Preamble

Backstory. A very literal back story in this case.

In 2012 I did something to my back that caused a disc to slip and get stuck in my nerve bundle causing a great deal of pain in my back and my left leg. It also resulted in my putting on a bit of weight.  I say a bit because I had already put on some weight before the back pain started so I won't blame all the weight gain on that. After a year of shots and pills and more shots and more pills and that bit of weight gain I mentioned previously I decided enough was enough.  I mean you can only have so many giant needles shoved into your spine before you decide you don't want any more needles anywhere near you or your nerves.  You could say my nerves were shot at that point! In the summer of 2013 I decided that surgery was the way to go.  I was still hiking up till a few days before my surgery and I was asked many times how I could be hiking with a bad back.  My answer was simple, it hurt either way so I might as well enjoy the scenery and be in pain versus sitting around focusing on just the pain. At this point I was tipping the scales at a whopping 240 pounds, so clearly I had been sitting around focusing on the pain more than I was out hiking but I tired to get out as much as I physically could.

After the surgery, that was pretty successful, my doctor recommend walking and general exercise to tighten up my core and hold those pesky back discs in place. It was by no means a speedy recovery and I honestly admit I didn't really give it my all that first year. Sure, I would try to hike every so often and go for walks but I had only dropped 10 pounds over that first year. Then one random Wednesday in June of 2014 I came to the realization that no one was going to do this for me and if I wanted to avoid having another back surgery I had to do something and I had to do it now.  I started by heading down to a local trail that runs along a river and I started jogging.  I only lasted maybe a quarter of a mile before I had to stop and walk but I had made up my mind, I was going to do a 5k until I could do one running the whole way.  It took me a while to reach that goal but I kept doing that 5k route, 3 times a week, slowly adding onto the distance I could run without taking a walking break. By the end of the summer I was running the whole route, it wasn't fast but I didn't care about time.  I was doing this for me and I only had to compete with myself.

When winter came around I switched to an indoor exercise program and I plateaued at around 220 pounds but I stuck to my exercise plan and would make sure I fit in a least 3 nights a week and an hike on the weekend when I could.  At this point the hikes in the mountains were good for my soul and my overall well being that I knew I would never be able to give them up.  But at the same time I wanted to get into better shape so I could explore more of the mountains and not feel limited by my overweight status. It was time I joined a gym with a trainer to show me how to  do things properly and get better results. Plus I am one of those people who likes to get what they pay for and I was paying a chunk of change for this so that would be good motivation.  That was in September of last year and its has almost been a full year since I started going to the gym and I am happy to report that I am now at a healthy 185 pounds, give or take a cheeseburger!

What is the point of all this rambling you might ask?  It is this: You have to do things for yourself, no one else is going to do it for you.  Sure you might have a great support system of family and friends that will encourage you along the way but they can't get out there and get healthy for you.  You have to put in the effort, the sweat, the pain and more sweat, all on your own.  But you know what else I found out during this whole process? I can do hard things and I can do them on my own. Now I am not saying I was alone for all of this and I have had a great support system in place but when it comes down to it I made the decision to change and no one could do it for me and I could only hold myself accountable, good or bad.  I chose the good and am glad I did.  It has opened up a whole new world of adventure and opportunity and that is what I will be blogging about from here on out.

-e