# Losing several waist sizes without losing weight

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/losing-several-waist-sizes-without-losing-weight/527667>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 4, 2010, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/losing-several-waist-sizes-without-losing-weight/527667 "2010-02-04T13:57:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\
**Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/losing-several-waist-sizes-without-losing-weight/527667/41 "2010-02-05T20:11:18Z")

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> [@Frylock](#):
>
> _Also_, she’s disappointed she’s not losing weight.
> 
> This does not negate the happiness of the shrunken waist. It’s simply a different matter. Her project was to lose weight. Having set forth that project for herself, she is disappointed unless she achieves it.

Tell her to move to a smaller planet. 🙂

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**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\
**Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/losing-several-waist-sizes-without-losing-weight/527667/42 "2010-02-05T21:07:10Z")

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> [@rhubarbarin](#):
>
> When you’re hiking hard core, a water intake of 3 liters daily is what I have seen recommended, with 2 liters as the minimum. That’s far more than my normal intake and would definitely put some water weight on most people.

On a long dayhike on a hot summer day I can drink 7-8 liters of water easy, and still lose weight.

I hike and bike and backcountry ski all the time. I have tree trunk legs. But it takes a long time (and the proper genetics) to get that way. There is simply no way to build leg muscles like that in a two week span. And while hiking is a great workout and will eventually build your legs, it doesn’t really compare to dedicated weight training (squats, lunges, etc) when trying to build muscles. That’s why the professional athletes who do that stuff add weight training because it’s really the only way to achieve peak fitness.

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