The Frigid Formula: How to Rediscover the Ancient Secret to Rapid Weight Loss
Inside, only one line: "Hike the Appalachian Trail in winter, eating only what you can carry or kill."
guys, how are the toilet-stuff dealt with? I want to do hiking/camping, but the confusion about this whole thing keeps me away. What's the normal protocol? Any books/guides you can recommend for someone who's never done this before? In particular, I'm interested in hiking an easy mountain in the northeast (I live in Boston)... one that takes somewhere between 3 to 6 days?
The AT has alpine shelters along the trail, usually ~5-10 miles apart. If you have a good guide book, you can plan your route accordingly. And if you get lucky, there will even be an outhouse along a blue blaze, a quarter mile or so away from the shelter.
If you're not on the AT, then you pretty much just find a place that's not up hill from a water source and go to town. I recommend carrying wet wipes of some kind. Definitely worth the extra weight. If you're on a moderately trafficked trail though, it's very important to "leave no trace." That means you dig a hole, and you hike out any used toilet paper. I usually use a gallon ziploc bag for trash. This becomes especially important when it's below freezing and you can't really dig holes.
For #2- dig a hole, pull pants down, aim into hole, dispose of paper in hole, refill hole.
1.) Unless you change livestyle after, it would work the same way as diet - meaning your chance to bounce back to previous weight would be very high.
2.) It would likely lead to many rescue needs. You need to know what you are doing and you need to be reasonably fit before you attempt it. Else you end up in situation where you cant continue due to lack of strength, being frozen and hurt by cold. Whether getting sick or frostbite.
Specifically, in the mountains in the winter every year multiple people dies because he underestimates the situation or lack knowledge. Yes it can be done safely, but you need to know what you are doing.
And when you are about doing something hard in remote place, it is responsible to be at state where you know you limits before somebody has to carry you because you found them unexpectedly.
I'd say that after all that hiking, especially on minimal food, your body would be accustomed to requiring less food decreasing your appetite and making it easier to maintain your weight over time.
Well then you'd be wrong. Weight gain is a very real problem for thru hikers after they finish.
The way I managed it after I got off the trail is something that I've since heard called the "warrior diet." Just limit yourself to eating once per day in a very narrow window in the evening. That's it. Your body will be in ketosis most of the day, which it's already used to from thru hiking. Anyway, it worked for me, and I've stuck to it ever since.