, afterwards also, especially the first hour.

    But that calorie burn for 30 min of excercise per day, pales in comparison to what you can do by restricting food intake.

    Americans have a really high obesity rate, Its sad. Even the "poor". Only in the US can you be poor and obese. Its driven 100% by what they eat, largely by the widely available cheap carbohydrate snack foods and soft drinks.

    The disturbing thing to me, is that most dont care, or even realize it, its become the norm.

  6. #6
    Registered User Wise Old Owl's Avatar
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    60? The energy is gone! The get up and go - has left!... I am with you! Surgery you don't need it-yet

    Find an accredited weight loss program to re-educate you about how you eat. I joined and paid for a one on one service and was rarely hungry and hiked every day and 50 pounds came off in just a few months 10-15 the first week and average 2 pounds each week there after. Find a place where you can sit and discuss right and wrong ideas about food. Then learn how to keep it off and break habits. Get a dog with legs and walk it every day in a wooded park for practice. Load up on a pain killer 1 hour before going out. The only thing you have to get over is the fear of getting started, the best part was the cute female coaches I got to work with!

    You have a weight watchers on your side of Greensboro
    1231 Eastchester Dr #113 High Point, NC 27265
    You have a Jenny Craig on 601 near Charlotte
    230 E W T Harris Blvd
    Charlotte, NC 28262


    Once you occomplish this the surgury might not matter... its like going to the hardware store and picking up and putting down a 40 pound bag of bird seed or mulch.
    Last edited by Wise Old Owl; 06-22-2014 at 11:51.
    Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    Woo

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by Gramps View Post
    My dream for several years now is to attempt to do a thru-hike or perhaps hike the AT in sections. However, partly do to carrying excess weight for quite some time but mostly from the job I just retired from, I need a hip and 2 knee replacements. However, my orthopedic surgeon does not want to operate until I lose around 65-70 lbs. But with the pain and discomfort I experience from my bad joints, the needed exercise to lose cannot be done. Even water exercise is somewhat uncomfortable. Definitely the proverbial catch-22. So I am beginning to explore the possibility of having bariatric surgery. (And the desire to hike is not the only reason- wanting to have a looonnnggg retirement, playing with the grandkids and just feeling great are just a few of the other perks I want.) The bariatric surgery I am favoring, if it comes to pass, will be the non-reversible type. I've said all that to get to my question- has anyone here had WLS and been able to do a lot of backpacking afterwards, including a thru- or section hike? My concern is being able to take in enough nutrition on a daily basis to sustain myself while hiking. Any comments pro or con will be greatly appreciated.
    Gramps, have you considered Synovial fluid replacement/supplement injections? A medical procedure where they inject a designer Synovial fluid in the knee joint. It's made from the Cockscomb of a chicken, basically like liquid cartilage in a can. It does not work for everyone, but it's working for me so far (be over a month now and my knees are feeling the best they've felt in years) and perhaps that could allow you to (with the help of some pain meds) do some more aggressive work outs, though it really is largely all about calories in, says my Doctor.

    I have never struggled with weight...until about 5 years ago when my body metabolism changed, never was concerned about what I ate or how much, now it seems like every bite stays on. I'm to undergo a hernia surgery in about 2 weeks, (Abdominal area) and the doctor requested I loose a few pounds as well, it's been tough but I did it...Lots of veggies, fruit, and watch what foods have excessive calories...basically just reading labels and making a choice to or not to eat. just those small changes have allowed me to loose a little, oh, and lots a walkin, I walk everywhere. Still wanna loose about 15 more though...stick with it, and good luck.

  8. #8

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    I have extra weigh which has caused or aggreavated sleep apnea. I have thought about surgery but have only done a little research. My concern is you are thinking about a non-reversible procedure and going on a long distance hike. Everything I have read says 4,000 to 6,000 calories a day on a long distance hike. The idea behind weight loss surgery is to limit eating to very small meals and reducing your calorie intake. Everything I have read says a healthy male in good shape only needs about 2,200 calories a day. The surgery then has to reduce your calorie intake to less than the average intake of a healthy male to loss weight. Those who have resumed their original eating patterns eventually return to their prior weight. The surgery where part of the stomach is removed has its own issue. When overeating the stomach streches and grows back to its original size. I personally do not see non-reversible as an option since you will not be able to consume enough calories to maintain a hike.

    Rolls
    Last edited by Rolls Kanardly; 06-23-2014 at 00:59.
    Rolls down the hill, Kanardly hike up the other hill
    May all your hikes have clear skies, fair winds and no rocks under your pad.

  9. #9
    Registered User Wise Old Owl's Avatar
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    I agree Rolls! did you ever get the apnea surgery as I did? Huge improvement - now the wife keeps me up... I need another bedroom...
    Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    Woo

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by Wise Old Owl View Post
    I agree Rolls! did you ever get the apnea surgery as I did? Huge improvement - now the wife keeps me up... I need another bedroom...
    No surgery yet. I had a sleep test this last Friday night. First test since 2000. In 2000 they recorded 101 sleep apnea episodes per hour. Hopefully this test went better. Rolls
    Rolls down the hill, Kanardly hike up the other hill
    May all your hikes have clear skies, fair winds and no rocks under your pad.

  11. #11
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    Gramps-

    The short answer is: yes - weight loss surgery is compatible with athletic activity.

    I know of where I speak. I am a 6' 2" talk male who is now 48 years old. When I was 44, I weighed 404 lbs. I had Roux-en-Y (RNY) gastric bypass and proceeded to lose 1/2 of my body weight. I now weigh in the 195 range.

    All my weight related health problems are gone. I hike and climb extensively up here in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

    I have arranged my life so next year (2015) I can attempt a thru hike of the AT.

    Even with RNY, I have no problem consuming 4000 to 6000 calories per day, if I choose to. My normal diet is around 2200 calories per day.

    Due to reduced stomach capacity and a reset metabolism, I do it by breaking the normal "post RBY" rules - by eating and drinking calorie-dense foods like candy, nuts, seeds, oils, etc. I eat small amounts throughout the day. I also drink my calories and can pretty much drink as much as I like with an empty stomach - it goes right in.

    When you need too, you can consume lots of calories - no problem.

    Many people have had RNY and gone on to become fully-fit athletes - running marathons, playing all sorts of sports. I know of more than one who took up Iron Man competitions, which involves a multi-mile swim, followed by running a marathon and then a 100-mile bike ride - all in the same day.

    There are also people who have thru hiked the AT after RNY with no issues.

    So yes - you can hike with RNY. I was the best thing I ever did.

    Finally, the effects of RNY are permanent. Your stomach and metabolism never go back and the effects don't wear off over time. This really does work.

    Feel free to PM me if you want more personal info.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rolls Kanardly View Post
    No surgery yet. I had a sleep test this last Friday night. First test since 2000. In 2000 they recorded 101 sleep apnea episodes per hour. Hopefully this test went better. Rolls
    Hopefully, that test did go better!

    My husband was diagnosed with apnea in 2000. He has slept with a C-pap since then. Whenever he (infrequently) hiked, he always felt exhausted without it. He had weight-loss surgery February 18 and has lost 65 pounds. Mother's Day weekend, we went away and he forgot his C-pap....didn't snore...felt great in the am. He has scheduled an appointment for a reevaluation (side note: his blood pressure has been normal since mid-March, and his chronic back/knee pain has disappeared too!)

    I was diagnosed in 2014 with positional sleep apnea (only when I sleep on my back). Since my surgery and subsequent weight-loss, that appears to have gone away!

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