Hiking Has Changed My Life!!!

First, I would like to say Good Morning and Welcome!

This is my first blog and I’m going to be as honest as possible.

I’m 40 years old. I’ve been battling with my weight for most of my life. I maintained a weight of 220lbs throughout high school. After high school, my weight started to increase. By 21, I was 300lbs and diagnosed with high blood pressure. In 2001, I was diagnosed with cellulitis in my right leg and in 2008, it happened in my left leg. You would think by now I would have been ready to do the right thing. By age 32, I was knocking on 400lbs’ door. The doctors kept telling me I need to lose weight or I won’t see 35.

I tried every weight loss plan there is – Jenny Craig, Atkins Diet, South Beach Diet, Slim Fast and even Fucking Trim Spa…lol. They all worked but the effect was temporary. My mind wasn’t ready. In 2008, my doctor suggested that I think about bariatric surgery. I said let’s do it. I was more than qualified for it. All I had to do was undergo a supervised diet for 6 months. I was a shoe in, right? Not exactly. I had to change everything in my life. Was I ready to give up playing video games 8 to 10 hours a day? Whole steak and cheese subs with buffalo wings and fries? Large supreme pizza and 2 or 3 Big Macs? Hell no, I wasn’t!

I could do whatever I wanted until the week of weigh-in. I thought I was slick. I thought I would take a laxative and drink plenty of water and on the day of weigh-in, I would get on the scale and my weight would be down. I was like, “Yes, I’ve figured this out…lol.” You can lie to your doctors, but it only hurts in the end. I did that for 6 months and made the required weight goals. I now had to wait 3 more months to get the surgery date. Low and behold, my weight was now up and I was heavier than I was before the start of the program. I just knew I was cursed. I believed the Almighty stopped the process. I lost my significant other. I went into a state of depression. I didn’t care anymore. I was now 38, single and 497lbs.

My co-workers got fitbits. I said fuck it, I’ll get one too. I started walking getting around 3K to 5K steps a day. I could walk maybe one city block before my lower back started hurting. It would bring me to tears. I said, I can’t keep going like this. It’s either I change now or just give it all up and end it. But there was so much I intended to do in this world. I said let me get my life back.

I stared reading the Bible. I got inspired by CT Fletcher to get my ass in my gym. (If you don’t know who CT Fletcher is, look him up on YouTube). I stated working out in the gym, mostly cardio. The dreadmill hurt my back after 5 minutes. The Arc trainer (Elliptical) became my best friend. I was hitting it for 30 to 45 minutes. I was feeling better about life. I said to myself, let’s try this one more fucking time.

In September 2016, I got into another bariatric surgery program. My surgeon, Dr. Matthew Fitzer of Reston Hospital center, was the greatest. I did everything I was told to do. No cheating this time. My nutrionist Suzanne was also awesome. On April 4, 2017, I had gastric bypass surgery. My weight the day of surgery was 460lbs. My surgeon told me I’d have to start walking and that is was I did. While at home on recovery, I started walking around in my apartment. After about two weeks of being inside, it was time to go outside. I was able to walk around my neighborhood (about one mile) without my back hurting. One month after surgery, my surgeon said I was good to do whatever I wanted to do. So I got back in the gym and jumped on the treadmill. I was able to walk 2 miles in 45 minutes without any pain.

I went back to work and my supervisor suggested that I check out this place called Great Falls. There’s a trail there call the Billy Goat Trail. That trail changed my life. The beauty, the challenge. It was breathtaking. I went to Great Falls 3 times a week learning something new everyday. I stated discovering other trails in the area. I had to give up my tennis shoes for hiking shoes. I traded my walking staff for trekking poles. I’ve became a hiker.

Six months post-surgery, I’ve lost over 150lbs now weighting 335lbs. I wanted a challenge to celebrate my milestone so I found a hiking group. They were hiking up a mountain in George Washington National Forest. I joined them. It was an amazing experience. Six months later, I’m 300lbs and for my milestone challenge, I hiked Old Rag Mountain. It was the most grueling 12 miles I’ve ever done. It took a little over 10 hours to complete. But I did it. 

I'm currently hiking 2 to 3 times a week.
I’m looking forward to start sectional hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Thanks for visiting my site. Much more to come.

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