I lost 6kg in 12 Weeks by Hiking in Lockdown

So you're into walking and want to lose some of that stubborn weight? If you're like me, you probably spend most of your time sat in an office, or at least on a computer and you try and utilise time after work or at weekends to get up your steps and exercise levels.

Well, the good news is that you don't have to make too many drastic changes to lose stubborn belly fat and make sure that you're keeping yourself healthy, even in these strange times!

As a bit of background about me, I'm 30, currently sat at 92kg, 6 foot 1 (when the sun is shining) and have always generally worked an office job. I'd say that I'm moderately active during the week, much of my weight is owing to muscle mass as I'm a part time weightlifter too. However, I like my food. I often joke with my Fiancee that if I could make money by eating pizza, I'd rule the world.

At the beginning of the year, I decided to monitor my progress with weight loss and get serious about walking and making the most of the beautiful country I have around me. When Covid-19 unfortunately hit, I moved to remote working through my job. 

My gym closed down and during lockdown, I pretty much spent every single hour of the day in the house. My mental health waned a little and I started putting on weight, as I was still eating my normal diet but not getting in any weightlifting or even usual exercise going up and down the stairs at work.

My days prior to my path to lose 6kg in 12 weeks through Hiking:

Starting Weight - 98kg

Diet pattern –

Breakfast (7am) - Always 3 slices of toast, generally with 2 eggs, or alone with peanut butter

Snack (9am)– Chocolate or flap jack

Lunch (12pm) - Pasta with stir in sauce. Bag of crisps and Lemonade

Snack (4pm) - Protein Shake with bag of crisps and an apple

Dinner (8pm) - Usually various fast foods, pizza, burgers, lasagne etc (all the good stuff!)

Exercise plan - 

N/A. Small home weights available, walking only once at weekends, for the 1 hour the Government allowed due to lockdown restrictions

The plan to lose 6kg in 12 weeks by Hiking

So, below is my diary of weight loss across the 12 weeks and everything that I did each month. 

June - Weight 98kg

Diet Pattern

Breakfast (7am) - 1x Multiseed Bread, 1x Large egg, ½ Avocado and a large glass of water

Snack (9am) - 1x Myprotein Clear Whey Protein shake with water (1 scoop)

Lunch (12pm) - Various Tesco soups, usually Chicken based with vegetables, Basmati or Vegetable rice and a large glass of water

Snack (4pm) - 1x Apple and a large glass of water

Dinner (7pm) - Various. Ensure at least 1 good protein source, usually I ate Chicken or Beef and either Pasta or Rice with Vegetables (usually Tesco Mixed veg)

Exercise Plan

Monday - Friday

6:45am - Prior to Breakfast, gentle mobility work with foam roller for 10 minutes, followed by a 5 minute abdominal circuit

Every hour on the hour - 10 repetitions of stair climbs

4pm - Following work, 10 minute Bodyweight circuit (20 seconds on, 10 seconds off, repeat for 10 minutes):

Saturday - Sunday

· 10 Mile Hike

July - Weight 96kg

Diet pattern

Breakfast (7am) - 1x Multiseed Bread, 1x Large egg, ½ Avocado and a large glass of water

Snack (9am) - 1x Myprotein Clear Whey Protein shake with water (2 scoops)

Lunch (12pm) - Various Tesco soups, usually Chicken based with vegetables, Basmati or Vegetable rice and a large glass of water OR Grilled chicken with Vegateables and Rice

Snack (4pm) - 1x Apple and a large glass of water

Dinner (7pm) - Various. Ensure at least 1 good protein source, usually I ate Chicken or Beef and either Pasta or Rice with Vegetables (usually Tesco Mixed veg)

Exercise Plan

Monday - Friday

6:45am - Prior to Breakfast, gentle mobility work with foam roller for 10 minutes, followed by a 5 minute abdominal circuit

Every hour on the hour - 10 repetitions of stair climbs

4pm - Following work, 10 minute Bodyweight circuit (30 seconds on, 15 seconds off, repeat for 10 minutes)

Saturday - Sunday

· 15 Mile Hike

August - Weight 93kg

Diet pattern

Breakfast (7am) - 1x Multiseed Bread, 1x Large egg, ½ Avocado and a large glass of water

Snack (9am) - 1x Myprotein Clear Whey Protein shake with water (2 scoops)

Lunch (12pm) - Various Tesco soups, usually Chicken based with vegetables, Basmati or Vegetable rice and a large glass of water OR Grilled chicken with Vegateables and Rice

Snack (4pm) - 1x Apple 1x Myprotein Clear Whey Protein shake with water (2 scoops)

Dinner (7pm) - Various. Ensure at least 1 good protein source, usually I ate Chicken or Beef and either Pasta or Rice with Vegetables (usually Tesco Mixed veg)

Exercise Plan

Monday - Friday

6:45am - Prior to Breakfast, gentle mobility work with foam roller for 10 minutes, followed by a 5 minute abdominal circuit

Every hour on the hour - 10 repetitions of stair climbs

4pm - Following work, 12 minute Bodyweight circuit (45 seconds on, 15 seconds off, repeat for 10 minutes):

Saturday - Sunday

· 15 Mile Hike

End Weight - 91kg 

Notes:

· Diet - I tried to vary my vegetables and meal accompaniments as much as possible to avoid them getting tedious and boring. I also made use of a cheat day, which I always had on Saturday. I didn't track a single Calorie on this day and used it pretty much to eat Pizza

· Home Exercise - As you'll see, I increased my exercise circuit time and move about the rest to accommodate, it's important that you create a progressive overload when training, otherwise your body will get used to your work output and your weight loss will stall.

· Hiking - I have a few great Hikes around me with varied landscapes. Try and make the most of any routes that have some elevation to them, so you're not just walking flat land all the time.

· Supplements - I have always and will always take a multivitamin every morning. You should try and encourage yourself to get as much of your daily vitamin in take from your food as possible as it'll mean that you're selecting from a wide variety of fruit, veg and meats.

How I tracked my progress

· MyFitnessPal - Many people will recommend this. It's an app which will pretty much hold your hand throughout your entire weight loss journey. You simply plug in the name of everything that you eat (it saves your favourites so you only have to do this once for each item) and it'll count the calories and all the nutritional information of what you are taking in. The goal is quite literally to stick to the Calorie goal that you are set for your current vs target weight.

· Fitbit - I absolutely love the use of Fitbits when Hiking. If you're interested in tracking the steps that you take whilst climbing Snowdon or want to know the Calories burned for a 10 mile walk, a Fitbit will be your go to. Especially for this particular challenge, I wanted to be sure that I was setting myself a distance goal, rather than going on feel because, believe me, I had days (especially in the pouring rain) where I would have happily given up after a few miles of walking.

Useful Tips for losing 6kg in 12 weeks

As I've not gone into too much detail with my methodology for my exercise and food regime, I thought I'd break it down a little further for you. The basic function of the human body is stability through something called Homeostasis.

Homeostasis is effectively the balance that the human body aims to achieve as an ideal. For example, when you are cold, you will begin to shiver and your hair stands on end in an attempt to warm the body. This is also what occurs in dieting.

Most diets fail as a result of Homeostasis. This is because, if you continue with absolutely no variance to your diet and don't progressively make your workouts, or walks, harder, your body will become accustomed to a lower calorie intake or the same amount of exercise. At this point, most weight loss will plateau and make you question why you are following the diet.

How to avoid weight loss plateaus

If your weight loss does begin to stall, it's important that you change some of the habit that you follow. This can be done in a number of ways, including:

· Progressive Overload - Generally thought of in weightlifting terms as adding weight to increase resistance. But this carries over to Hiking. Increasing the distance or the elevations in Hiking will help you to overcome your weight loss stalling.

· Diet Variance - Try not to eat the same exact food for every meal. Not only will this help you to stay on track but it will mean that you body is supplied with a great deal of different nutrients

· Cheat Days/Meals - What it says on the tin. You can pretty much eat what you want for a day, or for a meal. This will help you to keep on track with your diet as you are rewarding yourself for the regimented diet that you follow during the week. This will also help to keep you

· Focus on week to week goals - The idea of losing 6kg over a 12 week span can seem daunting. Many people will lose motivation with natural fluctuations over the time period and ultimately give up. Re think this by weighing yourself every week and try and set yourself a goal for the next 7 days. If you set yourself shorter term goals, it'll go a long way to keep you on track