Weight Loss And Hiking (A Quick PSA)

​Today I talk about an incredibly important subject for any hiker who is also going through a weight loss journey. 

​EPISODE TRANSCRIPT:

[0:00] All right. Hello, hello, ladies and gentlemen. So today I want to do a bit of a PSA, a public service announcement in the realm of weight loss and hiking. And I want to talk on a really, really, really important subject, which in all honesty, I don't think I've talked about before, but it is just such a critical thing. And this is specifically for those hikers who are going through a bit of a weight loss journey. So whether it's a hiker who's just a regular hiker and they're intentionally trying to lose a little bit of weight, whether it's a hiker who's training for a particular adventure, or whether it's a hiker who's actually out on a big adventure, and they're also wanting to lose weight at the same time.

[0:39] Now, when it comes to the whole topic of weight loss and hiking, it's not something that I really do spend a huge amount talking about publicly, purely for the fact that I think, you know, the world of fitness and the world of training is just too hung up on the concept of weight loss. And over the years, so many people out there have just been on this recurring thing of just constantly trying to lose weight and losing weight, then gaining weight, then feeling like a failure and this and that. And so many people over the years have had just so many issues and problems from this. And everyone's gone through their personal journey with this in one way or another. And from my side of things, when we're talking about training for hiking, one of my favorite things in this whole area of training for hiking is seeing a hiker and working with a hiker and talking to a hiker who maybe has spent years and years obsessing over their weight, or maybe obsession isn't the right word, but really, really focused on their weight. And basically they shift their attention from when they come through our training, they shift their attention away from this obsession with weight loss into simply just focusing on improving their fitness and improving their strength and not really putting a huge amount of thought to the weight loss and basically seeing as they get fitter, as they get stronger, just all the cool things they can accomplish, just how good they can feel both on and off the trail and just how liberating that can be.

[2:03] And, you know, for me, you know, I really, really, really do enjoy this journey. But in reality, when it comes down to it, you know, I know there are many, many hikers out there who ultimately do have weight loss goals. You know, I know so many people out there have these goals. And as much as I don't talk about, as much as I'm not a massive advocate for it, and I love pushing people just towards getting fit and getting strong and seeing where that takes them, in reality, I know, you know, a lot of people want to lose weight. So today, I'm talking to you people, the people who are on a bit of a weight loss journey. And I want to share a really, really, really, really, really important point if you are a hiker going through a bit of a weight loss journey.

[2:38] Now, when we're aiming to lose weight, when it comes down to it, nutrition is probably the major factor. What we're eating is probably going to have the majority of the difference when it comes to weight loss. And in a nutshell, as the most overarching concept of weight loss, essentially reducing the amount of calories that you consume. So basically the amount of food that you consume compared to the amount that your body burns and body needs is generally, is the general idea. And obviously this is a really deep subject and there's, you know, so much information that goes into this and it's a much easier said than done and this and that. But this is things in a nutshell, eating less than your body needs to lose weight.

[3:19] Much, much deeper than that, but that's a general thing. And one thing I often hear from hikers who are going through a bit of a weight loss journey is what they'll do is they'll intentionally restrict the amount of food that they eat during their hikes.

[3:32] And this is something that I hear from people who are regular hikers, people who are training for a big adventure and they're doing this on their training hikes, and also people who are actually out on their big adventures. They're out on overnighters or multi-dayers or bigger hikes like that. And they're intentionally restricting the amount of food that they eat on these hikes to help with their weight loss. But I want to say right now, now. Please do not do this. If you are reducing the amount you're eating, that's fine. Go ahead, do your thing, have your plan, put into action what you need to do to aid your journey. But please keep that to the rest of your week. And during your hikes, during the time you're actually out on the trail, please make sure you're not intentionally restricting the amount of food you eat, and that you are actually eating enough to fuel yourself properly.

[4:21] Now, why is this so important? Well, when it comes down to it, nutrition and proper fueling is the significant, most significant thing that you can do to help both your energy and reduce fatigue when you're on the trail, when you're hiking. Actually making sure you're eating enough will play massive consequences in regards to your energy and how you feel on the trail. Now, ultimately, when it comes down to it, most hikers with their normal adventures, even if they're not even thinking about restricting their food, most hikers on their hikes actually under-eat a little bit on the trail. Like, yes, people can get through eating whatever, and people can survive their hikes eating whatever, but time and time and time and time and time again, through the hikers we work with, the hikers we talk about, when we encourage them to be a bit more conscious with their fueling, eat a little bit more, get a bit more fuel when they're actually hiking, we've seen massive improvements in regards to people just eating more on the trail. So ultimately, when it comes down, when most hikers on their adventures are are probably already under eating just a little bit. And if you are in this boat where you're intentionally restricting your eating, if already you may potentially be under eating for what you effectively could be fueling with, and then you're restricting it again, it is going to really affect your hiking.

[5:33] Now at the most, most simple level and the most, you know, non-alarming level, you'll likely just have less energy on the trail. Things will feel harder. Those hills will feel tougher. The pack will feel heavier. You'll feel a little bit slower. And you'll probably just not quite have as much fun. And from my side of things, I always look at hiking through the context of hiking is something we should be enjoying. It's escape for many of us. Many of us go out there to have a good time, to escape from the world, to have mental health benefits, to get that positive challenge or whatever it may be. And in all honesty, it's something that should be as positive as possible. Obviously, there's going to be sometimes challenges on the trail, but we want want to make it as positive as possible.

[6:11] And if you're making things harder than it needs to be, you know, and just not having as much fun, this is not great. Now, that's the most safest and non-alarming side of things. On the more extreme level, you know, I hear countless stories of hikers who really do get themselves into trouble on the trail. And they under-eat, they don't eat enough, and all of a sudden they're, you know, they can't go any further, or they're getting dizzy, or they're getting nauseous, or they're having to stop constantly, or they're just not not concentrating, and they step in a pothole or whatever it may be, and they get themselves into trouble. And essentially, in the end, they either have to rely on friends to help them get out, and then the friends have to carry their pack, or carry them off the trail, or force-feed them food, or whatever it may be. Sometimes it's a case of having to bail out of hikes early, if there's an early exit point, people are like, oh, I've got to leave, or even get them rescued. You know, this does happen. And this happens both in day hikes, multi-day hikes, and big adventures, you know, to different levels of, you know, seriousness, but I hear about this all the time. And there's some people listening might be like, oh, Rowan, you're exaggerating. This doesn't really happen. You know, I don't, you know, I barely eat anything on the trail.

[7:15] And I'm fine all the time. And yeah, people do get away with this all the time. But also there's a lot of people who don't. And you don't hear these stories. People don't like to talk about this so much. But, you know, because this is my full-time job and because I talk to hikers about their struggles every single day, we do hear these stories pop up a bit. it.

[7:33] So ultimately, what I wanted to say today is, you know, if you're a hiker and you're going through a weight loss journey, that's fine. You know, if you've got a reason you're doing that, that's absolutely fine. I'm not turning you away from that. And if you're controlling your calories to aid this journey and help with this journey, that is fine as well. But please, when you're actually hiking, when you're actually out there and actually out on the trail, please make sure you're fueling properly. Keep the calorie restriction to the rest of your week. Do that out intentionally through the rest of the week and fuel your hikes properly. It's such an important thing and it'll play just massive dividends for making sure you're having fun on your hiking and also staying safe on the trail. So I hope that makes sense. I hope that maybe helps a few people maybe be doing this. And I really do hope, you know, maybe it might save a few people from some tricky situations in the future. So thank you so much for listening. I hope you've enjoyed today's episode and we'll talk to you soon. Bye.

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