Hike Your Way to Weight Loss: 10 Reasons to Go for a Hike Today

Walking is one of the easiest ways to achieve your 30 minutes of daily activity. Hiking might as well be called “next level” walking—it’s more enjoyable, more engaging and a bit more challenging (but still not too hard). That’s probably why hiking is one of the most popular outdoor activities, with more than 47 million Americans reporting that they hiked at least once in 2018, says Statista.com. If you haven’t added hiking to your weight loss exercise routine, we’re here to tell you why you should start today.

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Get outside and take a hike! Here are 10 reasons to start hiking today:

1. Hiking is easy.

You don’t need to learn special skills, be super fit or have any prior experience. Hiking is simply walking on an outdoor trail. Even the challenges, such as going up and down hills or navigating uneven terrain, are manageable for beginners. If you can walk, you can most likely hike.

2. It burns more calories than walking.

At a brisk walking pace of 17 minutes per mile, a 155-pound person burns about 149 calories in 30 minutes, says Harvard Health Publishing. Add a few hills on a hike and the calories burned jumps to 223 calories in 30 minutes—that’s about 50 percent more calories burned in the same amount of time.

3. It lifts your mood.

According to Stanford News, walking in natural areas rather than in man-made environments reduces “activity in a region of the brain associated with a key factor in depression.” The 2015 study was published in the peer-reviewed journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Other research has found that spending time in nature may help to reduce stress, says Harvard Health Publishing.

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4. Hiking strengthens your heart.

Stress is said to be contributor to heart disease and hypertension (high blood pressure), so reducing stress might also lower your risk of suffering from these cardiac conditions, says Harvard Health Publishing. Hiking also gives your heart—a powerful muscle—a steady workout, helping it to grow strong and pump more efficiently even when you’re at rest. “Like brisk walking, hiking is a good way to improve your cardiovascular fitness, particularly if your route includes some hills, which will force your heart to work harder,” explains Harvard Health Publishing.

5. Hiking flattens your belly.

Going up and down inclines and traversing uneven terrain engages your core muscles—the big muscles between your rib cage and knees, says Harvard Health Publishing. These include your abdominals, glutes (backside) and thighs. Hiking helps strengthen and tone those muscles as you shed excess pounds, so you become visibly leaner and firmer. Don’t forget to bring some flat belly snacks along on your hike! Check out these four easy ideas. >

6. It improves your balance.

Our sense of balance is essential to many everyday activities, such as climbing stairs, getting in and out of the shower or reaching up to high shelves. According to Time Magazine, the uneven terrain experienced while hiking can help to build up muscles that you don’t normally use. “Pumping up those oft-neglected muscles may improve your balance and stability, which helps protect you from falls,” they explain. For most people, the sense of balance deteriorates with age. Hiking keeps it working effectively.

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7. It expands your mind.

Most of us spend our time looking at lit screens and the same views day in and day out. When we get out in nature, we get better at focusing our attention, solving problems and developing creative ideas, according to the scientific journal, PLoS One. So, get outside, take a hike and get inspired!

8. Hiking is inexpensive.

Unlike nearly every other fitness activity, hiking costs you almost nothing. All you need is a sturdy pair of shoes with a good tread. Yes, you can buy hiking shoes that will make your hikes easier and more comfortable. However, feel free to start out wearing ordinary sneakers before committing to purchasing footwear designed for this purpose.

9. Hiking happens anywhere.

Every state in the U.S. has national parks, historic trails and protected wilderness areas that you can visit. The National Park Service website allows you to search by state to find those closest to you. Many state and county parks also feature marked trails with signs that tell you how long and how challenging the trails are. With a little observation and investigation, you can often find unofficial trails to hike and undeveloped areas around your home. (Just be sure you’re not trespassing on private property.) For more trail ideas, check out the American Trails Website.

10. Hiking is for everyone.

Wherever you are on your weight loss journey, you can enjoy the pleasures of hiking. You don’t need to train, set goals or measure results. You can just take a walk in nature and feel good while you’re doing it and for hours after you’re back.

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New to hiking? Check out these four helpful tips for beginners:

1. Start slow.

For your first few hikes, choose routes that are shorter than you would normally walk—hiking is more challenging than walking and you don’t want to overdo it and find yourself sore or too exhausted when you are finished.

2. Bring water.

This will ensure you don’t dehydrate along the way. Adequate water helps you stay alert and energized and keeps your metabolism working. Looking for the perfect water bottle to take on your hiking adventures? Click here for our water bottle shopping tips! >

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3. Go with a buddy.

Almost everything is more fun when you do it together. Hiking with a partner also ensures that in the unlikely event something goes wrong—whether you get lost or twist an ankle—help is right by your side. If you do choose to go on your own for a little solitude, be sure to tell someone where you are going and when you expect to be back.

4. Keep your eyes and ears open.

We’re accustomed to listening to our inner dialogues all day long. Take time while you’re hiking to tune in to the sights and sounds around you. There are so many delights in nature, from birds chirping and flowers blooming to the rustle of tree leaves in a gentle breeze. Focusing on them can chase away your everyday cares and worries for a little while and make your life feel a little bit better, no matter what else is happening in the world.

Looking for a healthy meal delivery service to pair with your fitness routine? Learn more about Nutrisystem! >

*Always speak with your doctor before starting an exercise routine.

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The post Hike Your Way to Weight Loss: 10 Reasons to Go for a Hike Today appeared first on The Leaf.

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I did not see it.

I (22 F) started my weight loss journey last year and it has been a wonderful journey. I managed to reach my goal weight and a healthy BMI. I just did not see it. People kept praising me and telling me i lost so much weight, but i could not see it. I would look in the mirror and still see myself as a big girl. I just saw flaws. I did not see what they saw. So i kept trying to lose more weight until my mother raised some concerns and said its enough now. Thats when i took a good look at myself...and i saw it. I was shocked. I lost a lot of weight and had i kept going, i would be close to being underweight. I just did not see it. It was like i was blind. It scared me. It really scared me. I don't know what happened. How? I now realised that i should eat to maintain the weight. I just thought of posting this after seeing an earlier post talking about people who keep going after reaching a normal weight. It was unintentional in my case. I just did not see it.

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Starting my journey today to *healthy* weight loss

For context I definitely struggle with an eating disorder that I have never went to the doctors for. I think I’m just embarrassed and I don’t want to be so visibly seen. I’m 24 5’7 and last I checked I was 145lbs but it’s been a long time since I stood on a scale.

I go through phases where I’ll eat heavily one day and then not at all for 2-4 days and once I get winded from simple tasks and start to feel woozy I’ll eat heavily again and repeat. I struggle heavily with mental health issues/ body dysmorphia to the point where I had 9 garbage bags full of dirty unwashed clothes that were thrown around my apartment and 6 bags of trash. I didn’t feel comfortable enough leaving my apartment to go to the laundry room or take the trash out because I didn’t want to be seen. I still don’t but I forced myself to clean up this weekend and still have more to do but I’ve decided to actually take the step to be healthy and try to not let my view of myself stop me from living.

I’m going to eat daily in small portions so I don’t make myself sick with this major adjustment. I’m a bit obsessed with my weight. I’ve always been this body type I started “developing” C cups in about grade 4 and I was bullied extensively. I looked like a top heavy toothpick. I was accused of getting a boob job in middle school, being a bra stuffer the list goes on. A teacher even told me my body type made me look like a prostitute and I couldn’t wear what the other girls in my class wore because it looked “different” on me. I honestly hate my body to an extreme so I’m hoping this self love journey in a HEALTHY positive way will help me recover. I focus heavily on the weight of a scale and a few months ago I threw my scale out because every time I stood on it I would breakdown in tears.

My current measurements:

38 bust 30 waist 38.5 hips

I’ll check again every few months and track my progress that way. If anyone has any tips for me to keep this a healthy journey and not fall into old habits it would be greatly appreciated. Fingers crossed.

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I’m concerned

Look; I’m sure I’ll get a lot of hate for this. I’ve lost 100lbs, gained 70, and am down 30 as of today. I appreciate the success stories here, most of them actually. But I see some posts from obviously disordered individuals- close to underweight BMI asking how they can cut their calories further, slightly overweight people saying they will do anything to be their perfect body (that they picked out of a magazine and will never have because of bone structure and genetics), and average folks who want unrealistic results and want advice on unhealthy weight loss .

Look, far be it for me to judge and far be it from me to suggest fixes for these people. But if someone is sounding like they hate their body in a pathological way, don’t feed into it. Suggest therapy and help, not the perfect balance of macros. I’m sure I’ll get major hate for this, but mental health is a big portion of bodily health. Vent over

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I feel helpless. How do I get started?

I've been severely depressed and overweight my entire life. Since I moved out of my parents' house 4 years ago I've eaten fast food 3+ times a week every week, and even before then I was eating nothing but carbs and fat all the time. I don't have the mental or physical energy to cook and I don't have the money to buy anything good anyway. Every once and a while my partner and I can splurge to cook a steak or pork loin for dinner but most of the time it's pasta, fast food, or just eating cereal or chips or whatever because it feels too difficult to even boil a pot of water. I have severe food aversions (not diagnosed with ARFID as I've never discussed it with a doctor but I fit most of the diagnostic criteria that don't involve weight loss) and I have never successfully been able to eat a vegetable not completely hidden in cheese and butter without throwing up. I don't get any exercise at all either. I have intense health anxiety so I get into spirals where I overthink how much damage has been already done to my body and it feels like it's too late to do anything about it.

I'm almost 30. I'm over 100 pounds overweight and while I don't have any known physical health issues outside of that (not diabetic, blood pressure normal, I do have mild fatty liver, I've had scans and blood tests done for chronic pain problems and there's nothing notably physically wrong with me) my mental health completely controls my life. I don't know where to even begin. It feels as though every single aspect of my life is going in the wrong direction and if I can't change everything at once there's no point in trying.

Sorry for this sadsack rant. I did spend $80 on a year-long subscription to an exercise program but I just haven't had the spoons to start it. The only things I ate today were 2 soft pretzel sticks from Sonic, a soda, and a salted chocolate bar with a glass of milk. I want to change. I guess I'm just looking for one small thing that I can start doing immediately that feels like it's a step forward, and I can go from there.

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Day 1? Starting your weight loss journey on Wednesday, 17 November 2021? Start here!

Today is your Day 1?

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Welcome to r/Loseit!

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So you aren’t sure of how to start? Don’t worry! “How do I get started?” is our most asked question. r/Loseit has helped our users lose over 1,000,000 recorded pounds and these are the steps that we’ve found most useful for getting started.

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Why you’re overweight

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Our bodies are amazing (yes, yours too!). In order to survive before supermarkets, we had to be able to store energy to get us through lean times, we store this energy as adipose fat tissue. If you put more energy into your body than it needs, it stores it, for (potential) later use. When you put in less than it needs, it uses the stored energy. The more energy you have stored, the more overweight you are. The trick is to get your body to use the stored energy, which can only be done if you give it less energy than it needs, consistently.

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Before You Start

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The very first step is calculating your calorie needs. You can do that HERE. This will give you an approximation of your calorie needs for the day. The next step is to figure how quickly you want to lose the fat. One pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories. So to lose 1 pound of fat per week you will need to consume 500 calories less than your TDEE (daily calorie needs from the link above). 750 calories less will result in 1.5 pounds and 1000 calories is an aggressive 2 pounds per week.

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Tracking

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Here is where it begins to resemble work. The most efficient way to lose the weight you desire is to track your calorie intake. This has gotten much simpler over the years and today it can be done right from your smartphone or computer. r/loseit recommends an app like MyFitnessPal, Loseit! (unaffiliated), or Cronometer. Create an account and be honest with it about your current stats, activities, and goals. This is your tracker and no one else needs to see it so don’t cheat the numbers. You’ll find large user created databases that make logging and tracking your food and drinks easy with just the tap of the screen or the push of a button. We also highly recommend the use of a digital kitchen scale for accuracy. Knowing how much of what you're eating is more important than what you're eating. Why? This may explain it.

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Creating Your Deficit

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How do you create a deficit? This is up to you. r/loseit has a few recommendations but ultimately that decision is yours. There is no perfect diet for everyone. There is a perfect diet for you and you can create it. You can eat less of exactly what you eat now. If you like pizza you can have pizza. Have 2 slices instead of 4. You can try lower calorie replacements for calorie dense foods. Some of the communities favorites are cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash in place of their more calorie rich cousins. If it appeals to you an entire dietary change like Keto, Paleo, Vegetarian.

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The most important thing to remember is that this selection of foods works for you. Sustainability is the key to long term weight management success. If you hate what you’re eating you won’t stick to it.

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Exercise

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Is NOT mandatory. You can lose fat and create a deficit through diet alone. There is no requirement of exercise to lose weight.

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It has it’s own benefits though. You will burn extra calories. Exercise is shown to be beneficial to mental health and creates an endorphin rush as well. It makes people feel *awesome* and has been linked to higher rates of long term success when physical activity is included in lifestyle changes.

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Crawl, Walk, Run

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It can seem like one needs to make a 180 degree course correction to find success. That isn’t necessarily true. Many of our users find that creating small initial changes that build a foundation allows them to progress forward in even, sustained, increments.

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Acceptance

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You will struggle. We have all struggled. This is natural. There is no tip or trick to get through this though. We encourage you to recognize why you are struggling and forgive yourself for whatever reason that may be. If you overindulged at your last meal that is ok. You can resolve to make the next meal better.

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Do not let the pursuit of perfect get in the way of progress. We don’t need perfect. We just want better.

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Additional resources

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Now you’re ready to do this. Here are more details, that may help you refine your plan.

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• Quick Start Guide - Build your foundation!

* Lose It Compendium - Frame it out!

* FAQ - Answers to our most Frequently Asked Questions!

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[M/23/337lb] I Need Help - Trouble Starting and Staying on Track with a Lifestyle Change

Hi, everyone!

First and foremost, this is my first post on this sub, so if the formatting is wrong or if something is not allowed, my apologies. Let me know and I'll fix it ASAP.

With that said, greetings everyone. My name is Briar. Weird name? Yes. Trouble pronouncing it? Think Breyer's Ice Cream (I know, bad example in this sub) - same pronunciation, different spelling. Though I do have a main Reddit account, I wanted to create this account to serve as my personal Reddit profile where I'll (hopefully) track my progress, show some progress pics, and be a part of the community.

This next part will be a backstory leading up to where I'm at now in my life. If you would rather read a TLDR, I'll be adding one at the end.

As you can probably see by the title of this post, I need help. I'm struggling to start a diet, and then when I do, I struggle to stay on track. It's been like this for the majority of my life with 2017 being the only exception. In December of 2016, I was a 350lb freshman in college. I didn't have much energy. I also hated myself. My sister began her weight loss journey the month prior and was already showing progress. My natural brotherly instinct was to compete with her. And so I did.

From December 2016 to August 2017, I lost 130lb (going from 350 -> 220). The results were honestly amazing. I was working out six days a week, twice a day. I was only eating 1600-1800 calories/day, though. So, despite the progress, I have also been made aware that this wasn't the healthiest of ways to lose weight... which would explain why I've gained almost all of it back since then.

As of the last time I weighed a few days ago, I was 337. I've been sitting around 337 for a few months now. I know this because every time I go to start a diet, I weigh in and constantly wonder, "Why am I still 337? I eat like crap every day and don't even work out..." Regardless, I lost 130lb in one year, and then gained 117lb in four.

When I say "which would explain why I've gained almost all of it back since then," I'm inferring the possibility that I was starving myself back in 2017. Once the temptations of junk food started to break through, the walls I had built up quickly fell. All of the fast food I had been missing out on looked delicious. I kept telling myself, "Oh, well. Just ONE Big Mac wouldn't hurt" and other similar lines.

Along with the weight gain, I've lost a lot of confidence. At 220, I was able to go around and feel great about myself because of what I've done. Now, I feel embarrassed. These people saw me go from fat to average back to fat. It's a horrible feeling, which then makes me eat out of stress and emotions, and then the vicious cycle continues.

It's come to the point now where my health anxiety is at a scary point. Any time I feel the slightest pain in my chest or left arm, my immediate thought it, "This is it. I'm having a heart attack." That leads to a panic attack. Which then - you guessed it - leads to eating. That's just mentally. Physically, I had to get my gallbladder removed back in June because it couldn't take the way I was eating anymore. Along with that, I also found out I had a fatty liver. And even now as I type this post, I'm worried about my health.

I'm a 23-year-old college student. I'm one semester away from graduating. I want to do so much in the future. Have a great job, find a girlfriend, eventually make her my wife, have a family, etc. But if I don't lose this weight, I'm scared that my life will be cut short and I'll never be able to achieve these goals.

That's where you guys and gals come in.

If you've made it this far, thank you for reading my post! Seriously, I appreciate it. But I need some advice on how to properly get started on a diet. What mindset to have. What steps I need to take. And then once I'm on the diet, what do I need to do stay motivated to stay on track? How do I keep the mindset of, " I gotta lose this weight"?

Any tips/tricks/advice is appreciated!

- Briar

TLDR: Lost 130lb in one year, only to gain 117lb back in four. Been up and down since then. Mind and body are feeling the stresses. I need tips on what I need to do to start a diet and stay on it so that I can go about living out my dreams.

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