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 ) 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 in South Africa will probably turn me into a bloater

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

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!

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Lisa
www.2ridetheworld.com

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 a constant, therefore irrelevant to results.

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Simon

London-Cape Town 2004-06
Buenos Aires-Vancouver 2008-10:
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/fitzpatrick

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!

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, , 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 ).

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TTR250 - London to Cape Town

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!

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Graham
www.flashgreenmotorcycleadventure.com

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

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 s cold makes you drink fewer of those too, avoiding those calories!

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

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Bruce Clarke - 2020 Yamaha XV250

Lose !!!!!!!!!!

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....rather Die Living.....than Live Dying !
www.globetrekkers.net.au

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!

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Samuel Longiaru
Kamloops, BC Canada
1975 BMW R60/6
http://thetwilightproject.net

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.



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




My Dad called it the South American diet...

--Alex

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NJ, NR, NBTTN

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

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West Virginia University 2006
Beta Theta Pi - Beta Psi
Ride Report: TAT...and Beyond

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

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www.wollongongtowoolwich.co.uk