So, mentioned to my parents the other day that I'm planning to climb Kili within the next few years. And they were really excited, something they've wanted to do for a long time too.

Only problem is, my mom is moderately overweight (about 15-20 kg). Does any of you know how that will affect her ability to climb the mountain? Should we postpone the trip untill she's had a chance to shed some of the weight?


Also, my dad is a type 1 diabetic, would love to hear from climbing diabetics what problems/issues they have experienced at altitudes, and any other tips regarding diabetes or overweight and climbing is very welcome.

You might suggest she take a look at the BMI of some of the summit shots here

http://www.summitpost.org/object_list.php?parent_id=150202&object_type=3&orderby=object_scores.score&page=7

You won't see any heavy people there.

But it's a great motivator. A goal. To get them healthier through their sunset years. Though I wouldn't agree that 2 years is more than enough. It's doable but you would have to start soon and stay with it. Not just the weight loss but the climbing. General physical condition. Don't want to go down on Day One. Start with a projected day and work backwards through training goals.

John Duffield wrote:You might suggest she take a look at the BMI of some of the summit shots here

http://www.summitpost.org/object_list.php?parent_id=150202&object_type=3&orderby=object_scores.score&page=7

You won't see any heavy people there.

But it's a great motivator. A goal. To get them healthier through their sunset years. Though I wouldn't agree that 2 years is more than enough. It's doable but you would have to start soon and stay with it. Not just the weight loss but the climbing. General physical condition. Don't want to go down on Day One. Start with a projected day and work backwards through training goals.

That was the answer I was looking for, and also what I was anticipating Another reason we're not projecting to do this next week

You know how moms are, the daughters' statements sometimes don't carry enough weight to tip the scales, so it's nice to have some other qualified opinions to fall back on

Just to throw my $0.02. If she focuses on this goal, two years is more than enough to prep for this trip. Remember this, fitness has nothing to do with acclimitization. It'll be most obvious on Kili more than anywhere else. If you do this, save some money and paid for a longer trip. Individual days on Kilimanjaro aren't really that tough, but when you get up to a higher altitude, people on 7 days trip will be eating, while people on 5 days trip will be puking. Just a thought.

Being in great shape, is the only way I would tackle this. As others have said, if the excess weight is from inactivity, there's no way she will ever make it. You might want to take her on a hike that involves a few thousand feet of elevation gain; you won't have to explain anything any more

1) Make her lose 10 - 20 kgs.
2) Only IF she has lost weight, let her start doing excercises. This way she won't put too much strain on her body -especially parts like the knees are vulnarable. If she busts them early on, she'll never get up.
3) After six months of excercising, take her up a nearby peak.
4) Evaluate the climb. Set a goal.
5) Train some more.

I'm pretty sure it's possible within a year, year and a half if she trains hard.

My experience says they can't do it. It's hard to imagine for a people "of a certain age" going through the kind of major lifestyle transformation necessary to do all of this.

You 20 and 30 somethings have a relatively simple life and enjoy the carry over of youthful conditioning.

Friends going crazy because Birthday dinners and whatnot they've been attending for years, they don't attend this year because they've got to hit the gym. The pressure can be horrendous. People don't try to understand, they just crank the pressure up higher. They'll have to actually dump some of their friends to get this done. Believe me, I know.

That kind of weight reduction in middle age? You're talking about training three hours a day. I did Kili at the age of 56 training with Yoga and staircase running. Some cycling. That was it. Spent about 3 months training. But I was coming off other training regimens. No weight reduction.

ArtVandelay wrote:

WouterB wrote:1) Make her lose 10 - 20 kgs.
2) Only IF she has lost weight, let her start doing excercises. This way she won't put too much strain on her body -especially parts like the knees are vulnarable. If she busts them early on, she'll never get up.
3) After six months of excercising, take her up a nearby peak.
4) Evaluate the climb. Set a goal.
5) Train some more.

I'm pretty sure it's possible within a year, year and a half if she trains hard.

this makes no sense. how is she supposed to lose 20kgs without exercising? LOL, she has to exercise if she wants to lose weight. the key is to start slowly and progress so her body can adapt to the exercise.

I'm guessing he means don't start hiking steep mountains right away or she might bust her knees. Some other more moderate exercises will definitely be in order.

On the other hand, If she overeats, she could initially lose some weight by just sticking to a healthy diet (even though I believe in exercise a lot more).

According to the medical charts, I am 29 kgs overweight. Even so, I have climbed almost 1400 mountains including some higher than Kilimanjaro. I'm just not that fast though. In fact, perhaps my #1 reason to climb mountains is to lose weight/stay healthy.

Personally, I would say go for it. If she isn’t feeling or doing well you can always turn back. One thing I’d worry about though is that since Kilimanjaro requires guides, others in the group may be resentful if someone was slowing down the group. If you can get a private group going, I’d definitely say it’s worth a try. No one says you have to race up the mountain. Just plan on taking more time (which would be more pleasant anyway). Why not try climbing Kili in 7-8 days?

I would ask a doctor fist, but if the doctor says OK, I see no reason not to go.

Sure, it will help if she practiced and got in shape first.

Also, I would suggest climbing a lower altitude nearby mountain first as well (Meru or Elgon for example).

As a couple have pointed out, weight really isn't the issue. Conditioning is. Examples:
- First time I climbed Longs, I passed a woman who was right around 250lbs (according to her daughters). She climbed the Keyhole in a morning, and was on the way down from the top 6 hours after starting. (That's about 5,000' elevation gain).
- Don Willans was AT LEAST 10kg overweight on Everest
- A couple of years ago, there was a very competitve tri-athlete that weighed in at just under 300lbs (he was under 6' tall).


As for diabetes, I have no personal experience other than a hiking partner was diabetic. He just monitored things carefully and had no problems.

The OP has not really posted anything about her mom's physical shape, so without that info, I think we are all just shooting in the dark.

The more important question will be: how much does she exercise and what kind of exercise is she doing?

Weight is really only an issue if it is the result from inactivity. Before I started hiking, I weighed about the same but was very out of shape and it would take me well over twice the time it takes me now to hike something.

John Duffield wrote:My experience says they can't do it. It's hard to imagine for a people "of a certain age" going through the kind of major lifestyle transformation necessary to do all of this.

You 20 and 30 somethings have a relatively simple life and enjoy the carry over of youthful conditioning.

Friends going crazy because Birthday dinners and whatnot they've been attending for years, they don't attend this year because they've got to hit the gym. The pressure can be horrendous. People don't try to understand, they just crank the pressure up higher. They'll have to actually dump some of their friends to get this done. Believe me, I know.

That kind of weight reduction in middle age? You're talking about training three hours a day. I did Kili at the age of 56 training with Yoga and staircase running. Some cycling. That was it. Spent about 3 months training. But I was coming off other training regimens. No weight reduction.

Booo...
I'd have to say this is one of the worst posts I've ever seen on SP. In two years the OP's mom can transform her life. I say go for it!
1st improve diet. No amount of exercise will let you lose weight if you eat too much.
2nd, start getting fit. If the OP's mom is totally out of shape, just start with walking and go from there.
People can transform their bodies and their lives even at a later age. Climbing Kili would be a great goal and accomplishment.

Luciano136 wrote:The OP has not really posted anything about her mom's physical shape, so without that info, I think we are all just shooting in the dark.

The more important question will be: how much does she exercise and what kind of exercise is she doing?

Weight is really only an issue if it is the result from inactivity. Before I started hiking, I weighed about the same but was very out of shape and it would take me well over twice the time it takes me now to hike something.

Well, she is in the lower percentile when it comes to exercise.

She linedances for 1½ hours once a week, and does yoga for 1 hour once a week. Other than that she and my dad goes for bike rides when the weather allows it. Last summer they were in western USA and Hawaii on anniversary holiday, where they managed some 5-6 hour hikes (but with no elevation gain though) without problems.

So she is definitely not in great shape, but she's amping it up considerably from what she was just a year ago. And she does realize that it will take a substantial increase in exercise from what she does now to get an effect.

One really big hurdle she's facing is the fact that my dad is diabetic. Being diabetic means having to eat a particular diet, and he has a very high metabolism on top of that. So, high metabolism + diabetes equals a very inappropriate diet for my mom. So that is another hurdle where she has to find a solution so that she can get more appropriate food, while maintaining my dads diet. Might ultimately mean having to cook different meals for her and him, which would complicate a very busy daily schedule But it's something everybody is aware of, so we are looking for a solution.

Thank you to everybody out there encouraging her to go for this, it does mean a lot to hear that it is possible with the right motivation. I think she's finally ready for the push towards a healthier lifestyle, and I will try and help her as best I can but Kili will no doubt be a major motivator!

It sounds like she's at least on the right track and changing to a healthy diet might make the most difference initially. After that, she can up her exercise and start including some long hikes. IMO, there are two key elements in mountain hiking: cardio and endurance. People in the 'normal' world mostly focus on the first one by doing 1-2h of exercise. However, it is also important to work on endurance by eventually doing 8h hikes or more. Your legs and body in general need to get used to that.

ArtVandelay wrote:why should she cook different meals for your father and herself? a diabetic should eat HEALTHY unprocessed low glycemic foods and have no added sugar. that is the ideal diet for anyone, so she should just eat what he eats.

Hehe, read again what I wrote. He has a seriously kickass metabolism, my moms metabolism is like a lot of forty-ish womens, slowing down.

To keep up with his metabolism, he actually has to eat quite a lot of complex carbohydrates AND starch, such as pasta, potatoes, rice, despite his diabetes (I might add here that he is well regulated for the 22nd year running, with no complications, so he is eating as he should be, just to weed out any misconceptions on that point). Precisely the foods my mom really need to cut back on, together with of course the "country-style" gravies and stuff. It's not all bad, it's just not optimal. And part of the problem is my dads diabetes.

So yes, they eat HEALTHY food. But no, if she need to lose weight, she cannot eat the same diets as him, simply because of metabolic differences. Increasing her activity level would help, but she cannot increase that activity enough to compensate for the difference, especially because she has a desk-job, while he has a very physical job.

So, been there, done that, didn't work. That's why we know she cannot lose weight eating what he does.