# Skiing - Weight Gain or Loss - Season Long



## Rambo (Mar 28, 2012)

I gain weight every ski season. Usually 10 to 25 lbs. This season, I skied 28 times and gained a good 20 + pounds.

Wondering if other skiers tend to gain, lose or maintain the same body weight during the ski season.


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## snowmonster (Mar 28, 2012)

I usually gain about 5 lbs. during ski season. I guess it's because the sport is less aerobic and I don't sweat as much. It's also probably because of the beer and meat (e.g., hamburgers, chili) consumption. I've resolved to hit the gym next month and get in better shape for the hikes up Tux and surfing in the summer. Summer activities and a summer diet revolving around grilled fish are probably much healthier for me.


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## ski stef (Mar 28, 2012)

I lost weight as soon as we moved out to CO...maintained the weight while skiing all season and now that I haven't been skiing 4x a week it's been a little hairy.  Happy hour kills me now that I'm not working out and burning x amount of calories to drinking beer and eating wings. YUM:beer:  Time to get out my running shoes...


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## my poor knees (Mar 28, 2012)

same here, I usually gain about 10-20 but I usually take ( most ) of it off in the off season. Something about the green mountains and skiing that make me want to light up in the gondola. But then after ski season is over I go back to being an angel and work-out and exercise more. Plus during ski season I figure skiing is enough of a leg work-out so I stop running. Gotta lay off that funny stuff.............


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## Tooth (Mar 28, 2012)

I stay the same. My entire fitness program revolves around the ability to keep up with four kids aged 16,14,12, and 9. I will not let them leave me in the dust. Put up some nice ski/snowboard shots in your workout room and you'll be good to go. Its easier to stay in shape than to get into shape. High Intensity Interval Training. Short and to the point. Best stuff ever. Pure fat loss. Incredible endurance.

Never lay off that funny stuff. Ever.


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## wtcobb (Mar 28, 2012)

Over the course of the season I think I gain more than lose. The winter diet means heavy meals for the holidays, Super Bowl, and more hearty liquid libations. Plus I'm not outside running/biking, activities which I do almost every day in warmer months.

That said, on our trip to Breck/Vail this year we all ended up down in weight by the end of the week (the trip started with Super Bowl and involved many White Russians - Jenny Craig on the hill we were not). The elevation change may have had something to do with it...

I've had discussions over whether skiing burned more/less calories than running (running = more strenuous, skiing = all day activity). I think the bigger consideration is I tend to run 4-5 days a week in summer while I ski 1-2. And it's easy to call it quits on the gym for a few days if you've hit the hills earlier in the week...


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## Puck it (Mar 28, 2012)

I sweat my butt off when I ski. But it is only one day a week.  I do read the bike everyday  but I stopped in December . That is my weight gain right there.


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## steamboat1 (Mar 28, 2012)

I've been hovering around the same weight for 20+ years. Drink lot's of beer & eat a normal variety of foods (some good, some not). At 6' & staying between 178 to 185lbs ain't bad. Even if I work out regularly (which I haven't for several years now) it doesn't make much difference.


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## legalskier (Mar 28, 2012)

I don't weigh myself so I just go by whether my pants feel tighter or looser. This year they remained constant, slightly looser at one point. I'd rather not look at a scale- just me.

Saw this in the news today; might try it out-

_*Green coffee beans show potential for losing weight*
In a limited trial, 16 overweight young adults taking various doses of green coffee bean extract lost an average of 17.5 pounds and 16% in body fat in 22 weeks. But questions remain, experts say._
Story: http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-green-coffee-weight-loss-20120328,0,4627793.story


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## steamboat1 (Mar 28, 2012)

legalskier said:


> I don't weigh myself so I just go by whether my pants feel tighter or looser. This year they remained constant, slightly looser at one point. I'd rather not look at a scale- just me.
> 
> Saw this in the news today; might try it out-
> 
> ...


Isn't this the same guy that said the other day that popcorn has more antioxidants than fruit?


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## frozencorn (Mar 29, 2012)

Lose weight every year, despite the beer, wings, etc. Look my best May-June. Beyond that is anyone's guess.


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## hammer (Mar 29, 2012)

Weight's been creeping up but it has nothing to do with the seasons...more to do with lack of activity and the desire to eat like I did in college.  Just need to get with a more regular conditioning program.


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## bigbog (Mar 29, 2012)

I lose the fat with skiing...


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## HowieT2 (Mar 29, 2012)

I gain weight, my thighs get huge, so this season I made a conscious effort to cut down on the burgers and fries and replace that with salad or soup at lunch.  didnt work.  didnt lose weight and my stomach was "unsettled".  so I'm back on the burgers.

and fwiw, I sweat when skiing the trees but not on the groomers


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## Stache (Mar 29, 2012)

I ski hard, burn lotsa calories,  get hungry, eat lotsa Pizza and chilli and drink lots of beer. 
taking the fifth on final result, net.


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## deadheadskier (Mar 29, 2012)

Until 2 years ago, I always lost weight during the ski season as I was a lazy SOB and didn't work out in the off season.  Now I work out year round and stay pretty much at the same weight.


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## jrmagic (Mar 29, 2012)

IN the past I would always gain weight through a combination of being less active, drinking copius amounts of dark heavy beers and eatnig more burgers/comfort foods. This year, after dropping a lot of weight inthe fall, I managed to stay the same through the winter.


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## Cheese (Mar 29, 2012)

Ski Stef said:


> now that I haven't been skiing 4x a week it's been a little hairy.



That's something COMPLETELY different!







It's actually quite refreshing to kick up the calories a bit during the ski season and not gain weight.  Just have to remember to drop the calorie intake back to summer levels after this weekend.


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## marcski (Mar 29, 2012)

I tend to gain some weight over the ski season.  About 10 lbs.  Due totally to having less hours in the bike saddle(s).  I have my road bike on the trainer and ride it daily while watching WC ski racing. (or the mt. Bike outside, weather permitting).  I just can't spend hours on it like I can be on my bike when its warm outside.


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## ScottySkis (Mar 29, 2012)

This year I gained a lot of weight munchies syndromes I guess,  but i'm determined to take it off this summer.


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## marcski (Mar 29, 2012)

Scotty said:


> This year I gained a lot of weight munchies syndromes I guess,  but i'm determined to take it off this summer.



You got a road bike, Scotty?  You're in my neck of the woods you know!


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## RootDKJ (Mar 29, 2012)

Lost over 10lbs this season, and I can't figure out why/how.


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## Warp Daddy (Mar 29, 2012)

Stay pretty much the same but am in the gym 3 days a week yr round and eat a balanced diet ------no fried or fatty foods except during the Xmas holidays  

and the Queen "watches" my diet and keeps me in check  there --------------LMAO


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## HowieT2 (Mar 29, 2012)

marcski said:


> You got a road bike, Scotty?  You're in my neck of the woods you know!



road bike?
is that why I never see you in blue anymore?


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## ScottySkis (Mar 29, 2012)

marcski said:


> You got a road bike, Scotty?  You're in my neck of the woods you know!


Yes I got one but, I need to start on my exercise bike first,  before I attempt the hills were I live,  going down to White Plains is easy but going up Anderson road is not, learned that the hard way, lol.


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## Madroch (Mar 29, 2012)

Gained 10- but it was purposeful-- eating a lot and hitting the weights... long way to go for this desk jockey...


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## marcski (Mar 29, 2012)

HowieT2 said:


> road bike?
> is that why I never see you in blue anymore?



.

We had a great ride up at blue a couple of weeks ago...Rich and I met up with Robby and Mark.  That place is the best.  But I love the road bike too.


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## BenedictGomez (Mar 30, 2012)

People who ski a lot typically will lose weight during a season, so I imagine people who are gaining are likely enjoying the apres-ski beers and restaurant food.


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## Terry (Mar 30, 2012)

I usually lose weight during ski season. Beer drinking all summer puts it back on though.


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## WinnChill (Mar 30, 2012)

Winter is my season for losing a few pounds too.  The calories burned just from trying to stay warm helps.  Skiing the past couple of seasons hasn't been too challenging aerobic-wise since I'm basically cruising with my son who is still learning the ropes.  However, since picking up hockey skating the past few years, I can burn off about 5lbs in a week or two if I can get on the pond/rink a couple times a week.  A friend of mine puts me through a lot of hockey drills and I end each session with wind sprints and pushups.


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## Glenn (Mar 30, 2012)

I held steady. I got to the gym during the week. I tend to eat a bit more on the weekends during ski season. Maybe a few extra PBRs here and there as well.  ;-)


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## HowieT2 (Mar 30, 2012)

marcski said:


> .
> 
> We had a great ride up at blue a couple of weeks ago...Rich and I met up with Robby and Mark.  That place is the best.  But I love the road bike too.



I heard about that.  Nice and dry in there now and love the extension of My Favorite.  

Now that I'm around on weekends, I'm sure I'll see you.


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## HD333 (Mar 30, 2012)

Gain a little during the season,  more beers/dining out and not hitting the gym. Trying to drop 10lbs or so now. Gym 2-3 times a week for cardio and some MT Bike rides should take care of it and of course laying off the unneeded beers.


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## Riverskier (Mar 30, 2012)

HD333 said:


> Gain a little during the season,  more beers/dining out and not hitting the gym. Trying to drop 10lbs or so now. Gym 2-3 times a week for cardio and some MT Bike rides should take care of it and of course laying off the unneeded beers.



Unneeded beers? I wasn't aware there was such a thing.


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## HD333 (Mar 30, 2012)

Riverskier said:


> Unneeded beers? I wasn't aware there was such a thing.



To name a few:
The 2::00pm on a Saturday  I am bored maybe I will take down a 6er
The 2:00am on a Fri/Sat night I definitely  need one more beer


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## jrmagic (Mar 30, 2012)

Scotty said:


> Yes I got one but, I need to start on my exercise bike first,  before I attempt the hills were I live,  going down to White Plains is easy but going up Anderson road is not, learned that the hard way, lol.



That is a tough stretch. I used to live off the bottom of Anderson Hill Rd on Old Lyme and head north so that hill was the beginning of my ride. BY the time I got to Purchase St. I felt like I had ridden for 10 miles already lol.


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## Cornhead (Apr 2, 2012)

BenedictGomez said:


> People who ski a lot typically will lose weight during a season, so I imagine people who are gaining are likely enjoying the apres-ski beers and restaurant food.



I've skied about eighty days per year the last couple years, not this one however. I usually gain weight in the Winter regardless. I don't think skiing is very aerobic, mogul skiiing, and to some extent,  powder skiing being the exception. Did anyone loose weight skiing powder on the East Coast this year? Ha! I think gravity is doing most of the work, we're just directing it. This is not to say that muscles aren't being worked, I don't think it compares to cycling, jogging, or even walking from an aerobic perspective. 

We do tend to treat ourselves to fatty foods and high calorie libations during our ski outings also. If you think your burning those calories off on the hill, think again. I think this, and the fact ski time is gained at the expense of exercise time, at least in my case, leads to weight gain during ski season. I hang out in the bar at the hill much less since the hot twenty two year old brunette with the great hydro stopped tending bar, I don't drink. I did want to get "aerobic " with her. That might have burned a nacho or two.;-)

I did not gain weight this year, I worked out more, and skied less.


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## tomcat (Apr 2, 2012)

I put in 2-3X more days on xc ski than downhill, combined with some backcountry snowshoe hikes I keep my fighting weight through the season.


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## BenedictGomez (Apr 2, 2012)

Cornhead said:


> I've skied about eighty days per year the last couple years, not this one however. I usually gain weight in the Winter regardless. I don't think skiing is very aerobic, mogul skiiing, and to some extent,  powder skiing being the exception. Did anyone loose weight skiing powder on the East Coast this year? Ha! I think gravity is doing most of the work, we're just directing it. This is not to say that muscles aren't being worked, I don't think it compares to cycling, jogging, or even walking from an aerobic perspective.
> *
> We do tend to treat ourselves to fatty foods and high calorie libations during our ski outings also.* If you think your burning those calories off on the hill, think again. I think this, and the fact ski time is gained at the expense of exercise time, at least in my case, leads to weight gain during ski season. I hang out in the bar at the hill much less since the hot twenty two year old brunette with the great hydro stopped tending bar, I don't drink. I did want to get "aerobic " with her. That might have burned a nacho or two.;-)
> 
> I did not gain weight this year, I worked out more, and skied less.



The bolded bit above is why you're gaining weight.  Skiing actually does burn quite a bit of calories (unless you're just lollygaggling it on groomers).  Obviously if your normal weekly workouts burn more calories than your skiing, you would experience a net gain in calories, but for most people that's not going to be the case, and frankly, it would be pretty tough to achieve.  Even if you're burning a good 500 or 600 calories at the gym during your workout, you _should_ burn that during a day of skiing.   But all you have to do is have a cheeseburger and a few pints of IPA, and you're going to erase much or all of your skiing calorie burn if this food/drink is replacing what would normally have been a much healthier non-skiday meal.


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## speden (Apr 2, 2012)

I put on a few pounds this season.  I didn't ski often enough to stay in shape, just once or twice a week.

To have fresh legs for skiing, I skipped my workouts a couple days before skiing, then I'd rest a day after skiing, so I was lucky to get in one workout a week.

I need to find a way to get more workouts in during ski season.  I find that if I don't do weightlifting with my quads during the season, they slowly lose strength.  Skiing alone doesn't seem to build muscle mass for me.


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## Riverskier (Apr 2, 2012)

HD333 said:


> To name a few:
> The 2::00pm on a Saturday  I am bored maybe I will take down a 6er
> The 2:00am on a Fri/Sat night I definitely  need one more beer



Ok, I will concede the 2am Fri/Sat night beer. That is NEVER necessary, or even a good idea for that matter.

The 6er on a boring Saturday afternoon is money though!


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## wa-loaf (Apr 2, 2012)

I think I put 5 pounds on this weekend ...


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## tekweezle (Apr 2, 2012)

I never seem lose weight during Ski season probably because whatever calories i might lose doing the activity I am doing is being matched with a similar intake in calories.  fuel for the body.  i might be in better shape from carrying skis and walking in heavy ski boots though.  well, the arms and legs are going to be sore and stressed out.

it;s probably enough just to maintain status quo because if I didn;t do anything, i;d probably gain about 3 pounds a week just eating.  plus during ski season, we are all probably eating abnormally high carb and protein diets without noticing-all the eggs and bacon for breakfast, pasta for dinner, and other hearty food, ect....


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## jrmagic (Apr 2, 2012)

speden said:


> I put on a few pounds this season.  I didn't ski often enough to stay in shape, just once or twice a week.
> 
> To have fresh legs for skiing, I skipped my workouts a couple days before skiing, then I'd rest a day after skiing, so I was lucky to get in one workout a week.
> 
> I need to find a way to get more workouts in during ski season.  I find that if I don't do weightlifting with my quads during the season, they slowly lose strength.  Skiing alone doesn't seem to build muscle mass for me.



That's always the problem. I tried to make sure I hit my legs either Tueday or Wednesday in the gym going pretty heavy figuring I ws getting low load/hi reps for those muscles on the hill and the focus the remaining days in the gymon the other body parts. It worked for the first half of the winter. next season I will try to maintain that all the way through.


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## o3jeff (Apr 2, 2012)

I skied 6 times this year and lost 8 lbs. Probably all the walking I did instead.


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## deadheadskier (Apr 2, 2012)

wa-loaf said:


> I think I put 5 pounds on this weekend ...



I went to the gym this morning.  5 pounds heavier than last Friday confirmed.  :lol:


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## Nick (Apr 2, 2012)

I need to drop 10 pounds again. I'm back to ~193. I should be low 180's. Started off so good in the new year too, I was down to 186 in late January.


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## HD333 (Apr 3, 2012)

AZ Biggest loser anyone? Sounds like a bunch of us need to drop 5-15 lbs. Maybe this could be the motivating factor? Thoughts? Honor system, post current weight in a thread then weigh in each week, keep it going for a month or 2, highest % of weight lost gets bragging rights?


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## Cornhead (Apr 3, 2012)

HD333 said:


> AZ Biggest loser anyone? Sounds like a bunch of us need to drop 5-15 lbs. Maybe this could be the motivating factor? Thoughts? Honor system, post current weight in a thread then weigh in each week, keep it going for a month or 2, highest % of weight lost gets bragging rights?



I've weighed between 165lbs- 315lbs in my adult life. Not too healthy, I'm sure. I was riding my motorcycle and saw movement in my mirror. After closer inspection, it was my bare skin on my arm flapping in the breeze like a sweatshirt. I'd tense my muscles, it would stop, relax, back to flapping. I lost 70lbs in one year about five years ago. I ate less and exercised more...magic!


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## Cheese (Apr 3, 2012)

Skiing is a good motivator to lose weight.  The stress on knees, hips and back is directly related to body weight.  Shed a few Hamiltons and the way you feel at the end of the day and especially multiple days might be the motivator to lose even more.


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## Cannonball (Apr 3, 2012)

I had my annual physical today.  I stepped on the scale.  I had lost 20lbs and was the lightest I've been in over 15 years!!!!  I told the nurse I didn't believe but he checked out the scale and confirmed that it worked fine  The Doc came in and congratulated me.  I told him I didn't believe it, but he checked out the scale and assured me it was working fine.  I was feeling pretty good about myself.   As I was getting dressed at the end of my appointment I couldn't help fiddling with the scale.  They had the bottom weight set in lbs and the top weight set in kgs.  I fixed it, reweighed myself, and found that I'm _exactly_ the same as start of the season.  The whole time I was thinking of this thread.....


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## Cheese (Apr 3, 2012)

Cannonball said:


> I had my annual physical today.  I stepped on the scale.  I had lost 20lbs and was the lightest I've been in over 15 years!!!!  I told the nurse I didn't believe but he checked out the scale and confirmed that it worked fine  The Doc came in and congratulated me.  I told him I didn't believe it, but he checked out the scale and assured me it was working fine.  I was feeling pretty good about myself.   As I was getting dressed at the end of my appointment I couldn't help fiddling with the scale.  They had the bottom weight set in lbs and the top weight set in kgs.  I fixed it, reweighed myself, and found that I'm _exactly_ the same as start of the season.  The whole time I was thinking of this thread.....



Better tell the doc or next year he'll scold you for gaining 20lbs in a year.


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## SkiFanE (Apr 4, 2012)

I lose weight, overall..but do tend to keep it through the holidays and once ski season really kicks in I lose.  Down right now, not many ski days left...so I'm walking at work and need to start biking soon. Also..i may not lose tons, but what I have is definitely tighter, I just hate getting jigglier and heavier right as bathing suit season starts lol..hoping I can avoid that this summer.


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## ski stef (Apr 4, 2012)

SkiFanE said:


> I just hate getting jigglier and heavier right as bathing suit season starts lol..hoping I can avoid that this summer.



+1!


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## vonski (Apr 4, 2012)

I loose weight skiiing in winter.  plain and simple!


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## Cheese (Apr 4, 2012)

SkiFanE said:


> Down right now, not many ski days left...so I'm walking at work and need to start biking soon. Also..i may not lose tons, but what I have is definitely tighter, I just hate getting jigglier and heavier right as bathing suit season starts lol..hoping I can avoid that this summer.





Ski Stef said:


> +1!


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## SkiFanE (Apr 4, 2012)

Cheese said:


>



What I would look like if I sat on my ass all year:


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## Cheese (Apr 4, 2012)




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## jrmagic (Apr 4, 2012)

SkiFanE said:


> What I would look like if I sat on my ass all year:



LMFAO! Good for you that you don't.


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## arik (Apr 6, 2012)

I go up to 152 in fall, and go down to 147 by spring.
I was a fat kid so real glad to be below my college weight, particularly as I am turning 40 this year.

I think the XC skiing helps more than the downhill


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