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14er Journey

Posted: Thu May 03, 2012 7:32 am
by djkest
Hey guys, thought you might find this interesting.
In 2001, coming out of 5 months of military training I was 207 lbs.
In 2009, I hit my highest weight of 282 lbs at 6'1" tall. I hope to never be that heavy again. I started exercising in July 2009; going to 24-hour fitness 4-7 times a week, walking, running, hiking, and biking.

On September 4th, 2009 I climbed Longs Peak @ 271 lbs. We summitted in a respectable 4:40.
In 2010, I climbed Mt. Elbert @ 262 lbs and thought "since I've already done 2, maybe I should do the rest of them"
Last year (2011), I was climbing around 245 lbs.
This year, I'm hoping to drop a couple more and be down to 240 for summer climbing season.

14ers and "the list" are more than just a check to be ticked off. For me, it's motivation, it's dedication, it's a reason to keep going. I've never had it easy controlling my weight. Having a real-world goal has been the only way to sustain a healthy lifestyle. Will I ever get back to 207? Probably not, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't try to live a healthier lifestyle.

http://exploringandwine.blogspot.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In my "just summits" blog that I just posted, you can see that in the last 2 years I've lost some weight- you can see progression. I hope to keep it going.

Re: 14er Journey

Posted: Thu May 03, 2012 10:45 am
by wildlobo71
Way to keep with it... There are many with similar stories here on 14ers, including me. I was at 235 pounds, or so, when I did my first one in 2002; hardest thing I had ever done in my "way too safe" of a life... A couple more 14ers in the next couple of years, and then found myself at almost 270 pounds in May of 2009, when I decided to hit the hills with a fever, for many reasons - health one of them. By August of 2010 I was at 188 pounds.

I've now slowed and settled back to the 205 pound range; 188 was mighty tough to maintain, but I know it's now an achieveable weight when I am in the zone. Just keep going with the lists, it's always a motivation of mine, as well. My working goals are 195 in summer, 200 or so in the winter. Good luck to you!

Re: 14er Journey

Posted: Thu May 03, 2012 12:37 pm
by big_red_pride
Great job!

I too have lost a lot of weight for several reasons, one of them being able to hike up the 14ers. I hiked up my first one in July 2006, it was Pikes Peak and I weighed 300 lbs. I hiked up Barr Trail and took the COG back down. It was a grueling 12 hour day! Since then I have lost over 80 lbs, was down 100 at 1 point in time, tell you what it makes hiking these peaks so much easier and I get to enjoy it more! Currently my hiking weight is around 215, but hope to go through most of the summer at around 205. Keep up the great work!

Steve

Re: 14er Journey

Posted: Thu May 03, 2012 1:02 pm
by BobbyFinn
Congrats! Keep it up!

Re: 14er Journey

Posted: Thu May 03, 2012 1:06 pm
by RJansen77
Congratulations! Nothing better than doing something you love that keeps you healthy and feeling alive, keep hammering away at it!

Re: 14er Journey

Posted: Thu May 03, 2012 1:24 pm
by Papillon
Nice work. Always good to read these stories here.

Re: 14er Journey

Posted: Thu May 03, 2012 1:48 pm
by steelfrog
Love your blog!

Re: 14er Journey

Posted: Thu May 03, 2012 2:20 pm
by zoriloco
Wow thats an impressive comeback! Keep up the good work.

Re: 14er Journey

Posted: Thu May 03, 2012 2:25 pm
by globreal
Congrats on the new healthy lifestyle!

Nice blog showing your peak progression. I like photo #21 on Lindsey.....with the cloud exploding out of your fists!

Re: 14er Journey

Posted: Thu May 03, 2012 2:37 pm
by Monster5
Congrats, man. You move pretty fast for a former 280 - trucked up Eolus.

Re: 14er Journey

Posted: Thu May 03, 2012 3:12 pm
by djkest
Thanks so much for the compliments and encouragement. This site has been great to stoke my enthusiasm and enable my "success" so far. And thanks for the compliments on my blog. I shelved it for a couple years because no one read it- I figured it wasn't worth my time. I am working on polishing my 3 blog posts about Chicago Basin and then I am going to put them in a trip report. I need to link more photos! It's almost impossible to have too many photos if they are useful and/or interesting.