One of the things I haven’t talked about a lot on this blog is my physical condition. So let’s talk about that.
The Past
I’ve always been big. When I was born, I was 10 lb, 9 oz, 21 inches long. And for those that are invariably going to ask, yes, I was born via C-section.
For school pictures, I was always in the back row in the middle. I was always solid, but never really severely “overweight” until the end of high school when I began experiencing some ongoing emotional trauma. I started stress eating, coping with food as so many do and I started packing on the pounds.
The stress never stopped once I graduated and I kept eating my feelings. It got to the point where I eventually ballooned up to 420 pounds. Now, granted, I admittedly carry my weight pretty well. I don’t think I ever looked like I weighed 420 pounds but I certainly felt it. I started having back and knee pain, I dealt with fatigue and started having trouble sleeping.
For years and years, and years and years, I was addicted to soda. Never diet soda, always full sugar soda. Not only did that contribute to the weight issues, but it also was a detriment to my teeth. I dealt with cavities constantly while growing up.
I stayed relatively healthy though. Sure, cholesterol was a bit of a worry, the blood pressure was a tad higher than it should have been, but I avoided diabetes and never got to a point where I needed chronic medication for anything.
My Declining Health
At some point in my adult life, after I moved to New Mexico in 2006, probably around 2008 or 2009, I was told I might have a problem with my thyroid, that my TSH came back undetectable, that I should see an endocrinologist.
Of course, being the proud, young man I was, I decided against following that medical advice.
Fast forward 4 or 5 years to June 2013. I was in the middle of a divorce where my son was being taken from me and I was stuck in a house I wasn’t going to be able to afford on my own. Between the stress and my physical condition, it wasn’t any wonder that I started experiencing chest pains.
I went to the emergency room where I was rushed in and taken for a chest x-ray (fun fact, I am so big-boned that chest x-rays have to be done on two films,) I was hooked up to an EKG and blood was drawn. After what seemed like an interminable amount of time, a doctor came in and said he saw no trauma to the heart, the EKG looked fine, but my troponin levels were a little high.
High troponin levels are an indicator of a heart attack but since there was no other evidence of a heart attack occurring, he suggested it might just be GERD, or Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, which apparently can also trigger a response in troponin levels.
Heartburn.
He prescribed a high dose antacid and sent me on my way.
That was a wake up call. Rushing to the ER thinking I was having a heart attack, at 38? I had to do something. I committed to eating better and exercising.
Did I?
No.
Ask any overweight person how many times they made that same commitment. Sure, some do make that promise and actually follow through with it, but I guarantee, they went through the same round of broken promises before they found success.
I continued to eat like crap, drink crazy amounts of soda and not exercise.
Until February 20, 2014.
The Big One
Well, it wasn’t that big.
I had a heart attack. I had called in sick to work because the “GERD” was so bad overnight, I didn’t sleep. The antacid wasn’t helping. The pain got worse and worse until I finally relented and admitted I was having a heart attack.
I had my then-girlfriend call 911. Paramedics were at the door in no time. They loaded me onto a gurney and gave me a nitroglycerin pill and I immediately felt better. They carted me off to the hospital where I was rushed into a procedure room, my groin was shaved and they inserted a cardiac catheter into my wrist… wait. Why did they shave my groin then? I asked, they said just in case they were unable to get in through the wrist.
I was still hurting, though not as much as before the nitro. They inserted the cardiac catheter and a stent was placed.
Now, I would never, under any circumstances, recommend a heart attack to anyone. It’s not a fun time at all. That said, I’ve never in my life, before or since, felt relief like I did the instant they inflated that balloon and put that stent into my coronary artery.
The heart attack was mild enough to where I was discharged two days later, but I was told to stay home from work for another week.
When I went into the hospital, I weighed in at 406 pounds. I was, however prescribed medications for my blood pressure and cholesterol, and told to take a baby aspirin every day and I was told that I have sleep apnea so I needed to get a sleep study done.
Again, did I do it?
No.
Trying to Not Try
The pattern continued. I’d get all amped up about losing weight, I’d diet, I’d exercise, join a gym, stop going, join Weight Watchers, see amazing success, think “I’ve got this” and stop going, and gain it all back again.
It’s a never ending cycle. I needed something different.
My then-girlfriend would say, “Let’s go take a walk.” We’d walk through the neighborhood and I’d be absolutely bored to tears. I hated walking on concrete, through neighborhoods. These walks would never last. I’d dread going then eventually just stop going altogether.
My girlfriend was not a lot of help either. She’d get frustrated that she wasn’t seeing the results I was seeing and she herself would quit. I wouldn’t want to do it by myself, so I’d quit.
We’d do meal planning for a few weeks then get tired of cooking and would go out to eat. That would turn into several days in a row and we’d be right back where we’d started.
And of course, I always tried to lay the blame elsewhere. Cost, lack of support, time… you name it, I probably tried to used it as an excuse to stop.
It went like this for about four more years with absolutely nothing to show for it.
A Journey of a Thousand Miles…
After I broke up with her, I decided to do things for me for a change. After taking some time to move, get settled, move again, get settled again, move AGAIN, get settled AGAIN, I was finally in a position to start down the path to recovery, physically and emotionally.
I took my first hike EVER on December 5, 2020. I’d downloaded AllTrails and searched for short, easy hikes close to me. I finally landed on the Copper Trailhead Loop, a loop that originates just off of Tramway in the foothills of the Sandias in Albuquerque. It’s a 1.3 mile loop with a 154 foot elevation gain that took me close to 40 minutes to achieve.
As I write this, I pulled up the write up of that hike to grab the URL to link it above. While I was there, I read what I wrote about it and am astounded at how far I’ve come. I wrote that I had to stop three times on the initial climb to catch my breath. That first ascent climbs 130 feet in a quarter mile. The grade doesn’t break double digits until about the last 500 feet of that climb and only tops out at 15%. My how far I’ve come.
Where I’m At Now
At the time of this writing, I’m 46 years old. I’ll be 47 in November. At that time, it will be official that I will be in my late forties.
I am around 6’4″ and my last weigh-in, I was 350 pounds.
Since I started hiking, I’ve lost around 60 pounds, I’ve gone down at least one shirt size.
I was wearing 4XL in December 2020; in August 2021, I went to JC Penney to try on a smaller size and tried on a 3XL shirt. Not only did it fit but I’m convinced (perhaps in a fit of delusion) that I could fit into a 2XL.
Before, I always wore my pants under my gut. I’ve worn 50×32 pants for as long as I can remember. Recently I’ve been able to tuck the gut into my pants and wear them around my waist rather than around my hips. On that same visit to JC Penney, I tried on a pair of 48×32 pants around the waist and they fit!
Not only am I getting smaller, but I’m getting stronger too. The hikes I’m taking are longer and more strenuous. When looking for hikes on AllTrails, I search for moderate hikes now instead of just easy. I’m not scared of hikes longer than two miles, our four miles, or six miles.
The hike I took August 21, 2021 saw a fairly similar elevation profile in the first quarter mile as my first hike at Copper Trailhead, but started over 4,000 feet higher than my first hike, and I barely noticed the incline last weekend.
There’s a slight uphill climb to the parking garage at my work. I used to get winded walking up that little hill every day. I just noticed the other day that I cruise up that hill now.
On a recent trip to Soda Dam with Ash, I was able to pull myself up a 7 foot wall to climb out of the Jemez River. Sure, I found a foot hold, but still, I needed two Marines to hoist me out of an M1 Abrams tank at one point.
Sure, the weight loss is great and all, but gaining strength and stamina is just as important, as far as I’m concerned.
In addition to the weight loss and added strength and stamina, I’ve also noticed some other improvements in my health.
I used to get this shooting, burning pain through my thigh when on my feet for too long. I never got it diagnosed, but I suspect it had something to do with my sciatic nerve. I haven’t experienced that pain in a long time.
I used to get this terrible swelling in my ankles, particularly my left ankle. Since I’ve been more active, I haven’t seen any of that swelling.
The chronic back pain is all but gone (still have bouts with acute pain though, after carrying my day pack on big hikes, but that I suppose can be expected.)
And my labs are improving. My cholesterol is getting better (just need to improve my HDL) and my blood pressure is in great shape (my doc wants to adjust my dosage soon!)
What’s Next?
It seems I’ve asked myself this question on numerous occasions in the past, but that’s how I am now. I’m always wondering, what’s next?
Well, I will tell you, I do have a few things in mind.
- White Water Rafting – On our recent camping trip up to the Red River area, I passed by several groups rafting down the river that follows the highway. I’d seen rafting guides getting ready for the season on our first trip to Crested Butte, and have wanted to do it ever since.
- Scrambling – After climbing that wall at Soda Dam, I’ve been wanting to try my hand at some rock scrambling. There is a rock climbing gym near my apartment; I’m going to have to investigate that a little more.
- Snowshoeing – I mean… hiking, in the snow? Why not?!
- Summiting – This one is on a very near future list. I want to reach the highest peak in a mountain range. The highest peak in the Sandias is very easily accessible via a trail rated as Easy by AllTrails. That very well be my next hike.
- Zip-Lining – This one is going to be a little more difficult. Most zip lines I’ve seen have a weight limit of 250 pounds which means I’m going to have to lose another hundred pounds to get onto these bad boys.
Make sure you check out my To-Do List for more!
Diet Counts Too
Of course, it isn’t just the hiking that’s help with my health. I’ve been much more particular about what I eat. I’ve almost completely eliminated processed foods from my day to day diet, I shop mostly around the perimeter of the store, almost all fresh foods: fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy, deli… I only pick up a few staples from the middle of the store, and NO frozen foods at all (except the occasional pint of ice cream.) I cook almost every night except when I’m too tired, or if I’m out and about.
I do have fits where I just don’t feel like cooking for a day or two and yes, I will have a soda from time to time, but it’s nowhere near what I used to consume. I drink SO much water now.
Conclusion
I never set out to be an inspiration for anyone (not to say that I’m against it, that just wasn’t my goal) but Alan has told me a couple of times how inspired he is by me and my newfound insistence on doing what I want.
And after the response I got on a recent post I made on a hiking group on Facebook, it seems I’ve inspired at least a couple more people.
To anyone that happens upon my little corner of the internet, I welcome you. I am not an expert in anything by any means. I’m just a humble dude from Albuquerque that has found his new purpose in life and am trying to feel my way through it. If you find anything here that’s inspired you, or if you just want to talk, or if you’re a pro and have any tips or tricks you’d like to share, please, feel free to shoot me an e-mail to WanderingNewMexican@gmail.com, or leave a comment below. I’d love to hear from you!
And as always, thanks for stopping by. I appreciate you!
-Phil