I Did It!

   I did it! On April 12, 2011 I started out to reduce my weight to 165.0 pounds. I started out at 186.8 pounds. Now after 157 days I finally reached my goal. As of today I have lost 21.8 pounds. That is about 2.2 ounces per day or about one pound per week.
   It wasn't easy. Sometimes I lost weight and sometimes I put weight back on. But through it all I kept focused and continued to persevere. I changed a lot of my eating habits, but I refused to starve myself. I started jogging, then running. I had to deal with severe cramps in my calves which were major setbacks. But after my body healed, I kept on going. My daughter gave me the nickname "sweaty man" because I would come home from runs soaked in sweat.
   My clothes aren't tight anymore. And I was able to take some clothes down from the top of my closet and actually fit in them! My blood pressure is normal (and I don't take any medicine). I have a lot more energy now and I haven't been sick since I started exercising (probably a stronger immune system).
   And of course I have written many blog posts about the Appalachian Trail. As a matter of fact, this blog post is number 100! It is also the first that doesn't have a trail story in it. I haven't quite finished telling all of the stories about the trail, not yet! So, from this point forward I will just write about the trail until I finish the stories. I appreciate you, the reader, and your encouragement. You are welcome to leave comments if you want. I'd love to know your thoughts about this journey.
   Moving forward I intend to keep on exercising and trying to eat right. If I ever get above 170.0 pounds in the future, then I will immediately go into diet/exercise mode until I get below 170.0. I have other goals in life that I hope to pursue. One is to run one mile in under 5:00. My best time when I was a student at Georgia Tech was 5:12 (then I had mid-terms and lots of homework followed by finals!) I may start working on that project next.
   As for the trail stories, it has been good to write them down. Some folks have encouraged me to put them in book form. I am considering that, although it would need to be edited some. Don't worry, I won't leave you at the "halfway house" just below Mount Washington in New Hampshire. I will make sure that you get the stories all the way to the final mountain, Mount Katahdin in Maine. Onward and upward!