Do you gain or lose weight on an extended trip ???
 

The last 6 month + I went on, I ended up putting on nearly 2 stone !!:helpsmilie:

Too much hospitality from the natives, cheap beer and eating bread/cheese/salami as a cheap alternative ! That was South America and good food is abundent..

My UK-Capetown is about to take off and Im wondering if im going to come back a bloater again !

It got me wondering how long days in the saddle effect you lot ???

Ted

I have tended to lose weight: BUT NOT BLOODY ENOUGH!!

December in Provincia de Buenos Arires, probably meant I was just shrivelled from dehydration, but generally the smaller portions cooking on a camp stove, the more walking aroudn to see stuff, than I would back home: the not sinking in a sofa and watching the box, and the inveitable toiling with my GS in the sands all meant I shed a few calories on our bigger trip.

But even on small jaunts like my recent fortnight in France, I lost maybe 3 pounds (1.5kgs).

I never lost much more than a stone or so, though: 7 kg MAX in SA...

Probably the most expensive, but the most fun form of dieting I have ever experienced: beats the "celeriac & sand porridge" diet, or whatever is the fad at the mo'

1 stone
 

1 stone = 6.35 kg

I lost nearly 7 kg riding through Iran and Pakistan during Ramadan in 2008 - does that count? :thumbup1: I put some of it back on eating the wonderful food in India and Nepal though.

I was normally around 13st before I left but when I got back, I'd lost about 1.5-2st. I guess I just ate less when travelling and although I always needed a beer most days, it was never to the extent we drink here in the UK so that might also have something to do with it. That and just being active all day as opposed to just sitting on ones arse at a desk will help too.

Definitely lose weight. Not near a fridge all day. I take a JetBoil and packet soup and some evenings that's all I have.

I suppose it's WHERE you go which has quite an effect...

4 months in Argentina did all the damage. Dam they won't no as an answer when it comes to an Asado and the wine is just too good !
:oops2:


I have no idea what the food options will be in Africa. I guess many a stomach upset will have an effect too lol.

My riding partner doesnt drink either so I can also see myself being a teetotaller.



Do you really think you're more active when travelling ????

I think im LESS active. Just sitting in the saddle isnt really exercise and being too tired to do anything but collapse in your tent at the end of the day doesnt help either. At home id be running, going the gym etc etc.

I've almost always lost weight on a long trip. In the early days it was because we were skint and given a choice between petrol and food, petrol always won.
In more recent years it's been because I usually lose my appetite a bit when I'm spending days on the bike - the riding takes my mind off of food. It's not stress or anything, just a bit of a lack of interest. Plus I usually feel better when I'm a bit underweight and most of my riding gear doesn't fit properly if I put on a bit of weight.

Lost a stone, I'm 6 ft and 11st normally so coming back and weighting a smidgen over 10, my weight was one of the first things people commented on.
Ate well, drunk plenty of beer, I seem to be one of those people who lose weight when they are even a bit preoccupied (not stressed) which I was.

Pete

I witnessed Pete drink plenty of beer ................. :)

Hello Pete - How goes it? I'll drop you an email soon. Say hello to Caff from us ...

I lost weight when we camped and gained weight when we stayed in hotels .....

I dropped 15kg (from 88 to 73kg) in 5 months on the road through China, Russia, Europe in 2008.

In Eastern Russia my diet each day was 1 bowl of Borsch, 2 slices of bread, 1 black coffee, as much fresh and cold mountain water I could drink and 1 Mars bar.

You'd have to take a good run at it Ted to gain that kind of weight in Africa! Might have been a combination of the hot weather and the sporadic menu choices but most people that I rode with or met had lost weight. Of course none of us was any fitter from all the sitting around so I would have to say there was a lot of muscle mass loss as well. With diligent effort you should be able to add some weight back when in the southern part of the continent from what you lose in the northern part. Remember beer is the most thirst quenching of the beverages typically available...

I ended up gaining about 4 kg's (10lbs) on my Central America trip earlier this year. At home I can prepare my own healthy foods and there are plenty of opportunities for exercise.

When it's hot and humid all I want to do is lie in a hammock or under the fan, even after a long day of sitting in the saddle with mininal exercise. And there are so many different beers to be tasted along the way.
:sleep1:

...Michelle
www.scrabblebiker.com

Ain't that the truth !!

Ted, have a look at the 5th photo down on my Argentina-Alaska blog taken the same day I got home and tried on my old jeans.

I really wish I had that stomach now!! The UK booze culture has a lot to answer for...

Any excuse to flash your pants eh !! :rolleyes2:


But sheeet man ! You lost some pounds. Were you not eating any fine Argentinian asados and empanadas ! ?? lol

Oh, totally....plus the Quilmes! I think it was just being more active every day, even things like packing up the bike every day or setting up the tent etc all adds up.

That and travelling with a girl who was on such a tight budget that 'apparently' it was cheaper to share a meal than have one each!

Why did you go and have to say Quilmes ! Those 1L blue and white bottles have a lot to answer for !!

:rofl:

yup same here, lost around 7kg and fitter than ever :thumbup1:

travelling through cold siberia in oct/nov burned a lot of fat i guess and vodka isnt adding too many calories..lol. in australia, a lot of couscous with the tuna so same story there. years earlier through africa, i probably lost more kgs (uuhuh whats a stone?) due to malaria and lots of stomach upsets...

overall, these trips have changed my eating habbits and a converted health freak when it comes to food and wellbeing. its all good.

On my 4 months trip around Oz, I lost about 5kg, while waiting to head to the USA, I put that on and more, nothing to do but eat sit and drink.

During the Americas trip, north south and central, I must have lost about 5-10kg. But, yes, I was in BsAs at Dakar Motos for 3 weeks before flying out and them $1 per litre bottle of beer was my main diet and them empladas :)

Having been back in Oz for a few months now, I have gained all I lost and I may add more.

The 3 meals a day without excercise is the cause of course. And, I am drinking less back here than I did on the road, once a weeek here, every day while travellling, for the social atmosphere of course, plus all them different beers to taste :)

Cheers
TS

OK I'm convinced - I need to get on a trip asap then as I'm developing my own tank bag sitting here reading about trips others are making!

I gained about 6 pounds in 12 months riding UK to Oz, mostly in India and Malaysia, good food, plenty of it.
Recently lost about 10 pounds cycling around SE Asia for 4 months and was pretty skinny to start with, looked like I had been working on the Burma railway after, a great way to lose weight if you want to.

Definately on my list !! :thumbup1:

Am afraid I'm going to deviate from what most people have said on this thread (and from my own previous backpacking experiences) and say I gained quite a bit of weight. Lots of driving every day, coupled with lack of exercise and (crucially) beer every night to wind down!

aye men brother !!!

..just like yo-yos!
 

Simon and I have both lost and gained weight in our time on the road.
through Africa we lost around 20lbs each...then put it back on in South Africa :-)
put more on in Argentina...oh I love those Asados! so had gained around 1st plus the original 20lbs lost!! OMG
then lost it all and more in Brazil through the Amazon and then via malaria.
lost even more due to another batch of malaria...
then guess what!?
put it all back on again when back in Argentina!
good healthy living in mexico with excercise helped us back down to our fighting weight.....
loads put on in the USA :-(...I wonder why...?
since travelling through Mongolia and the Stans where the riding was full go most days - not a lot of food eaten due to being on the track all day - then suffering gardia in India....we lost loads more.

so as you can see - if the food is there to buy (either to cook ourselves or eat out) we eat it :-) if its not ...we loose weight. not too sure if this is good for you or not?
mmm..and yeah..booze doesnt help does it?beer

Thanks!

Who still uses imperial measurements anyway, they caused the Mars Orbiter to crash and burn. doh

Interesting poll but I might make my own in Kgs so the rest of us can understand you're gobbledigook.:thumbup1:

I lost about 8kgs but have since put it all back on and then some!

Over 12 months motorcycling to Australia I put on about 6 pounds, mostly in India and Malaysia.
My recent 5 month cycling trip to SE Asia I lost about 8-10 pounds but was pretty skinny to start with, I came back looking like I had been working on the Burma railway.

both
 

Gain and lose ...

When doing a lot of off road and dirt, standing up all day every day for weeks on end, moving with the bike, I lose weight. When larding it up on asphalt, sitting down, stopping at cafe's all the time, I put it back on.

So its become a simple formula for me. My riding weight for off road is about 7kgs lower than my riding weight for asphalt - which is basically the same as my 'working in an office' weight.

I gravitate towards the lower weight when riding dirt, and I gravitate towards the upper weight when riding asphalt or not riding at all.

In my personal experience, the Acute Malaria Diet (tm) is the most ruthlessly efficient for weight loss. I've lost over 20 pounds/10 kilos in a few weeks almost effortlessly. On the other end of the spectrum, Canada and the USA seem to be the easiest places to pack on the poundage, irrespective of activity or sloth.

Overland motorcycling may be exhausting at times, but for me it doesn't really compare to other activities when it comes to calories consumed, aerobic thresholds exceeded or muscle mass accreted. On a long trip, both my forearms and my belly seem to bulge ominously.

All bets are off in areas where there is little or nothing to eat; this includes parts of Africa and Asia, and occasionally elsewhere. But set point theory, which seems to dictate that I always end up 15 pounds heavier than I'd prefer, rules in the end.

Mark

I expected to lose weight but was in pretty good shape when I left (had been 'training' for the trip). I popped on nearly 2 stone in weight and the constant vibrations sent my moobs south. Def did not look like the 'all-action hero' when I got back!

Well after five months in Africa and JUST arriving in Capetown, I can report..........

I put weight on in Europe then lost it in Egypt and Sudan. Getting to Ethiopia (and cheap beer) and put a bit on again then put even more on around lake Victoria with all the chicken and chips about..

I lost that weight in Tanzania and kept losing it in Malawi and Mozambique because food and drink were SOOO expensive.

So, im now the same weight I was when I left the UK but the next few weeks on Braai and beer in South Africa will probably turn me into a bloater jeiger

..dont come to Thailand!
 

OMG - dont come to Thailand if you want to loose weight! the food -boy its yum! everything and anything is so good.
its quite healthy - but you just want too much of it.
and the Thai's just love their food. 5 meals a day -allbeit small - but they also love to socialise so we keep on getting invited out and fed.

groan - I must ride more!

Africa - thin. Mauritania in particular. (Rice and fish every day.)
South America - sleek, like a healthy pig. (Steak 'n' seafood, tortillas)
North America - near-spherical. (Pizza & wings.)

NB - intake of beer a constant, therefore irrelevant to results.

stones, not bricks and mortar
 

Robbert,

Thanks for the stone conversion. Most riders, as well as majority of all people, live in metric countries, the diehard measurements are sometimes a bit hard for us to comprehend.

Cheers

Think my experience in Africa is about the same as reported by others, steady loss of weight the further south you go from Egypt.
Until Namibia, and onwards to S. Africa - where it all came back again - Oh dear. Bit of a disappointment that! :(

But as HU also caters for bicycle trips, I'll mention here the longing I'm now feeling to do another one. Because the lightest and fittest I've ever been in my whole life was at the end of a 4-month bicycle trip from Calgary via the Columbia Icefield, Canada, to Nogales, Mexico, and finishing in El Paso.
I felt a million dollars! :thumbup1:

That was 10 years ago and the effect has long ago completely disappeared - and is much missed!

And it was nothing to do with diet, control of food, beer, or anything like that. It's down to one thing - physical activity - of an enjoyable nature. A few hours a day but no need at all to wear yourself out - a few days per week. Brilliant.

I didn't keep any particular track of what I ate or how much I spent on it. But early on in the trip (like Canmore, not far out of Calgary, where I'd been advised that the best ice cream store in the whole of North America could be found), I realised that ice cream would feature heavily in the daily menu.
And I was not alone.
Near the end of my ride I read the blog of a Canadian cyclist who had just crossed Canada, east-to-west. He'd kept a detailed record of his spending, being a student on a tight budget. And it showed him that his total spending on ice cream was the single most expensive item in his accounts! There's just something about bicycle touring and ice cream!

That's why I'm leaning towards another decent and leisurely bicycle trip - my craving for ice cream is steadily rising and pedalling is the perfect antidote!

(Have never used stones, nor pounds, for tracking weight, just belt notches. And kgs are still meaningless to me :smiliex: ).

There's a question, I've now been on the road three years, I lost weight till I got to Australia and New Zealand, then put far to much back on, now I'm in South America and hopefully lose it all again! Much to do with the diet I think and hospitality I received in those two countries!

I've been known to put on weight on the expedition to my local supermarket - what hope would I have going further afield? :cool4:

self catering is best!
 

We're just 10 weeks into our first major trip, we've taken an 8000mile route across the USA (Montreal - Maine - Buffalo - New Orleans - Big Bend, Texas - Colorado - Las Vegas and LA in the next few days). In the first month we put on some weight as we were eating all those interesting new goodies and sampling all the fantastic regional foods. We stayed in some motels and ate out quite a lot! as we settled into a bit of a routine we started camping more and more and getting into the budget frame of mind (That took a while too!! we're travelling, not on holiday!). With camping more, we've cooked more healthy meals in smaller portions, and made sandwiches for the road. If you don't have lots of fun stuff to put on sandwiches you're not going to eat very many! My husband and I have both lost a couple of kg's and bike gear is fitting nice and comfortable, which does make the heat **slightly** easier to cope with.
oh and nowhere to keep your beers cold makes you drink fewer of those too, avoiding those calories!

I usually lose 2 or 3 pounds a week when touring.

Lose !!!!!!!!!!

Before I got my electric vest I used to lose weight on trips. Now I either stay the same or gain a little. I figure that without the vest, the calories to keep me warm came from fat... now they come from the vest.

The trade off for me is that while I eat more on the road (sampling local food is one of the joys of traveling, woo hoo!) I walk several hours a day... way more than I ever would at home. I tend to ride only until about 1 or 2 in the afternoon, get off the bike and explore... mostly scouting out a place to have dinner it seems. In some places, I may wind up walking for 4 or 5 hours.

A big part of keeping the weight up, however, just seems to be better self health care and modern medicine. While not fanatical, I do use a SteriPen for questionable water and take Ducoral before I head out. I haven't been really sick on a trip for a very long time. When I went to Nepal for 6 weeks in 1975 I was sick nearly the whole time and at 5'7", came home weighing 107 lbs. That was scary. Had a great time though!

After 8 months on the road
 

I went from 218 pounds, to 194lbs. 24 lbs total weight loss. Just under 11 Kilos. Or 1.7 stone..

Most of my weight loss was due to a lack of physical activity on my trip, along with the fact that I was generally eating only 3 meals a day versus 4, or 5, or 6 like I did prior to my trip.

My before and after photos are quite hilarious.

You can see what I mean.

This was the effect of working 6 days a week for 6 months straight. Delivering and Installing Appliances in Alaska.

http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...anPhysique.jpg

This was the effect realized after 7 months on the road, 3 major accidents, and 3 meals a day versus 4-6...

http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_8103.jpg


My Dad called it the South American diet...

--Alex

I tend to stay the same weight....it is just distributed differently.jeiger

Packing it on!
 

We both got fatter, can't you see why?!!

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7041/6...c2d1d64b_z.jpg

Almost always loose weight.

"Good" places to ride are often poor and have horrible restaurants and lousy food. For example, in Indian Himalayas, a lot of towns had only 3 options on offer - boiled eggs, omelet, chow mein.

Plus, I tend to be more active than at home. At home, my day is sitting in front of a computer and then thinking about where to eat huge restaurant portions. During trips, I'm always walking around and doing stuff and food options suck.

stay same ;) my diet is balanced and i eat only what im used to every day so if im riding and not training i reduce my calories intake and problem solved

Been now on road for 49 days.
Do not know how much I have lost weight, but would think around 5kg.
Weather has been really hot, so been drinking and sweating a lot. Trying to eat normally, but appetite does not seem to be normal when weather is close to 40C...

I've lost about 6kgs in the first 39 days of this trip.

That's what happens when you're on a cycle tour during Ramadam in a Muslim country. Luckily its all excess baggage anyway.

I have gone the opposite way on this trip, I have not weighed myself, but my toes are out of sight from more angles, so I think I have added weight.

It must have been all the cold weather, hot 'gumpy' food I was eating and the beer

I hope this trend turns around soon :)

Cheers
TS

Judging by all beer and food photos you post on Facebook I cant see this changing :)

Weight changes and energy expenditure
 

Very interesting thread. Although it seems that most people loose some weight, this response seems very variable and some gain weight as well.

Although I am sure that energy intake (e.g. lots of good Argentinian meat and wine... cant wait to get there) is the main factor determining weight gain or weight loss, it would be interesting to see whether the type of riding also has an effect.

In your experience, the trips where you lost weight were also the trips with most off-road driving?

There is research to suggest that riding a motorbike off-road requires a moderate energy expenditure, and it can definitively be a factor in determining whether weight is lost or gained during a trip.

Cheers

Sam

Well.. I've just come back from two months Canada. I canoed 500 miles and lost a good 4 kilos....

I'm having fun putting it back on now though :)

doh Djeeeezzzzz....... they just don't make bears the way they used to....

.
.
.
.:innocent:

I only saw two bears...

After 6 days at a time on the river with no way to wash, I smelled that bad they didn't bother.......

:Beach:

:thumbup1: good to have you back!

Hi guys

I quoted this thread and the interesting data collected by Touring Ted on my blog on the scientific aspects of adventure motorcycling.

The Science of Adventure Motorcycling: Weight loss during adventure motorcycling

I copy my considerations here:

77% of the adventure bike riders that participated in the survey (N = 132) have lost some weight during their trips. An astonishing 18% have lost 3 stones or more !!!

Weight changes are determined by energy balance, i.e. the balance between energy intake from food and energy expenditure. The main determinants of energy expenditure are basal metabolic rate (the energy required to live in a resting state) and the energy required by physical activity. Basal metabolic rate is determined primarily by muscle mass, and it is relatively fixed. The most variable component of energy expenditure is physical activity.

When energy intake is lower than energy expenditure, weight loss occurs. From the thread comments, it seems that a reduction in energy intake is the main reason for weight loss during adventure motorcycling. This is not surprising because in foreign countries and remote regions food availability and palatability are likely to be reduced. Food poisoning is also mentioned as a cause of weight loss although we should not confound short-term weight loss from diarrhea and vomiting (fluid) with more long-term weight loss (fat mass and muscle mass). Nevertheless, food poisoning can induce fat and muscle losses by reducing food intake and absorption, and by increasing basal metabolic rate (fever). Given that riding a motorbike off-road requires a moderate level of aerobic energy, an increase in energy expenditure may also contribute to the weight loss observed in adventure bike riders.

Weight loss can be due to fat loss, muscle loss, or both. In an obese rider, a substantial loss of fat mass is clearly beneficial. However, fat loss in a lean rider (particularly female riders), can have very detrimental health effects such as osteoporosis and reduced fertility. A significant loss of muscle mass is always detrimental to health and fitness because it reduces muscles strength and the body ability to fight infection. Therefore, the results of this survey need to be followed-up by research measuring the composition of the weight loss in adventure bike riders. This can be done with a portable device, and I will include this body composition assessment in my Silk Road & Tibet expedition.

Nice website :thumbup1:

Thanks a lot, much appreciated. Also thanks for giving us these very important data on weight loss. I will investigate the matter further :detective:

Back when this thread started a couple of years ago I posted that I usually lose weight on a long trip and that I thought that, for me anyway, it was down to lack of input (eating less) rather than more output (biking being a tough energy consuming activity). It would seem logical though that hanging onto the bars at 80mph all day on the autobahn, heaving a fully laden Gold Wing around Greek mountain roads or bouncing from rock field to sand trap on an African piste has got to use more energy than sitting in a car.

I have pondered about how much more energy though and whether it's enough to actually enough to cause a noticeable weight loss or whether it's mainly an improvement in muscle tone from the effort that makes you feel like you've lost weight. I do remember reading somewhere (many) years ago that everyday biking (commuting for example) uses twice as much energy as the same trip by car. Of course there were no data to support that statement but if you take it at face value a one hour commute would use about an extra 100 calories or all day on the bike about 8/900. That would equate to under a quarter of a pound of fat if your body made up the energy shortfall from reserves. On that basis it'll be about 10 days before you notice much and it probably wouldn't take much to compensate in a local restaurant each night.

As well as biking I also run a reasonable distance (a target of 20-25miles) each week and have done for years. I've also aimed at keeping my daily food intake under 2500 calories (averaged over a week or so) so I should be loosing weight constantly but in practice it doesn't happen. Some mechanism is compensating (and no it isn't sleepwalking to the fridge!) and keeping my weight constant. The only way I can lose weight is if I make a deliberate effort to reduce my food intake to somewhere between 1500 and 2000 calories. We have four other long term runners in the extended family and they all have much the same experience. For us weight loss / gain seems to be controlled mainly from the input side. Eat more and put on weight or vice versa. Exercise just seems to move it around.

I always lose weight. It doesn't matter what sort of trip it is - I tend to lose up to half a stone.

I generally skip lunch when travelling and also get a fair amount of exercise from walking around exploring or whatnot.

Looks like I'll need to go Russia for a few months, I lost 8 kgs in 4 months UK to OZ, all I need now is another diet plan to get down to ideal weight.

I stayed the same this past 12 month trip

The problem was, all my muscle turned to fat and relocated to my middle and arse.

Having two extended layovers while waiting for parts was the main cause. Cheap booze and food in SEA meant my intake was more than the exercise I normally get when riding

I ride through Russia,Kaz and China, Mongolia prior to the stoppages

Hi him. Back to the rowing machine

I lose about a stone and a half. Most of that drop's out my Azz. In all my travel's a solid log is something you don't see often. So I kind of stay put for a few day's and just eat fruit, and drink tea. Bottle water is a life saver.
John933

Overland fitness
 

Overland fitness - YouTube

Eat, Drink, Ride and Stay Fit

by xfiltrate & rosa del desierto

Always lose weight, especially on trips where I'm riding and backpacking.

We have remained pretty much the same in 23 months so far, we do stop and hike and take time out to do a lot of walking.

Staying in one place for a few days usually means a bit of grog etc that we normally can't carry and that is noticeable so we usually get more active too to help burn it off.

We also find riding down a soft sandy road where the bottom is a long way from the top helps cos after pushing for a while you get up a good sweat :clap:

Dropped 5 kilo's in 3 weeks.. eating all the thai food I can get my hands on... worried what happens the next three weeks. But hey, beats being fat
:o

Fortune and Glory, kid. Fortune and Glory.

Men lose weight as they don't have so much acces to beer and fastfood.
Women gain weight as they sit still all day.

This was for our overland car trip through Africa :)

Home (left corner you can change the language). http://www.facebook.com/waarisworteltje

I always lose. To into seeing everything rather than eating.

Just cycled from Edinburgh to southern Spain (~2500km). About to cross into Morocco for a 3000km route round the country. May or not cycle home. Erm....I lose weight in a trip :-)

This whole gain / lose weight on a trip is something I've been pondering after my recent experience. After two months away the belt on my trousers now does up three notches tighter than before. It's not the belt coming apart as the trousers are looser as well. I've no idea how much that corresponds to in weight but three notches must be a couple inches around my waist. In addition by the end of the trip I also noticed that my running endurance had improved and I was running about a minute / mile faster than before. That may not sound much but most runners would kill for that level of improvement.

The strange part was that the trip was round the USA, a country not noted for its lack of availability of food. In fact, when this kind of thing is on the breakfast menu you must wonder how anyone loses weight :

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r...ps40brqpl4.jpg

(It's Waffle House's breakfast menu Biscuits in Gravy if you were wondering)

If this had been the kind of place we'd been frequenting then maybe a bit of weight loss (by one route or another) might be understandable :

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r...ps3cdeb842.jpg

Exactly why I responded the way I did and why the effect is slowly reversing (despite my running mileage going up since my return) isn't something I've managed to work out but there must be a reason.

If traveling outside of the USA, always loose weight.
Most places have a lot healthier ingredients, fresh veggies from a farm, fruit that has taste, cows that eat grass, coke with real sugar and realistic proportions.

The main thing for the above being --> affordable at regular street food prices.
There is healthy food in USA... just a lot more expensive

I always lose; but it is funny. Whenever I stop, I then put the weight back on very quickly. Quicker than i would put it on usually.

It wasn't until you replied. You menopausal hag ;)

I am always very active when I travel so I lose weight. I do not like to lay down on a beach etc, I always walk a lot and try to visit everything.

I stay about the same. More likely to lose weight on extended travels as I'm not really that big of a foodie.

well, I usually do my best to try a lot of local food wherever I go. That leads to added weight most of the time.

Depends on where. [emoji4]. Europe. Gain. Asia lose. South and Central America.. steady. Hahha


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Lost 18lbs (12%) over 5 weeks riding Trans America Trail; you need to ride harder venues.

I keep gaining. The bakeries in the Balkans are too good!

I usually gain weight. :(

When I go on longer trips, I often lose weight. Since cooking is not one of my strengths, I typically opt to eat meals out at restaurants during my travels.

The choice is mine, gain, lose, or stay about the same. I try to stay the same but will gain and lose small amounts as the foodscape changes. Food is such a big window into cultures along the way.

Gain a little, lose a little, it's just too easy at my age to lose muscle mass instead of fat.

My major exercise while touring is walking and some mountain towns are great for legs and lungs. I need to work more on upper body but it's not as easy as at home with weights, bench, and other equipment.