Is Five Lbs Five Lbs

[Mad Mountain Mike]

I'm just wondering what you guys and gals think. Is losing five pounds of fat getting into sheep shape the same as dropping five pounds out of your pack?

 

[Dinger]

It's worth 10 if you got fit doing it!

 

[johnsd16]

No.

 

[Mad Mountain Mike]

No.

Why do you think no? What would be the difference wether the weight is on your back or your gut? You're still packing it up the hill. I stay in shape year round but I think I could still trim a little weight. As far as my pack weight goes I think I have it trimmed all I can.

 

[Lostinthewoods]

I think it's hard to give a good answer.

I'm 6'2 178lbs. If I lost 5lbs of fat then it would probably be bad for me.
If I was 260lbs and lost 5lbs, well now we could be talking something different.

I agree with Dinger.
If you're over weight/out of shape and you're trimming down, then you're also increasing your fitness level.
This should pay two-fold.

In your post above where you're talking about arm fat, I'm not entirely sure it would do much for you.
You already said it, you stay in shape all year.
I've seen fat people who are in crazy shape and I have seen the skinny minis who are also in crazy shape.
So in their cases I don't think 5lbs does much...

 

[COlineman78]

The answer is no, but the difference will manifest itself in 2 ways: how uncomfortable your pack is and how much it changes your center of gravity and moment of inertia. Not taking into account the fitness aspects on only looking at the physics.

First let's talk about #1; this completely depends on how your pack fits you. If you have a perfectly adjusted high end pack like a Kifaru or SG then this effect should be minimal, but if you're still rocking an Eberlestock than you will want to think about this more.

#2 is where the difference really comes in. If you lose 5lbs of weight, you can assume it was lost evenly around your body and won't change your center of gravity or moment of inertia all that much. However if you lose 5lbs from your pack, that 5lbs was lost from the furthest away from your center of gravity since you can now compress the bag more which will drastically change your CG and moment of inertia. Your moment of inertia is your body's resistance to angular motion. Put a big pack on and try to spin in circles; it's much harder than without the pack.

 

[Mad Mountain Mike]

Thanks for the input. I'm just rattling things around in my head trying to make my life a little easier. My pack is a kifaru and my gear is medium to high quality. I could loose a little more pack weight by spending more money on gear but that won't be happening this year. I will be upping my game as far as physical conditioning now that we're on the back stretch coming in to the sheep opener

 

[oldgoat]

Just losing five pounds off your body doesn't relieve any strain on your shoulders and hips, it may be the same for energy exerted and wear and tear on feet and legs but your shoulders will be happier with loss of weight from your pack more!

 

[robtattoo]

As the forum token fat bastard, no.
You lose 5lb gradually & don't notice it.
Any weight you pick up in a pack is instantly noticeable. The more it weighs, the more you feel it.

 

[Hatchet Jack]

Fat is distributed and is carried more naturally than weight in your pack.

 

[MtnHunter]

I prefer to lose the pounds. The extra 5 pounds in the pack helps a person feel a lot more comfortable in the backcountry (when not carrying it)!

 

[oldgoat]

I prefer to lose the pounds. The extra 5 pounds in the pack helps a person feel a lot more comfortable in the backcountry (when not carrying it)!

Or it gets rid of weight that doesn't provide meaningful comfort and allows you to carry some that is meaningful! I got rid of a bunch of weight by replacing my heavy traditional knives with two havalon that don't way as much as the lightest of my other knives for example. With a change like that I can carry a real shelter instead of a tarp!

 

[Akicita]

Losing 1 pound of body weight is a benefit to your knees and joints by a factor of 4. Lose 5 pounds and you will have taken the equivalent of 20 pounds of load bearing weight off of your knees - 10 pounds is equivalent to 40. . . There is science - and my subject matter experience to back this up.

When you walk across level ground, the force on your knees is the equivalent of 1½ times your body weight. That means a 200-pound man will put 300 pounds of pressure on his knees with each step. Add an incline, and the pressure is even greater: the force on each knee is two to three times your body weight when you go up and down stairs, and four to five times your body weight when you squat to tie a shoelace or pick up an item you dropped. - Harvard Health Publication / Harvard Medical School

 

[Neverenoughhntn]

Hopefully this doesn't come across the wrong way, as it's not meant to be critical or harsh in any manner..... I see and hear this question a lot, but have never understood it. If a person needs to lose a few pounds, then do it. If one has the ability to cut weight from their pack (typically through better, lighter gear... yes it does cost some $$$) then do it. Honestly, the ability to do one, in no way excludes a person from doing the other. Invest in lighter equipment, (don't buy a gym membership or dietary products) and start hiking hills as frequently as possible.... I know plenty of guys that could lose an extra 10 lbs around their belly, but due to their time spent in the mountains (I refer to as being in "Mountain Shape") they can run circles around the guy of similar stature and 10 lbs lighter who is "gym fit"..... Moral of the story, do both!

 

[robtattoo]

Hopefully this doesn't come across the wrong way, as it's not meant to be critical or harsh in any manner..... I see and hear this question a lot, but have never understood it. If a person needs to lose a few pounds, then do it. If one has the ability to cut weight from their pack (typically through better, lighter gear... yes it does cost some $$$) then do it. Honestly, the ability to do one, in no way excludes a person from doing the other. Invest in lighter equipment, (don't buy a gym membership or dietary products) and start hiking hills as frequently as possible.... I know plenty of guys that could lose an extra 10 lbs around their belly, but due to their time spent in the mountains (I refer to as being in "Mountain Shape") they can run circles around the guy of similar stature and 10 lbs lighter who is "gym fit"..... Moral of the story, do both!

All of this.....

I generally drop 10-20lb in the fall/winter (I own an animal based business & from May thru late August I literally eat whatever I can grab. Those 16hr days are murder....) & the difference in my strength & stamina is very noticeable.
My stamina increases tremendously.
My strength, however, decreases alarmingly. Until I build up muscle, shooting my bow for extended periods hurts. Hiking with a pack is tougher. It takes me at least a month to six weeks of conditioning to build up the muscle support I've lost via weight dropping.
I feel better, more energetic & fitter, but I do notice a loss of lifting/carrying ability.

I often wonder whether I'd be better off staying at a 'husky' (6'1" 260#) and working on conditioning, rather than focusing on being physically lighter.

 

[SLDMTN]

Here's my $0.02.

Siding with what others have said above, spend as much time with your pack on as you can. Then you will not hardly notice a 5lb difference and you'll likely lose 5lbs from your body.

Is 5lbs worth hundreds of dollars if not thousands? No, not in my opinion. If your gear needs to be replaced, then buy the best and lightest you can afford.

Now, if you're in top shape, don't need to lose weight and you have money to burn, get lightweight gear. At that point, 5lbs is a big difference to someone in that tier of mountain shape.

I'm somewhere in the middle, I could lose 10lbs and it would make a huge difference because exercise is the only way I know how to lose it. My pack weighs what it weighs and I'm not cutting anything out of it. For my needs, it is dialed. Now if I had money to burn, yep you bet, I would upgrade to some lighter stuff.

My final point, a shitty attitude weighs you down more than 5lbs.

 

[COlineman78]

Okay, so my earlier post was all about the physics but that doesn't take into account all the other variables at play here so I will elaborate my thoughts and personal experience on the subject. I agree completely with SLDMTN and Neverenoughntn that these shouldn't be mutually exclusive, but as far as overall experience goes losing weight will improve it far more than becoming a weight weenie. As someone who has lost a bunch of weight and slowly put it back on I can attest that you will be much more effective at higher altitudes with average weight packs when you're in shape. Now for me we're talking about losing more like 30-40lbs before I can could start thinking about keeping up with Aron (I think I was about 4 minutes behind him today on the fire road). The other thing that regular training does is build mental toughness which is invaluable towards becoming a successful hunter. Now the one thing that that the extra bulk does help with is that when I add more weight it's effect is not as large. I can now increase my pack weight from 40lb to 85lb and only add about 2 minutes to my fire road time or roughly 8%. I'm also of the attitude that I'll carry what I want to carry to base camp to be comfortable and it weighs what it weighs. Suffering for a couple hours sucks but having some of the comfort items at camp increases morale greatly. Honestly 7-8 miles with a 80lb pack doesn't bother me at all.

 

[ozyclint]

What would be the difference whether the weight is on your back or your gut? You're still packing it up the hill.

HA HA, the difference is when you drop your pack your still packing the 5lbs.....ALL THE TIME.

like what has been said- do both.

 

[ozyclint]

My final point, a shitty attitude weighs you down more than 5lbs.

absolutely!

 

[oldgoat]

Losing 1 pound of body weight is a benefit to your knees and joints by a factor of 4. Lose 5 pounds and you will have taken the equivalent of 20 pounds of load bearing weight off of your knees - 10 pounds is equivalent to 40. . . There is science - and my subject matter experience to back this up.

I believe you,, I've heard stuff like this before, but for the reasoning your using and in the spirit of the original post as written, five pounds would be five pounds! Sure, once you take the pack, off five pounds off your body would be better obviously! Start talking there leverage the pack creates and everything else, five pounds out of my pack would be twenty pounds off my knees and maybe even more off my shoulders and lower back because pretty much this conversation is about the time we are packing.