Going For a Mountain Hike in Colorado USA... Kyle Boelte Style..

I came across this link https://www.outsideonline.com/2125031/what-happens-your-body-thru-hike and wondered if any one had seen or heard of Kyle Boelte. He's an author and essayist and this story got published back in 2016.

From the details he listed, he suggested, that he was pre-Type 2 Diabetic with his HbA1c running at 5.9%. He walked 486 miles with an average of 18 miles /day. What was really interesting was that his electronic scales had him with 13% body fat before this hike and that after the hike he reduced his body fat down to 5%. His starting BMI was 22.2 and that reduced down to 20.7. His HbA1c reduced to 5.6%. I've been in touch with Kyle and his HbA1c has since reduced to 5.1% via a mainly vegan /protein diet. 95%/5%. He only lost a total of 10lbs during the trip.

I'm contemplating going for a few hikes in hills myself on the back of what Kyle has documented. I am wondering has anyone here had a similar experiences?? Or is any one planning on similar trip this summer?

There is no Spoon said:

Hi @Living-by-the-beach ,
I want to apologise for my first comment it was flippant.

I'm a huge advocate of any form of exercise and hiking in the mountains of Colorado sounds like it would be good for the soul. I'm sure there will be some breath taking view, something you can't get sitting on your bum at home.
Good luck to you mate.

Because I'm a huge advocate of exercise I'm aware of how many people on here either can't or struggle with it in with there daily life. And I'm a big believer in even a small amount does you the world of good. When I read the article I was unimpressed with Kyle's numbers.

He walked 486 miles with an average of 18 miles /day. lost 10lbs and reduced HbA1c to 5.1% .

As I said not to belittle his achievement but I really did lose 10 Kilos and a bigger drop in HbA1c seriously just sitting on my bum watching TV. All I did was stop eating sugar, not even a low carb diet.

These days I exercise & have a better diet, but in the initial period that wasn't the case.
I started of doing at least 100 miles a week on the exercise bike now I'm down to about 4 miles a day, 3 days a week ( HIT-ish style.) My numbers are down to non diabetic range. It's all about quality not quantity.

I do hope you enjoy the hike, you can also achieve great results by doing a little, more often.

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@There is no Spoon

Thank you for your response.That you have found it relatively easy to put your T2DM into remission is fantastic You may have caught your condition early. I know of folks on this website that have a bmi in the low 18's and are still diabetic. We fellow diabetics are not all blessed with the good luck you've enjoyed.

I've lost and kept off 50lbs of weight from my diagnosis. Yet I'm still suffer from T2DM. I agree with you, Kyle really didn't lose a great deal of weight, What was impressive was the amount of fat that he lost.during the hike. When you see that he lost 8% body fat in 27 days. That to me is impressive.



Of the story of the fat loss of Kyle, Professor Roy Taylor has explained on many occasions, that T2DM initially is too much fat in the liver and pancreas. By lowering his % body fat he's taken himself away from the dangers of the disease of T2DM.

Yet there other dynamics going on here too. That being of leptin & ghrelin levels. Many folks suffer from set point weight issues. In season 8 of the US version of the "Biggest Loser" TV series, it had very impressive weight losses for the contestants
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/02/health/biggest-loser-weight-loss.html
Yet many of these folks gained all of the lost weight. They lost up to 200lbs and some put all of the weight back on. Their RMR resting metabolic rate / BMR basal metabolic rates had plummeted, during their TV program and never recovered. Danny Cahill now eats 800 calories / day less than a guy who weighs 290 lbs. Yet at the average altitude of Colorado Trail you naturally get a higher RMR / BMR as you're also dealing with a lower partial pressure of oxygen at altitude. There is a well known (by the medical community) fact that altitude can lower weight, but also increase leptin levels
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/food-matters/into-thin-air-weight-loss-at-high-altitudes/
The German study mentioned that the participants after just a week at altitude lowered their consumption of food by 730 calories/day

Many T2DMs I know live a life akin to a caged mouse on a daily permanent tread wheel of intense exercise just trying to contain their T2DM. Kyle was by his numbers pre-diabetic. We may all suffer from T2DM but not everyone is blessed with remission or an identical physiology . I've posted this story that it might pique people's interest into a different summer holiday. I know of friends who are diabetic and they are going to go on a cycling vacation this summer which is good. Whereas some folks may find that going to walk in the Alps a better use of their time.

Good luck to you and thanks for the response..

NoCrbs4Me said:

I plan on hiking quite a lot this summer. The Rocky Mountains (Banff, Lake Louise, etc.) are not to far from me (Calgary).

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@NoCrbs4Me

Thanks for your response. Are you planning on staying at altitude and doing a multi-day hikes and camping, or just going up for the day and doing one day hikes? I'm thinking about going somewhere quite elevated for a couple of weeks and staying there and doing day hikes, / altitude bike riding, doing some treadmill walking in a gym at altitude.

I've got an appointment for HbA1c testing etc., which I'll do prior to going to altitude. Then I'll have the benefit of doing a before and after to see measure improvement. The Body Set point issue that I mentioned above is a recurring theme. I recently went on a multiday "PhD Valter Longo" mimicking fast and lost 8lbs and then promptly put it all back on again. Yet I'm not complaining. I know of diabetic amputees that are in far worse shape..

NoCrbs4Me said:

Just day hikes. I'm not a big fan of sleeping in a tent. The altitude in Calgary is already 1,000 m above sea level. Generally hikes up mountains around here will get you up to about 3,000 m.
Where are you planning on doing your hiking?

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@NoCrbs4Me

There's a bunch of mountain huts in Colorado http://www.huts.org/ See the 10th Mountain Division Hut Association or maybe just go to Creede or Breckenridge CO have a look at these ideas https://tinyurl.com/High-Places-Colorado. I know that Silverton CO is at 9300 feet + there's some interesting hikes out of town + a distillery in town when it gets lonely! LOL

NoCrbs4Me said:

I did a hike near Aspen once, but I doubt I'll ever get back there. Have fun!

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@NoCrbs4Me

I'm presently in a Utah Ski-resort with a mid-level 9600' elevation and its been quite the revelation in terms of how tough it is to cycle any thing that looks like a climb when one is already at this height. I've been here a day and my condo is at 9600 feet give or take and then I've already climbed via my bicycle to 10,000 feet today. One would be amazed how tough it is to do. At sea level I've cycled north of 10,000 miles give or take a few over the last 18 months, yet this climbing in the hills is a whole new set of ball wax! Yet now its more I want to tear my body inside out.

I'm adding this interesting story from India where there is an "Altitude" gym called the www.qigym.in . Supposedly they managing to help clients lose weight quickly + have the weight not come back on.. It looks like they are doing great work there...

I did some cycling yesterday and finally got to 10,000 feet altitude. I had visions in my head of my cycling against Alberto Contador, with Phil Liggett doing the color commentary of "He's dancing on his pedals, John's trying to stay with him but he's being left in his dust"..

I did another hike this morning. Funny thing happened at breakfast time today too. I just didn't feel hungry, which I found interesting. I've just had a bowl of home made chili and I'll be back out there and at it, this afternoon.

HR-Guy said:

I think this is great. The best form of exercise is one that feels like you are not exercising. For example, I get really board walking at the park doing the same thing day in day out. If you have trip involved and it motivates you to get you off your bum the better off you will be for it.

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@HR-Guy ,

Thanks for chiming in. I'm actually doing these hikes now. I've done a 2.6 mile hike this morning from 10800feet elevation down to 10,416 feet and back up. These are the tallest hikes I can do in this neighborhood. They may seem to some, akin to "Sitting on a couch and watching tv". I can most definitely assure you they are not ice cream and bonbons when it comes to a workout. I'm logging my efforts, so that others who may find value in what I am doing. There is quite a great deal of science behind my efforts. Here's one link of many I will post..

https://www.wired.com/2010/02/high-altitude-weight-loss/

Oh and the vistas are amazing. I'll post some later..

There is no Spoon said:

HI Living-by-the-beach.

First I want to say I'm not trying to poke holes in anything I read the link you posted because I was interested.
BUT that said, the article says this is not safe.

"But the obese are more likely to suffer severe altitude sickness, in which low oxygen pressure causes dizziness, nausea and more serious problems like edema or heart attacks, Leissner said. "If that's the case, shuttling the overweight to even a moderate altitude may worsen inflammation and increase their chances of heart attack or other serious problems."

"One limitation of the study, however, is that it didn't show whether the men lost mostly muscle mass, fat, or water weight, Leissner said. And the study didn't show that the stay at 8,700 feet was actually safe for the participants"

Just so long as your being careful mate,
Don't overdo anything.

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@There is no Spoon

That you've put your T2DM into remission is incredibly fortunate for you. There is no question of it. There are folks who may be on the "Cusp" of remission (having lost lots of weight) yet never quite hit the jackpot on a full remission of the T2DM status.

Everything in life is under advisement. Its so mad that in California every store that sells anything has a "Prop 65" disclaimer, in case they get sued.

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/417388/why-weight-loss-is-easier-at-high-altitude/

"German researchers studied 20 obese men both at low altitude in Munich and while spending a week at 8700 feet, in a field station near the peak of Germany’s highest mountain, Zugspitze. Participants lost an average of two pounds that week and kept it off for the next month, without making any changes in diet or activity levels. During their high altitude stay, the men were given unrestricted access to food and restricted to short walks."

To my understanding the men were obese meaning a BMI north of 30. & They took short walks. Nothing too strenuous. They didn't die. They lived to enjoy weight lost during the study + they kept some of the loss after the study too.

Now, I am currently fitter than an obese guy with a BMI of 30. Today I drove up to 10,800 feet altitude on a local hill and then I walked a few steps & I didn't fall over nor did I faint or anything of a similar nature. Folks can come and mimic exactly what the German study has found out that for short periods of time.The study has proved that. That my fitness allows me to do a bit more is to my benefit. What I am now doing is a function of putting one foot in front of another. When I got to altitude I found it taxing. I'm here now three days and I'm adapting well to the thinner air. Walking is just putting a foot in front of another. They even sell canisters of pure oxygen in all the stores around town in case visitors run out of breath ( oxygen.). Altitude sickness is no joke. I've been told locally if you run into altitude sickness then get in a car and roll down the hill to lower elevations and it will resolve itself.. The key is, everything in moderation.

NoCrbs4Me said:

I suspect that you've already acclimated to the altitude and don't need to worry about it now.

I currently live at 1,000 m (3,400 ft) and I love to go for a run at the beach when I am visiting California - it feels so easy with the extra oxygen!

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@NoCrbs4Me

Oddly enough I think most folks acclimatize quite quickly. After today's hikes I decided to go down the hill a difference of about 5000 feet in drop of altitude with about 12 miles of driving and yes there was a noticeable difference in the ease of breathing..

I did a small amount of shopping, and stopped for a pot of tea. I didn't eat a full on meal this evening but I just decided to have some fried sausage + a piece of cheddar cheese. That's dinner. I checked my weight before leaving for here and I'll be able to see the benefits on a scale when I get back home. I am hopeful too that my leptin sensitivity will have increased. Which should aide in the longer term too. I'll pony up to see if there's much improvement on my HbA1c when I get back home. Where I am currently is about 2950 meters or 9600 feet amsl. At the top of the mountains locally its 11,000 feet give or take a bit..
One thing that was mentioned on the German study was that if one could "Intermittently" subject oneself to altitude, then, over time one might acquire better health, and slimmer torso..