Living Large Before the Appalachian Trail!

The Prequel

From Tipping Scales 

My name is Adam. I’m in my early 30s and excited for my upcoming NOBO (northbound) journey on the Appalachian Trail! 

A couple of years ago, I took my first trip to the doctor since I was a teenager. My blood pressure was high, and my resting pulse was over 100 BPM. The doctor ran some tests and revealed a fact to me that was elusive but explained my symptoms. 

I was overweight. 

Suddenly, it all made sense. For years, I thought my clothes were becoming increasingly explicit, but it turns out all the Xs were signifying how much bigger the sizes had gotten! I would stand up straight and look for my feet, It seemed that all my piggies had gone to market and were nowhere to be seen; they wouldn’t come home until I sat back down. My furniture was wearing out faster than seemed normal, the sweat that would break out when I got dressed in the morning, and how out of breath stairs would make me; now it was all starting to make sense! 

I’ve been accused of being sarcastic a time or two in my life; I don’t see it personally /s. I couldn’t help but chuckle when the doctor told me that the concerns he had for my health were due to my weight. Obviously, that was the problem, I didn’t need a doctor to tell me that! I had been over 300 pounds for the last 10+ years of my life. But something he did say nearly brought me to tears on my car drive home.  

I’d say it was no sweat, but that’d obviously be a lie! Maryland Heights Overlook Trail, Harpers Ferry, WV

The doctor told me that I was perfectly healthy; I was just heavy. It might sound odd to hear that being told I was healthy was sad, but part of me hoped something was wrong with me and caused the weight. I wanted him to tell me I had some condition or problem that I could blame it on. That didn’t happen. I couldn’t blame the weight on anything but myself. I was the problem. 

To Topping Mountains!

By the time I got home, I decided that if I was the problem, then I was the solution. The doctor had recommended that I get some exercise and try intermittent fasting. I did both. I started hiking. First around town, then out of town, then out of state. Mountains, forests, deserts, rivers, and more! Once I started fasting, and my diet changed in major ways. I was eating healthier than ever. I grew in confidence as I was finally doing things I had always dreamed of doing! 

I am still a heavy person. The way I see it, it took me decades to get this heavy, so I shouldn’t be discouraged when it takes me time to lose weight. That said, I have lost 40ish pounds in the last couple of years and my blood pressure and BPM are better than ever!  

Though I am heavy I am in the best shape of my life. The way I see it, everyone will be exhausted when they hike for days, and maybe I will be more tired than other people. But when they are shaving ounces from their packs, I will be shedding pounds so I might have an advantage in the long run! 

McKittrick Canyon National Park, TX

A Nerd in Part, Stories My Heart

When I like things, I tend to really like them. If I have an opinion about something, it is a strong opinion. What is the point otherwise? If we are lukewarm about things, then we should spit them out and look for something truly satisfying.  

I fully embrace this when it comes to my hobbies. I love TV, reading, video games, dad jokes, hiking, writing, painting miniatures, and talking (is that a hobby?). As an introvert, it takes me a bit to open up but never regret the day of small beginnings for once I get started you will long for the bygone days of awkward silence.  

As time has gone on, I have come to realize that my hobbies are really about stories.  

White Sands National Park, NM

Reason to hike

Waiting Out Life

A few years ago, I looked back on the last several years of my life and found it depressingly lacking in adventure and experience. I had fallen into a routine of going to work, coming home, and then returning to work.   

Even worse was the realization of what the future held for me. Like many other people, I look forward to the weekend. Monday through Thursday, I would look forward to Friday and the weekend to start. I had become Adam Sandler in Click, wanting to fast forward through the workweek so that I could get to the weekend and enjoy my free time!  

It occurred to me that this is a microcosm for life. We go through the week looking forward to the weekend, and we go through life looking forward to retirement. Just like the weekends are all too short, I can’t help but feel retirement will feel the same.  

There has to be more to life than this. Sisyphus was punished by being forced to push a boulder up a mountain where it would roll down the other side; he would repeat this task forever. Yet here I am voluntarily partaking in his punishment in my personal modern way. Not with a boulder, but with meetings, projects, reports, or whatever else is expected.  

Time For My Own Story

As I stated before. I like stories. I want my story to be more than the guy who went to work and waited out life; I want to live it.  

For a long time, I have lived in fear of doing things alone. I was always waiting for someone to adventure with. But my weight-loss journey taught me I needed to stop looking for excuses and instead be the solution.

Hiking and backpacking have opened doors for me to live those experiences and gain those stories I have always wanted. More importantly, they have given me the confidence and independence that I never had before. Two years ago, I was nervous about going to a local walking trail in a park on the edge of town; now, I am just weeks away from starting a solo adventure on the Appalachian Trail. I can only imagine how I will grow from this experience! 

Thank You!

I haven’t shut up about the trip since I decided to go on it. Thank you to my family and friends who have endured my regurgitated facts about the trail and my constant ramblings about how I feel about this trip. Thank you for your interest in following along as I share my journey. Your support and belief in me mean the world to me!