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Lose Weight and Have Fun with Fatpackers

This fall, a new company called Fatpacking will begin offering one-week adventure vacations in which participants backpack through beautiful wilderness destinations, eat all they want and still lose weight - or more accurately - alter their body composition.

Fatpacking provides participants a supportive environment in which to hike. If you love the outdoors, but backpacking with super-athletes or obsessive mileage hounds intimidates you, Fatpacking could work for you.

Fatpacking, which specializes in body composition change via backpacking, announces two one-week weight-loss adventure vacations this fall. Fatpacking trips study the effects of backpacking on weight, body composition, respiration, pulse, blood pressure, and a host of other health related metrics. On previous two-week trips, participants lost an average of 5 pounds per person per week and comparable results are expected on the newly introduced adventures. All trips are led by certified Wilderness First Responders.

During hike, you will carry all your food and gear on your back and:

• Lose weight

• Get in shape

• Rid yourself of stress

• See beautiful remote places that cars can't access

• Make close friendships

The first weeklong trip will be in the Great Smoky Mountains, September 17-25, 2005. The 2200 mile long Appalachian Trail runs from Georgia to Maine. Fatpackers will be hiking a beautiful stretch that runs through the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and separates Tennessee and North Carolina. They will summit Clingman's Dome, the 3rd highest peak East of the Mississippi.

The second trip, a fall foliage tour on the Appalachian Trail in will occur October 8-16, 2005. Fatpackers will be hike the beautiful stretch that spans western Connecticut and Massachusetts, during what hopefully will be peak foliage season. See a wild and beautiful landscape -- within driving distance of New York City, Boston, Hartford, Springfield, and Albany.

Fatpacking is for people who are approximately 15-50 pounds overweight, but that's a guideline. A 300 pound man who played football in high school and college and now works construction or goes to the gym occasionally might be a fine candidate.

A waif of a woman who has never exercised in her life, weighs 120 and is 15 pounds over ideal weight might be a poor candidate. Weight alone is no guarantee of success or failure.

Ideal participants currently engage in a modicum of physical activity. This may be a nightly walk around the block, a gym workout once or twice a week, or maybe a person who occasionally bikes to work.

In order to assess whether or not Fatpacking is appropriate for you, consider the following:

1. See a physician

2. Take a several mile long day hike carrying about 20 pounds

3. Go to an outdoor store such as REI or EMS. Put on a backpack, load it with 50 pounds, and walk up and down a flight of stairs 20 times. This will take a while. See how you feel.

4. Contact Fatpackers and they’ll discuss it with you.

Participants are not restricted to any austere diet or eating plan as eating heartily is important in keeping your body at peak performance level for the rigors of backpacking. Significant weight loss still occurs even if hikers eat all they want. Visit their website to view sample menus.

Participants will also reap a host of ancillary exercise induced benefits. These include kicking caffeine, stopping smoking, reducing stress level, and lowering blood pressure. And it’s fun!

Website: www.fatpacking.com/

Edited by Erika Wright

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