Renee Miller and Tim Beissinger (better known as the @ThruHikers) are always down for an adventure. Back in 2022 they decided to do something different, documenting a big trip through a canoeing and hiking route called the Pacific Northwest Circuit (PNC). In just 106 days, they covered over 2,700 miles, all while sharing their journey with an avid TikTok audience of over two million people.
The couple did not hold back any details. They thoroughly explained how they planned and dehydrated their meals, how they crossed streams and carried their canoe, and even how Miller managed her period while on the trail.
These videos proved incredibly informative, but one of the couple's most popular videos from this time was a TikTok detailing exactly how their bodies changed throughout their journey. In the October 2022 TikTok, Miller and Beissinger explain what happened to their bodies after exercising for an average of nine hours and 15 minutes per day for three and a half months straight. The video has since amassed over seven million views and one million likes. Read on to get all the details, plus some of the couple's biggest takeaways.
What Exercise Did They Do?
After watching the two take on such an immense physical challenge, more than one commenter wanted to know: "How much weight did you lose?" So, Miller and Beissinger detailed exactly how that much exercise changed their bodies - and their message was beyond refreshing. "A lot of people asked if we lost weight - that was a common question we got on our videos," Miller tells PS. "But we realized it was more than just weight loss. Our bodies were changing."
"It was more than just weight loss. Our bodies were changing."Miller and Beissinger's PNC route first involved hiking about 1,600 miles across 72.5 days, from northwest Washington State up into Canada (that's about 20 miles per day). Then, they paddled a canoe back along the entire Columbia River out to the Pacific Ocean, covering about 1,200 miles in another 33.5 days (about 35 miles per day).
What Was Their Diet Like?
"Something else we've documented on both of these hikes, that a lot of people on TikTok watched, was how much we eat in a day when we're out there," Beissinger tells PS. "This is not a weight-loss trip; it's more of an eat-everything-in-sight trip," he adds, estimating that he was eating about 4,000 calories every day just to fuel the journey physically. In the beginning, Beissinger and Miller say they struggled to eat enough. At first, the sheer amount of exercise makes you less hungry, Beissinger says. But "after two months of being out there, you're just always hungry and always needing more," Miller says.
How Did Their Bodies Change?
The couple detailed how walking for so long flattened their feet (they were both a full shoe size bigger by the end); how being outside gave them tans despite wearing sunscreen; how bushwhacking left them with random cuts and bruises; and how walking and paddling gave them blisters, then calluses on their feet and hands.
They also acknowledged that, over the course of their journey, they both lost almost all of their body fat and "started looking pretty scrawny," as Beissinger says in the TikTok. But they built muscle, too. First in their legs while they were mostly hiking, then in their arms during the canoe portion of the trip.
After about a week of paddling, Beissinger says he actually shocked himself while changing his shirt. "There was this giant growth on my arm, which was my muscle," Beissinger laughs. "I felt like a muscle man. It really surprised me when I realized my muscles were growing in directions that they've never grown in before." Ultimately, they both came home just five pounds lighter, since they'd lost a lot of body fat but gained a lot of muscle.
What Happened Afterwards?
The two were careful to point out that these changes weren't permanent. "Now, we're both back at work sitting in front of computers all day. It's unrealistic to maintain the bodies we've built, but we try to stay fit between trips by exercising outdoors at least once a day," Beissinger said on TikTok.
Still, the Thru Hikers say their transition back to desk jobs wasn't easy. "There's a phenomenon that people call the 'post-trail blues', which is when you switch from being out on one of these super long-distance trails," Beissinger says. "You're just so happy. It's so fun. And then normal life can feel mundane and tedious."
He was still going through this adjustment period as of November 2022. "When you hike 25 miles a day every day, you always feel like you've accomplished something," Beissinger says. "At work, some days I feel like I've accomplished something, and other days, I feel like I didn't. That's just part of life, but it can be hard getting used to that again."
And yes, losing his muscle-man physique since returning has been sad . . . but it was also expected. "It's fun to feel like a superhero when it comes to fitness," Beissinger says. "But as we said in that video, we accept that that's not realistic and that's not a good ideal to strive for because we can't - nobody can - look like they're at their peak fitness 365 days of the year."
Takeaways
The couple's candid approach to the weight-loss question is refreshing. Especially when you consider all the fitfluencers telling us that exercise needs to be, first and foremost, a tool for weight loss. The Thru Hikers' message serves as a reminder that, for many people, movement is not just a way to change your physique. In fact, it can (and should) be fulfilling in and of itself. Not to mention, bodies will fluctuate (as will your activity level), and that's OK. You don't even have to hike 2,700+ miles to know that.
- Additional reporting by Chandler Plante
Lauren Mazzo was the senior fitness editor at PS. She is a certified personal trainer and fitness nutrition specialist through the American Council on Exercise. Chandler Plante (she/her) is an assistant health and fitness editor for PS. She has over four years of professional journalism experience, previously working as an editorial assistant for People magazine and contributing to Ladygunn, Millie, and Bustle Digital Group. Related: Marathon Guides Are Giving Athletes of All Abilities the Chance to Run on Equal Footing Read More Details
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