Author Topic: Help me lose weight!  (Read 2269 times)

richardh1905

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Help me lose weight!
« on: 11:29:07, 21/06/18 »



After a couple of days of mountain walking with an 11kg pack (9kg without food and water), I have decided that it is time to shed some weight - without spending the pounds.


Storm Shield Ultralite 2 man tunnel tent - 2.1kg. Now I do have a lighter tent, an ancient Saunders Jetpacker, still in good condition, but I just find it too small. And I do like the StormShield; it's a tough well made little tent, despite it's budget price. I've gone through what is in the tent bag, and have managed to save 130g by putting aside spare tent pegs, the repair kit and the pole bag.

Buffalo fibre pile/pertex sleeping bag - 1.3kg. I'm sticking with this; I like it. I have a pair of lightweight fibre pile trousers and some thick but light socks that I wear if it is a bit cold.

Sawn off closed cell Karrimat - 208g. I've just shaved a little more off this so it is now 120cm long. I've had this since 1984!

Cookwear - none! - 0kg. I lugged my Primus Omnilite stove, fuel bottle and titanium pans over the hill last Friday, only to have a disgusting dehydrated meal at the end of the day, when I really couldn't be bothered. And I had a dry early start the next day - breakfast was a sip of peaty water. So I asked myself, as I was walking down the glen back to the car - why bother with a cookset at all? I'll quite happily eat oatcakes, nuts, cheese, dried fruit, kabanos etc instead of disgusting slop. 1kg saved, without spending a penny!

Water  - Two 500ml fizzy drink bottles - 50g. My plastic 1 litre water bottle weighed 140g or so - time for it to be retired. Saving 90g.

Rucsac - Karrimor 45 litre 'Hot Earth' - 800g. I was using a Karrimoor Jaguar 65 litre pack weighing in at 1.8kg. Without the cookset, I have less to carry, so the smaller pack is fine. 1kg saving.

After this, I suspect that it is a case of diminishing returns. I need to look at my spare clothing, and I'll probably swap my metal whistle for a plastic one, and pack a smaller penknife, but I cannot think of much else.


With these saving, I estimate that my pack weight (without food and water) will be somewhere between 6.5 and 7kg.

Suggestions/comments welcome!


Edit - I should add that this is for brief forays into the mountains, rather than plodding up the Pennine Way.
« Last Edit: 15:18:54, 21/06/18 by richardh1905 »
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Doddy

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Re: Help me lose weight!
« Reply #1 on: 12:00:07, 21/06/18 »

My advice is to put you gear in three piles; 1.Essentials, Might Need, 3.Nice to have. Then get rid of piles 2 and 3.


Always difficult to comment without seeing a full gear list; and in any event it often hurts to say, and hear, as it means spending more money and you realise have bought the wrong stuff in the first place.
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My base weight is around 6kg. 9kg with 3 days food and a days water.[/color]  

sussamb

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Re: Help me lose weight!
« Reply #2 on: 12:02:34, 21/06/18 »
I'll quite happily eat oatcakes, nuts, cheese, dried fruit, kabanos etc instead of disgusting slop. 1kg saved, without spending a penny!

Will you though?  Weight of that food will add up  ;)
Where there's a will ...

richardh1905

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Re: Help me lose weight!
« Reply #3 on: 12:14:08, 21/06/18 »


Will you though?  Weight of that food will add up  ;)
Absolutely. I love oatcakes, and they have getting on for 500kcal/100g energy content. And the other foods that I list all have a high energy content.


Edit - a 200g pack of Stockan's Orkney oatcakes contains 978kcal (I couldn't resist when I had a look a the packet, so I am eating one now!). Lovely with squirty cheese, or even with peanut butter.
« Last Edit: 12:28:04, 21/06/18 by richardh1905 »
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richardh1905

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Re: Help me lose weight!
« Reply #4 on: 12:19:51, 21/06/18 »
My advice is to put you gear in three piles; 1.Essentials, Might Need, 3.Nice to have. Then get rid of piles 2 and 3.


Always difficult to comment without seeing a full gear list; and in any event it often hurts to say, and hear, as it means spending more money and you realise have bought the wrong stuff in the first place.
[/color]  
My base weight is around 6kg. 9kg with 3 days food and a days water.[/color]  


I've already been fairly ruthless, Doddy, but you could argue that I don't need a penknife, I suppose.


I do need to look more closely at the spare clothes that I carry; one item, a fleece coated fibre pile jacket, is a bit on the heavy side, but it is super warm and it makes a good pillow. Maybe when finances allow I'll treat myself to a decent duvet jacket.


What sort of calorific intake do you go for per day?
« Last Edit: 12:28:37, 21/06/18 by richardh1905 »
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alan de enfield

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Re: Help me lose weight!
« Reply #5 on: 12:49:07, 21/06/18 »

What sort of calorific intake do you go for per day?



My 2-3 day pack (25 litre 'Regatta')  is an all-up weight of 9.7Kgs (including, food, water, and Solar battery charger/bank)


Food for 2+ days (breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper, tea bags, milk, sugar, cocoa, flapjacks etc) comes in at 1.13kg
Water 3x 500ml 1.5kgs
Water Filter Pump 237g


So 'base weight' (excluding food and water, stove and pans) = ~ 6.5kg


With sleeping bag, full length mattress, pillow, 2-man (sitting height) tent, footprint, GPS, trowel, 1st aid kit, clothes, wash kit, headlight, knife, etc etc etc.


'Clothes' consists of simply :
T-shirt, Pants, Socks, Poncho, washing kit (Towel, soap, comb), pair 'camp slippers', and spare boot laces. Total weight 456g


My Kcal intake is 2000 per day, typical 2-day menu :



                        Breakfast           Lunch                            Dinner                    Supper

 Day 1               Porridge           Cup-A-Soup                 Spaghetti               Bar Chocolate
                        Cup of Tea       Twin Granola Bar         Bolognese             Cup of Cocoa
                                                                                      Cup of Tea             Flapjack
 
Day 2               Porridge           Pasta Mug Shotz            Shepherd’s Pie        Bar Chocolate
                        Cup of Tea       Twin Granola Bar          Extra 'Smash'         Cup of Cocoa
                                                                                      Cup of Tea                Flapjack



Nothing too heavy for lunch or I tend to get 'stitch' or 'cramps' if walking too soon after eating.


Just for comparison my 5-night pack (65 litre Berghaus) weighs in at 17.8kgs but has 3 litres of water, food for 5-6 days, complete change of clothes + jacket, etc, bigger gas cylinder, radio, kindle, fold-out solar panel kit and battery bank etc etc.
« Last Edit: 13:05:03, 21/06/18 by alan de enfield »

NeilC

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Re: Help me lose weight!
« Reply #6 on: 14:32:50, 21/06/18 »
The two heavy items are the tent and sleeping bag. Especially in the warmer months, you could get away with a much lighter bag. Some ultralight summer down bags drop to like 250g. Even cheapo synthetic summer bags can be 1/2 the weight of the pile ones. I know you say you're keeping it but that is the obvious overweight bang-for-buck saving right there IMO.


And 2 man tents can come a fair bit lighter but it can start getting pricey.


After that, unless you're carrying some silly clothing choices, it really is a law of diminishing returns. But the pile jacket doesn't sound like a great choice for backpacking in normal UK conditions.


Clearly other people are far more expert at this than me - I cannot fathom how anyone could carry 3 days full kit including food & water in a 25 litre bag


richardh1905

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Re: Help me lose weight!
« Reply #7 on: 15:32:43, 21/06/18 »


Thanks Alan; I'm surprised that you manage on as little as 2000 kcal/day, but I suppose it depends upon how far you are going and what sort of terrain you will be covering. My recent foray into the hills involved a steep mostly pathless ascent up to Munro level, and several miles of struggling through heather and bog; pretty strenuous stuff; hence my desire to shed a few kilos from my pack.


In the past I have worn a Polar heart rate monitor whilst running and, as a trial, whilst walking, and I found that walking up a steep hill with a pack on can easily result in burning calories at the same rate as when jogging, about 10 kcal/minute (normal walking on the flat is around 5kcal/minute). Note that these figures are specific to me, derived from the Polar Flow app. In fact on one cross country run that I did (Lomond West in Fife), my highest heart rate occurred when I was walking up the final steep slopes to the summit!


Sorry for rambling on; your figure just surprised me; that's all.


p.s. - I shuddered when I read "Cup-A-Soup" in your menu  :-X
« Last Edit: 15:46:11, 21/06/18 by richardh1905 »
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richardh1905

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Re: Help me lose weight!
« Reply #8 on: 15:40:55, 21/06/18 »

Thanks for your comments Neil.


I'm aware that lighter bags and tents are available, but I cannot justify the spend right now (maybe next year). I do have my eye on the NatureHike Cloud range of tents, very light and very cheap (~£85 for the one man, ~£120 for the 2 man).
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alan de enfield

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Re: Help me lose weight!
« Reply #9 on: 15:45:27, 21/06/18 »
Thanks Alan; I'm surprised that you manage on as little as 2000 kcal/day, but I suppose it depends upon how far you are going and what sort of terrain you will be covering. My recent foray into the hills involved a steep mostly pathless ascent up to Munro level, and several miles of struggling through heather and bog; pretty strenuous stuff; hence my desire to shed a few kilos from my pack.





Very valid point.


My 'day to day' walking is around Lincolnshire (where a mole hill has aircraft warning lights fitted), footpaths, farm / estate tracks etc, generally 5-10 miles 3 or 4 times per week and occasional 10-15 miles (maybe once per week).


The 'serious' walking is pretty much on moorland / heathland Debyshire etc. and would generally be 10-15 miles per day on a 3-day trip.
 Its many years since I 'did' mountains or long duration hikes - the last time I did the PW was in (I think) 1973, and the 24 hr Lyke Wake Walk a couple of years later. Since then its been walks like the Coastal Footpath around Cornwall etc.


Being old & retired gives some benefits - of being able to walk when you want, but the downside is the body won't do everything the brain tells it, it can still do.

richardh1905

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Re: Help me lose weight!
« Reply #10 on: 15:53:13, 21/06/18 »

My 'day to day' walking is around Lincolnshire (where a mole hill has aircraft warning lights fitted), footpaths, farm / estate tracks etc, generally 5-10 miles 3 or 4 times per week and occasional 10-15 miles (maybe once per week).


I know the Lincolnshire terrain well, was bought up there. But I've always been attracted to the hills; even as a child I would get excited when we went over Bowes Moor to see relatives.


Quote
Being old & retired gives some benefits - of being able to walk when you want, but the downside is the body won't do everything the brain tells it, it can still do.


I took early retirement a few months back; luckily I still appear to be fit enough to get up into the hills, although I do get a few more aches and pains than I did in my youth!
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NeilC

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Re: Help me lose weight!
« Reply #11 on: 15:58:39, 21/06/18 »
Thanks for your comments Neil.


I'm aware that lighter bags and tents are available, but I cannot justify the spend right now (maybe next year). I do have my eye on the NatureHike Cloud range of tents, very light and very cheap (~£85 for the one man, ~£120 for the 2 man).


I know what you mean. I don't have unlimited funds to spend on this stuff either. I spent my sleeping bag money on a decent winter bag and for summer I've been using cheapo synthetic bag I bought from decathlon for £25. it's ideal for the warmer months and lighter than my big down bag I find just too warm for summer anyway.


My tent weighs the same as yours and it's not getting changed anytime soon. Maybe I could put a nature hike on the old xmas list.

richardh1905

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Re: Help me lose weight!
« Reply #12 on: 16:04:35, 21/06/18 »
..and it would appear that decent sub 1kg sleeping bags don't come cheap either!
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scottk

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Re: Help me lose weight!
« Reply #13 on: 20:14:38, 21/06/18 »
I have been testing out some lightweight kit for a 2-3 day hike. I have a Berghaus fast hike 32l pack, small 1 man tent, PhD sleeping bag and a neoair full length mat. With my jetboil, food and some water it comes in at about 6kg. This includes waterproofs, sleeping baselayer, spare socks, hat and gloves. Only good for 3 season but it makes a nice change from a big bag.
The sleeping bag is about 600g and that was my xmas present during the sale this year!
Tent is a Nordisk Telemark 1 which is about 800g, groundsheet is polycro at about 80g. The tent is small and I have a tarptent scarp 1 for foul weather / cooler weather.
I added an Exped flash pocket to the outside of the rucksack as I like a big pocket on the outside for wet gear and food etc I want during the day.
I enjoy the mountain trail meals I have had so far.
It's all horses for courses and what works for me probably won't work for other people.

richardh1905

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Re: Help me lose weight!
« Reply #14 on: 20:35:50, 21/06/18 »

Nordisk Telemark 1 which is about 800g, groundsheet is polycro at about 80g. The tent is small and I have a tarptent scarp 1 for foul weather / cooler weather.


Nice tent!


Not cheap though - can't see my budget stretching that far in the foreseeable future.
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