More steps

My weekly average number of steps has increased recently to the point where I did more than 70,000 steps in both of the last two weeks:

> 70,000 steps in both the past two weeks

Big changes coming up - trying to sustain the momentum

People who know me will know that my last blog post was carefully worded: "Moving again", and "coal train from eastern Montana"!? More details will be published soon enough, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that I'm leaving Helena at the end of September. I've handed in my notice at work and told my landlord that I'll be vacating my apartment. The wheels are in motion! 

I moved here to Helena on the Labor Day weekend back in 1996, and was fortunate enough to get a job within four days. Life has been a rollercoaster ride of ups and down, but mostly ups, ever since (buying a house, the birth of my daughter, a few job changes, divorce, moving house a few times, new relationships, etc.) Especially in the past 14 months, almost all  the changes have been good ones. 

I've managed to lose 122 pounds in 14 months (405 lbs down to 283 lbs). My waist size has gone from a shocking 60" to a not quite so shocking 48". I used to struggle to find decent clothing to wear. Last week I bought my first pairs on non-5XL non-sweatpants. When I'm in a car, I can do the seatbelt up without needing an extension. When I'm in a restaurant, I can fit in the booths now - I don't need a table. Whereas I used to only be able to walk a city block, now I can regularly walk 8 and 10 miles in a day. I've climbed Mount Helena three separate times in the past three months - that's three more times than in the previous 19 3/4 years of living here! My average weekly number of steps has increased from 35,000 to 70,000+. 

Now, a new phase is about to begin. I want to find a new job, preferably one that is not sitting behind a desk all day. I want to be able to share the gifts that I have (knowledge, wisdom, experience, compassion, love, inspiration, etc.) and thereby enrich the lives of other people. At the same time, I have to maintain my own progress. I know I'm only half way there yet... I still need to lose another 105 lbs. I still want to fit into 36" waist pants (I haven't done that in 25 years). I still have lots of other goals and stepping stones along the way. 

My third time at the summit of Mount Helena (August 27th, 2016)

Eastern Montana will certainly be quite different from the more picturesque mountains of western Montana. Thinking about the positives, it'll make cycling a lot easier. I'll be able to develop those leg muscles more steadily. My former plan: to ride a bike from Helena to Portland, might need to be changed or postponed until another year. A quick-and-dirty calculation says that from Sidney, MT, to Glacier Park is about 487 miles, along US-2 (the Hi-Line). That would still be a good challenge!

283 - moving again

After bouncing up and down around the 284 lb mark, I'm finally moving in a downward direction again. This morning I weighed in at 283.2 lbs. Yesterday I walked 21,000+ steps (10 miles), and most of them were in the 90 °F hot sun. At one point, I was stuck on National Avenue in Helena, waiting for a hulking long coal train from eastern Montana to clear the crossing. Kind of an appropriate metaphor, really (making good headway, then stopping, but ultimately moving on).

Astute readers of this blog will know that those words were carefully chosen  ;-)

I'm still very much alive

Have I really only posted one blog post in the past month? What's happening? Well, dear reader, it's the plan coming to fruition! I'm spending more time doing the things that are important, and less time in front of my computer(s). About two months ago (maybe ten weeks now), I disconnected my home Internet. For a guy who works with technology (more on that in a moment) that was a radical step. Suddenly, there was nothing for my Chromebook and my laptop and my two Raspberry Pis and my Amazon Echo ("Alexa, I love you!") and my cloud-connected printer and my music and file server to connect to. So I turned most of them off and packed them away. "You're fired!"

An unintended consequence was that my power bill was $30 lower than normal last month!

I've been able to get back into my reading and writing hobbies. I've started watercolor painting again. I'm beginning to get a life back, and it feels great.

I'm sad that the darker (longer) nights are returning. Whereas it used to be light until almost 10 pm (22:00) here, it's now dark before 9 pm (21:00). I guess I won't have to feel odd any more that I'm going to bed while it's still light outside, huh?

I recently acquired a proper, powerful headlight for my bike. It's just annoying that people are so untrustworthy that I have to remove my bicycle pump and tools and lights every time I leave my bike in public. Nobody has stolen the seat yet, but I'm sure that'll happen one of these days too.

284.6 lb

I did hit a new low weight recently, 284.2 lbs (although the photo was from four days earlier, when I was 284.6 lbs). I've been slowly adding back more carbs to my diet as I attempt to increase the amount of fiber. It's a tricky balance - too much fiber/carbs and the weight loss stops or reverses, too little and I'm eating lettuce ten times a week :(

I've seen some good blood pressure readings recently. After months of 140/95 or thereabouts, my last few readings have all been around 110/65, with my resting pulse rate down to 64 as well.

I made another successful summit of Mount Helena last weekend.

Chris atop Mount Helena - July 30th, 2016

I got up super early, walked the two miles from my apartment to the foot of the mountain in the dark (with a head lamp), then climbed up the 1906 Trail and down the Powerline Trail (hard work on the thighs) before the hot sun came up.

This coming weekend I'm going to attempt Mount Sentinel ("the M") in Missoula. I've been contemplating moving there some time. Maybe the time is now? Maybe it's next spring? Perhaps it won't happen. I don't know yet.

There's more to report, but it'll have to wait until another time.

Cycling may lower your risk of Type 2 Diabetes

My new bicycle helmet should be here later this week, and the lock to secure it. Then I'll be riding around town more often myself. In the meantime, here was some good news about bike riding:

Cycling rather than driving may help lower the risk for type 2 diabetes, a new study suggests. Research from the University of Southern Denmark showed that people who cycle to work or regularly cycle for recreation were less likely to get type 2 diabetes, even for those who had taken up the sport late in life.

The study involved over 50,000 Danish men and women between the ages of 50 and 65. The researchers evaluated the participants’ cycling activities and found that those who biked regularly were less likely to develop type 2 diabetes. The more the participants cycled, the lower their risk for the disease became, the study said. 

http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002076

286 - goal reached, six days late

286.6 lb (130 kg)

A while ago I published my list of monthly goal - target weights that I wanted to achieve by the end of each month. My target for the end of June was to reach 286 lbs, which I missed. Six days later, I made it!

Now, my next goal is to be under 277 lbs by the end of July. I'm feeling pretty good about that. After being stuck on a plateau for three weeks, I've suddenly started moving downward again, doing pretty much the same thing as I had been doing all along; trying to keep portion sizes under control and avoiding too many carbs.

2/27/2016   321 lbs
3/30/2016   312 lbs
4/30/2016   303 lbs
5/11/2016   300 lbs
5/31/2016   294 lbs
6/28/2016   286 lbs
7/30/2016   277 lbs
8/30/2016   268 lbs

I had a great July 4th holiday weekend. I had my moment of enlightenment about becoming an athlete, and I finally paid attention when a dear friend from Wyoming told me to read The Mediterranean Zone, by Dr Barry Sears (https://smile.amazon.com/Mediterranean-Zone-Healthiest-Superior-Longevity/dp/0804179174/ You do Smile, don't you?) In a sentence, it's about reducing diet-induced cellular inflammation by switching from Omega-6 rich fats to Omega-3 rich fats (extra virgin olive oil, for example), and consuming lots of colorful vegetables to get an adequate supply of polyphenols. I'm doing most of that already, with great results (118 lbs in 12½ months), but I can do even better. The good news is that if I can do it, so can almost anyone! 

Another moment of enlightenment - become an "Athlete"

From time to time I have the good fortune to have these moments of enlightenment, almost literally like a lightbulb lighting up above my head, shining and lighting the way forward. Suddenly, everything becomes really clear. Or, more accurately, one particular thing or aspect of my life becomes really clear. It's like being able to see into the future - being able to visualize things that are going to happen. It used to happen sometimes when I was swimming, in the days when I swam five (very early) mornings a week. With no distractions, my mind was free to roam and explore.

Without that "vision", we have no way of imagining what success looks like. Without being able to picture things in our minds, life is just happening to us and we are just passive bystanders. When I see myself standing on top of a mountain, for example, that is one of the things that spurs me on and drives me towards success and ultimate victory. I want to be an ACTIVE participant in life. After this morning's revelation (imagine the Shaolin monk in the 1970s TV show Kung Fu, saying, "Ahh, Grasshopper..."), I am determined to be the athlete that I once was (when I was in my 20s), even if it takes me a couple of years to get there.

I had been listening to the Rich Roll podcast (http://www.richroll.com/category/podcast/), where Rich has conversations with leaders in the fields of health and welness, fitness, nutrition, art, entertainment, entrepreneurship and spirituality. This week's guest was Colin O'Brady (http://beyond72.com), who completed the Explorers Grand Slam, scaling the highest mountain on each of the seven continents and treks to both the North and South Poles, in record time (139 days). At one point in the two hour podcast, Colin mentioned the word "Athlete", and it struck me like a bell. That's what I need to become (again).

In my youth, and even in early adulthood, I had been very active. I run (yes, for fun!) and swam and played field hockey and badminton and squash. Recently, the only squash was when I accidentally sat on something! After years (nae, decades) of gaining weight and losing some, and gaining more and losing a little, my life had become super sedentary. ... Anyway, I'm determined, now, to do something about that.

55:30 minutes for the 5K.
A good baseline.

At this point, I want to take a moment to say Thank You to my ex-wife, Lea. She invited me to take part in the Governor's Cup 5K in Helena three weeks ago. I didn't run, but I did walk at a average 3.3 mph pace for the 3.1 miles. Holy cow, it was tough, but she was encouraging me all the way. Afterwards, I figured my time of 55:30 minutes was a good base from which to measure future progress. I can imagine doing some more 5 Km runs in the future (with real, proper running). I can even foresee the day, maybe in a year of two, when I tackle a half marathon or a full 26.2 miles. When I was younger, and living in England, I had always dreamed that my first would be the Robin Hood marathon in Nottingham (http://www.robinhoodhalfmarathon.co.uk) at the end of September. Or I could do the Reading Half Marathon (http://www.readinghalfmarathon.com) in mid-March. It's been nearly nine years since I last visited England.

I also want to thank Lea for doing such a great job raising our daughter, Birdie, of whom I am incredibly proud. She has turned into such a thoughtful young woman with the wisdom and maturity of someone twice her age. I salute you both for the lifestyle changes you've made and the health benefits that have accrued to you. Amazing what a vegetarian/vegan diet can do! Even Murphy, the dog (good old boy) has seen improvements.

I was reminded of a book which I've had for ten years on my bookshelf, but never actually read; "Fit for Life: Reach Your Personal Best", by British explorer and holder of several endurance records, Ranulph Fiennes (https://www.amazon.com/Fit-Life-Reach-Personal-There/dp/0316852635). He has been described by the Guinness Book of Records as "the world's greatest living explorer", and he has done a lot of his best 'work' at an age when many of us are contemplating retirement!

Which leads me to another thought. If I actually manage to pull this off, if I actually manage to get down to 200 lbs, or (better yet) 178 lbs; or if I manage to pull off a finish in a half- or full marathon, of post some decent times for a 5 Km race, then I want to use this forum and my website to promote two thing: Exercise and activity for young people (kids and teens) so that they can avoid the damage of diabetes, and exercise and activity among adults who want to do the same, or who want to overcome the limitations of arthritis, or to reduce their high blood sugar or cholesterol levels, regardless of their age. Honestly, if I can do it, anyone can! If you feel you need encouragement, call me. If you're serious about getting active, I'll help and support you in any way I can.

OMG, there's a lot to talk about. I guess that's one of the consequences of not having an Internet connection at home any more (he says, as he's sitting in the public library, connected to their Wi-Fi).

Encouraged by the health improvements demonstrated by my daughter, I've been trying to switch away from eating so much meat and dairy products (even though I LOVE cheese). Another time, I'll share my thoughts on the merits or otherwise of drinking cow's milk. I haven't bought any myself for several weeks and I really don't miss it. I still have to read more on the effects of casein (one of the two milk proteins) on the body. It's a popular supplement among bodybuilders.

292.4 lbs (132.6 kg)

Finally, the news that my downward weight loss trend continues. This morning I hit a new low - 292.4 lbs.

292 lbs - forward movement again

After deliberately trying to (slowly) add a few carbs back into my diet (in the form of beans and pulses, because of their high fiber content) my weight-loss had slowed WAY down.

292.6 lbs this morning

I missed my end-of-June goal (286 lbs), but I'm not sad about that. I feel much better for having allowed myself to eat more fiber. And, the trend is downward again. I have a good feeling that July will be the month that I'll catch up and get back on schedule.

The new activities are starting to take shape: boxing, T'ai Chi, cycling and dancing. There will be updates on those in the next two or three weeks. I can already tell that the T'ai Chi will be an early morning activity, both because it's a quiet activity to do at 5.00 am, and because I'll be approaching it with a refreshed mind and body after a good night's sleep. The boxing will be an evening thing. I've also been challenged to report my weekly cycling miles, and see the numbers go up from one week to the next. Priority #1 will be to get a new saddle (and a helmet, I suppose)!

First a Princess, now Goldilocks

Observant readers of this blog will have noticed that I am not posting as frequently as I once did. That is a direct result of my getting rid of my home Internet connection (and saving myself $70 a month in the process - that $840 a year!). Now, instead of frittering away my time doing trivial things online, I'm actually taking advantage of the lighter nights (summer solstice this week) and doing more. More of everything: more reading, more preparation for writing the next great novel, or poems, or song lyrics (I can dream, can't I!?), more painting, more photography, more new social activities, spending more time with the people who are important to me, and more preparing for the next phase of my journey back to better health.

One thing that's not going so well: sleeping with two mattresses! Why did I ever think that was a good idea? As Goldilocks would have said, "This bed is too soft!", and she is correct. So, I can see myself fixing up a solution that involves putting my 10" foam mattress on the bedroom floor at night, then leaning it against the wall during the day. The difference between when I first got the mattress and now is that I used to be a 405 lb guy trying to get up from the floor, and it was comically painful to watch (even worse to be the one having to DO it!). Now, I'm a 295 lb guy, and it's much easier.

Which brings me to the next thing: my State of the Union, or State of the Chris, to be more precise. It has been exactly a year since I launched my effort to get healthier (it was Father's Day weekend, June 20th, 2015). A lot has happened since then. A lot has changed, almost all of it for the better.

Birdie (my daughter) and I were talking about this earlier this morning, after she'd treated me to some tasty Eggs Benedict at a local cafe. The obvious visible difference is the loss of 110 pounds (50 kg). I can see it in my face now, and my waistline. There's still a lot there, I'm under no illusions about that, but it's a lot less than it used to be. I can't imagine, now, where all that fat once was.

I am able to walk a lot further than I used to be able to. I still struggle with going up hills and stairs sometimes, but that didn't stop me from reaching the summits of Mount Ascension and Mount Helena locally.

I can more comfortably bend over to tie my shoelaces or pick things up from the ground. I can fit into clothes that I haven't been able to wear for three or four years. It'll soon be time to save up for a new clothes shopping spree, where I will reward myself for reaching my halfway point with a $$$ trip to the "normal" men's store instead of the "big and tall" store.

I feel so much happier. I was telling The Bird, who has also done REALLY well with her own journey back to good health, that there have been days when I wake up feeling euphoric. She has experienced the same thing. It's a bizarre (as in, unexplained) state of supreme happiness and contentment. I'm sure it's hormonal. I remember, several times, talking to my supervisor at work about how I was feeling almost unnaturally happy - yet none of it was induced by artificial chemicals. It was all natural. Of course, my friends noticed it too.

It's not all sunshine and roses though. There are still some psychological struggles. I'm still prone to overeating, or eating things that I know are not good for me. Not often, but sometimes I feel almost powerless to stop myself. Last week, one day, I had doughnuts and a bagel; things I don't normally eat any more. From time to time, I know I should do more exercise, pushing myself further and harder than I am used to. I don't always do it.

Some things have changed for the better. I can hardly remember the last time I had any sickly sweet milk chocolate. If I ever have chocolate these days, it's > 70% cacao, and (usually) only in small quantities. I rarely eat bread or anything with much flour, almost no rice or pasta. I bought my first small bag of sugar last week, but only because I'm making my own kombucha (drink) at home, and the bacteria and yeast need something to feed on. Most of the sugar gets converted, so only a little is left.

I'm eating a lot more vegetables than before, and a lot less meat. As that trend continues, I'm going to switch to better sources for my food. It'll be more expensive, for sure, but it will also have fewer hormones and antibiotics and pesticides in it or on it. Some day (like, in a few years, probably) I'll be in a position again to grow my own vegetables. That is something I'm looking forward to.

My stomach fills more quickly now - I don't need to eat as much to feel full, normally. My blood sugar levels are generally lower and more stable. At some point I'm hoping I'll be able to taper off my heartburn (acid reflux) medication.

In the future, I'm looking forward to some new activities: boxing, Tai Chi, cycling, and (a new addition to my list) dancing. I'm not sure yet what kind of dancing, but it ought to be fun. There'll be lots of opportunities to burn excess calories. There'll be lots of opportunities to make new friends and share common interests.

So, overall, life is grand. The past year has been good, and the future looks bright too.

More progress, and new activities

Thinking about my previous blog post (http://blog.ergoob.org/2016/06/priorities-for-rest-of-2016.html), and some of the things needed to make those new priorities a reality, I started by clearing my bed from my bedroom, so that now I have a dedicated "home gym" area for my boxing and Tai Chi. The bed frame is in the hall closet, and I'm sleeping on an extra mattress now in the spare bedroom, which makes me feel like the "Princess and the pea".

BOB

A large mirror will be installed on one wall for the shadow boxing (and for checking myself out - what with having a sexy new figure and all!) My ceiling isn't built to hold an 80 lb canvas heavy bag for punching, so I'm going to acquire a "BOB" (Body Opponent Bag) that sits on the floor. You fill the base with water and/or sand (about 250 lbs of sand, apparently).

The reason for converting my main bedroom is that I don't have neighbors below that room (it's the laundry room underneath me), so I won't disturb anyone with the noise (when BOB bounces back and smacks me on the chin! - no, not really, he's got no arms!)

My friends at Amazon.com are sending me some hand wraps and boxing gloves. They must be my friends because they keep sending me stuff, right? (not for free though). A couple of friends here in Helena, who happen to be boxers, will be giving me some tips and pointers to successful training. In my imagination, I think I can manage, at least for a few months, without having to join an actual gym again. We'll see.

With the bed frame in the hall closet, the bike has to live in the "gym" for the moment. I still need a pump for the tires, but I'm getting a puncture repair kit, tire levers, a special bicycle multi-tool, so that I can repair and maintain the bike myself. New bright LED lights and panniers (for carrying groceries, for example) will be added later. Cycling is going to become my next BIG THING, especially if my plan is to ride to Portland next year!

Tai Chi doesn't require much gear - just some comfortable loose clothing and lightweight shoes.

Now, too, I've got the space to be able to use my rubber/elastic resistance bands (which I've had for many months), and my homemade weights (really just 1 gallon Arizona tea jugs, filled with sand or water). If you would like to download my resistance band exercise charts, go ahead: http://www.ergoob.org/get-out-of-breath/ResistanceBandExercises.pdf. The gallon jugs, filled with water, weigh 8.6 lbs each. Filled with dry sand they weighed 12.2 lbs each. I can add water to the dry sand and probably reach 15 or 16 lbs each.

Priorities for the rest of 2016

Now that my trip to Oregon is behind me, it's time to focus on the next few months of my improved health journey.

It started almost a year ago and has, for the most part, been successful. Having been, at one point, "pre-diabetic" with A1c values of 6.4, 6.2 and 6.1 %, I now have better control of my weight and diet, and those values are coming down all the time. Whereas I once physically struggled to walk to the end of my driveway and back, or walk half a city block, I can now comfortably walk 10 or 12 miles at a time, including up a steep mountain (http://blog.ergoob.org/2016/06/mount-helena-conquered.html). I've lost 110 pounds of weight in the past 12 months.

Thinking about just the weight loss aspect, if my plan is to go from 405 lbs to 178 lbs, that's a loss of 227 pounds. I've lost almost half of that in 12 months, so I know I have at least 12 more months to go. I also know that I may always be carrying an extra 25 lbs of extra loose skin with me, unless I have it surgically removed - which I wouldn't do until I've proven to myself that I can keep the extra weight off for at least an extra year. Still, even if I "only" get to 200 lbs, that's still a heck of a lot better than 400 lbs, right? That's still 200 lbs less body mass to have to move all the time, 200 lbs less that my heart has to pump blood around, 200 lbs less for my skeletal joints to support.

To help me achieve my ultimate weight loss goal, which I have broken up into a series of monthly goals (http://blog.ergoob.org/2016/02/revised-targets-new-end-date-but-it.html), I will be continuing the hiking and backpacking and walking. I had toyed with the idea of buying a car to get around before the next winter comes, but discarded that thought. The exercise is good for me, and I really need to learn to love the cold and snow. I moved to Montana 20 years ago in September, and have never really embraced the weather here (http://blog.ergoob.org/2015/12/trying-to-like-snow-never-say-never.html).

I've spoken to a number of people recently who have said something along these lines: "I need to get moving too, because of my arthritis (or they want to lose weight, or to control their blood sugar, or whatever), but I can't find the enthusiasm". If you are one of those people - call me! We'll go for walks. Even if it's only a measured mile (or two) around Centennial Park, I'll walk with you! I don't walk especially fast (3.0 mph is usually my max, about 2.7 mph is 'normal' for me) but I'll encourage you and we can hold one another accountable and motivate each other.

So, thinking about new activities to keep things fresh and push myself in new directions, here are some things I'm looking at:

• Tai Chi for "ultimate" mental and physical balance, (http://blog.ergoob.org/2016/03/tai-chi-for-better-balance.html), 
• Boxing to develop upper body strength and fitness, (http://blog.ergoob.org/2016/03/no-gym-required-part-2-pct-d-71.html), and
• Cycling (http://blog.ergoob.org/2016/03/already-looking-ahead-to-2017.html)

Some of you may be familiar with the biblical expression, "Man does not live by bread alone" (or, in my case, lettuce alone!). Physical nourishment is not sufficient for a healthy life. A man (or woman) has other needs. For me, those include:

• Winning the psychological battle with food that is going on in my head, 
• Getting into better shape financially and becoming debt-free again, and 
• Spending more time doing the things I love, with the people who are important to me. 

As an employee of the State of Montana, we have some excellent resources available to help with the first point (the psychological battle with food). After five years of loyal service, I'm doing okay financially where I'm at. My income is higher this year than it was last year or in previous years, and my expenses are lower. Starting tomorrow, I am ditching my home Internet connection (and those of you who know me know how much I [used to] LOVE the Internet). Instead, I'm going to use the time to get outdoors more, to do more reading and writing, or watercolor painting or photography, or whatever other things are important. 

Another priority will be to move towards a more vegetarian diet. I can't imagine myself becoming a total non-meat-eater, but I can foresee eating a lot less beef (think of the environmental consequences), and choosing better quality meat with fewer antibiotics. I can also see myself adding more pulses, beans and nuts back into my diet; both as protein sources and sources of fiber. I'll become an expert at cooking with cauliflower, broccoli, chard, kale and spinach. 

Stay tuned.

Mount Helena conquered

I had something to prove, and I did it! I woke up just before 05:00 on Saturday morning (I'm usually up at 5.00 am on a work day anyway, so no big deal). After getting dressed quickly, I was out of the door by 05:11. The sun was barely up over the horizon (we're less than three weeks from the summer solstice), and the temperature was a pleasant 49 °F (9 °C).

Hard work, reaching the summit of Mount Helena

An hour later, I had walked to the Adams St parking lot at the Mount Helena trailhead. I chose to go up the very steep Powerline Trail, and return down the 1906 Trail. Just after 8.00 am, I reached the summit. After a few minutes of taking in the scenery, taking photos, and texting some of my friends, I started the descent, past the Devil's Kitchen limestone formation, on the longer 1906 Trail, which turned out to be just as challenging as the Powerline Trail. Hard work, for sure!

I reached the trailhead again just before 9.30 am. The Montana Conservation Corps were doing some scheduled trail maintenance today. Thank you for that valuable work that you do!

A short rest, then it was time to head to the farmer's market downtown. At this point I was beginning to wish for a flying carpet or magical teleportation powers to take me home. A nice, fortifying breakfast (with a couple of scoops of ice cream - I'd earned it!) set me up nicely for the final leg, the 2.5 miles back to my apartment... uphill!

From 4,200 down to 4,100, then up to 5,468 feet elevation

By the time I got home, I was fit for nothing except sleeping for an hour. Checking my number of steps, I'd walked 10.1 miles today, with more than 22,400 steps! It felt like nine tenths of them were uphill, but I know that no more than half of them could have been (what goes up must come down, right?). However, I do know that my apartment is at 4,200 ft elevation, the Last Chance Gulch walking mall is at about 4,100 ft, and the summit of Mount Helena is at 5,468 feet.

Photos are available at https://goo.gl/photos/h6sz6JPvp71iGicQA.

Booth or Table?

Who shot President Lincoln? Was it John Wilkes Booth or John Wilkes Table? The answer is obvious, as any smart fifth-grader will tell you: Booth. When you're a 405 lb fatty in a restaurant, and they ask you, "Booth or table?" the answer is equally obvious: Table - because you can't fit in a booth.

So, yesterday, I was having lunch at a cafe with my friend Traci, and we were faced with the dreaded booth. Now that I'm substantially slimmer (296 lbs this morning!), I not only fitted in the booth, but my stomach didn't even touch the table!! Win!

Less than 2 pounds off target

My "target" for the end of May was 294 lbs. I missed it, but only just (by less than 2 lbs). So, the journey continues. My target for the end of June is 286 lbs, so I have ten pounds to go, in thirty days. I can do it!

Finally below 300 lbs

It's taken a long time (almost 12 months) but I finally broken through the psychologically important 300 pound barrier today.

299.6 lbs (135.9 kg) today

Before I left for southern Oregon, last week, I had been 306.4 lbs. At my first post-hike weigh-in (yesterday) I was down to 301.6 lbs. This morning I tipped the scales at 299.6 lbs!

I know, I haven't published any details of that Oregon trip yet. They will follow soon. I'm just really excited to have achieved this one goal, and am also really excited about some of the new adventures that I'll be taking part in over the next few months and years. Details to follow.

D day - The adventure begins in ernest

Waiting for our ride to the beginning of our trail. After eight months of planning, and 28 hours on trains, we're about to take out first steps in the rain. The plan is to reach Crystal Springs by this evening.

On our way to Oregon today

The day has finally arrived! I've been contemplating this day and this journey for eight months now, thinking about it, planning it, dreaming about it, and now it's here. Birdie and I will be leaving Helena in just over an hour, heading up Interstate-15 towards the Amtrak station in Shelby. Our backpacks are packed. Hers weighs about 25 lbs, mine weighed in at 38 lbs! When I think of my personal weight loss journey over the past 11 months, I've lost the equivalent of two and a half big backpacks!

This morning, on the bathroom scales, I was at 306.4 lbs. We'll see how much I lose in the next 11 days (the next time I'll weigh myself). These last few weeks have been up and down much more than normal. My diet has had a lot more carbohydrates in it than normally (well, the 'new normal', anyway). I've also been struggling in a psychological battle with food. I'm determined that I'm going to WIN that particular battle, so there will be renewed action on that front when I return to Helena at the end of May.

I'm sad that we won't be hiking the 'real' Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) because of all the snow on it, but we've managed to come up with an alternative that is almost as long (still 72 miles), and that takes us past a nature reserve and bird sanctuary, so there should still be some sights to see on the way, and good photos to take and share afterwards. I also won't get to see Crater Lake up close - this year - but my plan is to come back in two years time (2018) and do it all again. Except, then, I'll come back in March - when there's a lot more snow, and I'll be properly equipped and trained to deal with it. How about that for making lemonade out of lemons!?

Once I get back home (Sat, May 28th) I'll upload all of my photos to an online album, but some pictures may get posted from my cell phone before then. https://goo.gl/photos/JvhZBZosKDhSAApT6 is the address of the album. There's a tentative schedule of where we'll be at http://www.ergoob.org/pct2016/schedule, and a near-real-time map of our whereabouts at http://www.ergoob.org/pct2016/where (also reachable via https://share.delorme.com/janesdaddy). The password is the name of the state that we are hiking in (with a capital 'O' at the beginning). 

I would like to thank all my friends and others who have supported me in the past eight months, either with the physical preparation, or with words of encouragement. Thank you. 

Weather looking wet and cool for the big hike (PCT d - 2)

It's Oregon! I should have expected it, right? And I'm British, so I should be used to it, right?

Here is the weather forecast for Fort Klamath for the next few days.

Fort Klamath weather, wet and cool

Friday (May 20th, our first day of actual hiking) will bring a quarter inch of rain. Daytime temperatures for the week will be around 60 °F, with nighttime temperatures at or just below 40 °F. It'll be warmer at the end of the week, but still raining occasionally.

Need a forklift truck (not really) (PCT d - 6)

I think we're almost ready to go. Our Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) adventure has become the "almost-PCT" or "nearly-PCT", thanks to the 4-foot deep snow on the only part of the PCT in Oregon to have snow - the precise bit that we'd planned to hike on. I've been monitoring the monitoring stations along the way, and the snow is melting; just not quickly enough. The level is going down at the rate of about 2" a day (16 inches a week), but it's still at 52" (over 4 feet) today (see http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/nwcc/plot?time_zone=PST&intervalType=+View+Current+&sitenum=1000&report=SNOW&timeseries=Daily&interval=MONTH&format=plot&autoscale=true&legendpos=below for an example). As such, some of the steep hills would be simply too dangerous for inexperienced (but enthusiastic!) hikers such as Birdie and me. We don't have crampons and ice axes, or any of the other gear necessary for our safety on a steep, hilly climb through that much snow (good safety video at http://sectionhiker.com/winter-skills-how-to-use-an-ice-axe-for-self-rescue/), so we devised an alternate plan for our seven days of hiking.

This is only breakfasts and some snacks

Having acquired all the other equipment and consumables in prior weeks, the last piece was to buy our breakfast food and snacks. Yesterday was my pay day, so I was able to buy a load of tasty oatmeal bars (a brand I would highly recommend, if the company will send me a free box of them  ;-) some nut bars (some with dark chocolate), some fruit leathers, some beef jerky and some salami. Some of the stuff may get repackaged so as not to take up so much space, but it's really the weight that's going to be the big issue. When I've been going out on my practise hikes recently, my pack has weighed up to 35 pounds, and that was with no more than a few days worths of food. Including the train journey down to Klamath Falls, we'll be taking nine days worth of food with us. Full details of our schedule, our list of gear, the original (now revised) schedule, and our near-real-time location can be found on the main ERGOOB website at http://www.ergoob.org/pct2016/.

Alternate route for PCT2016 hike

Alternative route because of snow

With the news on Friday that snow on the PCT is still three to four feet deep, Birdie and I had to change our plans slightly. Instead of the 100 mile hike that we had originally planned, it's now going to be closer to 66 miles long, with each day being only 10-12 miles in distance, instead of averaging 15 miles per day. Still, it'll be a good workout nonetheless!

The course on the map marked with a red line to the left is the old, original route. The purple line further right, with green triangles, is the new route, which is shifted east a little bit. It's still in view of the mountains to the west, and some bird sanctuaries and stuff on the other side. It goes along the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway (http://www.volcaniclegacybyway.org), northwest out of Klamath Falls. Parts of our new route are on Forest Service land or County roads, so they'll be nicely maintained and a lot more level than the PCT.

Also, one of the nights should be at the Jackson F Kimball State Recreation Site, which has 10 primitive campsites and also a vault toilet, so we won't have to poop in the woods that night.

There's a possibility, if the snow isn't too deep, that we can get back onto the original trail at the end of Day 3, and still see the actual Crater Lake. If not, I'll have to come back some other time (later in the year!)

Ups and downs and a new PB (PCT d - 9)

For those readers who didn't already know, I weighed 405 lbs eleven months ago, in mid-June 2015. This morning I tipped the scales at ...

303 lbs (137.4 kg)

303 lbs - 102 pounds less than when I started this adventure (... this lifestyle change, if you like).

Steady progress

It was admittedly much easier at the beginning, when I was losing between 12 and 14 pounds a month. Then, my average fell to between nine and ten pounds. I've had a couple of months with some small wobbles, but the trends is still downwards.

The small downer from the weekend was that I had to spend the entire time researching and plotting a new course for our Oregon trip next week. With the discovery that the snow on the real Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is still several feet high on the very section that I was going to be on, our new course runs almost parallel to it, but at a lower elevation, just to the east of the PCT, on flatter ground. The new course is also slightly shorter - only 66 miles instead of 100 miles. But still, it'll be an average of 10-12 miles a day. More details about that in a future blog post.