Dieting for Mountain Training and weight loss

Timnterra

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Oct 18, 2012
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Rapid City SD
Those of you who are serious about exercise and fitness help me out here. I need a reason to change my diet and preparing for a high country elk hunt seems like a good reason.
I'm about 25 lbs over weight and I'm getting close to 40. I'm planning on hunting elk in western WY this year, pending a tag, I hate waiting on the draw results... Anyway I suppose it would be a good idea to start getting in shape and preparing physically for the hunt. I started last week rowing and walking on the stair climber with a 30lb pack. It's not the same as rucking in the mountains but it's as close as I can get during lunch break, so It will have to do for now. When it warms up I'll go outside and climb the hills near my house.
I have never been good at eating healthy. I have always compensated for my over eating by exercising more. However at this point in my life o don't have time for that and it takes hours to work off what it takes seconds to eat.
What do those of you who eat healthy do to stay on track when no one else around you eats right?
 
I'm 41, and I've found that it's the little things that add up fast. Needed to loose some weight this year in preparation for hunts this fall. Stopped drinking alcohol, cut out dairy completely, cut way-way back on simple carbs and sugar, and eat vegetarian every other day. Since Feb 13 I've lost 19 lbs.
 
As above,stay away from the sweets.More things like chicken and veggies.I do almost no fast food.When you feel full or close stop,dont over eat.Once you have some good eatting habits its not hard with some activity.Theres good stuff like flavored rice cakes that fill you as snack,but much better than potato chips,etc many foods to choose from.Youll also feel better and want to do more.
 
Basics work for me. Meat and veggies for Dinner. Cut out milk. Lots of water. Mainly squat/deadlift type workouts for most natural testosterone boost and calorie burn. Doesn't have to be heavy. Like to see your results.
 
I think snacking is my biggest problem. Most of the time I eat way more than I realize. I know sugar is probably my biggest source of extra Calories and I think if I made a serious effort to cut out sugar it would be huge for me. I don't drink alcohol anymore and I really don't have much dairy and I only drink soda when I eat fast food, which is probably way to often. I drink mostly water and black coffee so the empty calories have to be coming from the food I eat. I'm going to stop getting "seconds" and see what that does for a week. Then maybe I'll try cutting out sugar from my snacks... I'll post updates. Right now I'm sitting at 217 and 5'-11" Id like to be down to between 190 and 195 before October. It's plenty of time to loose the weight but I want to go about it in a sensible way so I don't gain it all back.
 
I am 50 and I have found that the number one thing I can do is to actively track my calories. I use an app on my iphone and computer (I work in technology so that is convenient for me) to track EVERYTHING I eat and drink and set a goal of 1500-1800 calories daily.

With that I have linked my Activity tracker/HRM with the app as well so it balances what you eat vs what you burn and gives you a daily readout of your negative/positive calorie load.

There are millions of diets and tons of theories and ideas about losing weight, etc, but the one thing that works 100% of the time is to maintain a 10-20% calorie deficit daily. You do that and the pounds will fall off.

A quality HRM/tracker is a necessity too, like the I use a Polar Vantage M that allows for tracking using different profiles, incorporates GPS for much more accurate tracking when hiking/running/walking/biking outside but disables the GPS and only tracks steps when running on equipment, does not need a chest strap, and also allows you to build custom exercise profiles and training programs.

LEGS LEGS LEGS trim out the S&*t and build those legs, hips and calves .. you have to have a strong root and stump system to support the tree!!

And core... and not matter what you do, never neglect to stretch! Also, doing those odd exercises to strengthen supporting muscles is very important.

Try a set of no weight "Good Mornings" to test how strong your back chain is... I bet your lower back, butt, and hamstrings ache for three days if you haven't been doing them. But after you will be surprised how much stronger you get and how quickly your endurance will build.
 
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I used to be a distance runner and I had a polar heart rate monitor that I loved. However, the chest strap broke and I haven't used anything like it in a decade. I know lots of people who love their fit-bits that's probably something that would help me stay focused on the daily aspects of fitness.
 
I used to be a distance runner and I had a polar heart rate monitor that I loved. However, the chest strap broke and I haven't used anything like it in a decade. I know lots of people who love their fit-bits that's probably something that would help me stay focused on the daily aspects of fitness.
what will keep you focused will be the sweat taste elk back straps over a high mountain camp fire!!!! :)
 
At age 60 I won a backpack Dall Sheep Hunt and I was 40lbs overweight and out of shape. I discovered the only way to lose those lbs was to cut out ALL carbs, which includes snacks. That meant I could not buy anything in that category. Like any addiction, going "cold turkey" hurts for a while, but it gets you over the constant craving of the treats. I also started slowly to exercise with a full backpack, adding weight in small increments.
The result was I lost the weight and had an awesome hunt of a lifetime.

For me it was all about commitment and resolve. Deciding that I couldn't even think of snacking eventually got me to a point where I didn't even feel like snacking. That's what I did and it worked for me. Best of luck
 
I think snacking is my biggest problem. Most of the time I eat way more than I realize. I know sugar is probably my biggest source of extra Calories and I think if I made a serious effort to cut out sugar it would be huge for me. I don't drink alcohol anymore and I really don't have much dairy and I only drink soda when I eat fast food, which is probably way to often. I drink mostly water and black coffee so the empty calories have to be coming from the food I eat. I'm going to stop getting "seconds" and see what that does for a week. Then maybe I'll try cutting out sugar from my snacks... I'll post updates. Right now I'm sitting at 217 and 5'-11" Id like to be down to between 190 and 195 before October. It's plenty of time to loose the weight but I want to go about it in a sensible way so I don't gain it all back.
I am 38 - 6'5 255 lbs. I need to shed about 25-30lbs as well before the season starts. I am going to cut carbs - try and keep them to 50 or less day. I also have been hitting the gym with a 35lb pack. I just throw a 35lb plate in my backpack - I love the looks I get at the gym. lol. My job has me traveling every week and it has been tough to work out consistently. Now that the virus has shut my travel down for a couple months I am hoping to expedite this weight loss thing.
 
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