I started this website in part to document my glorious return to spending more time outdoors. If you read my about me page, you’ll know that I was avidly into the outdoors, but then I got away from it. Life will do that. During my absence from enjoying the outdoors as much as I used to I got big… I put on weight. I’m the Overweight Outdoorsman!
Now, some of those things I used to do outdoors are a little difficult to do. Having a pear shaped body and reduced physical stamina has been an issue for me the past few months as I began getting outdoors more.
As I write this I recently turned 44 years old. I’m 6 foot 1 inches tall, and weigh 325 pounds. As you see from the picture on the right, I’m a hefty dude. I haven’t always been like that.
It’s Not Easy Being An Overweight Outdoorsman!
I’ve been up and down with my weight since I was 35. But never anywhere close to 325 pounds, until this year. Wow. It surprises me. It really does. I don’t feel like I am that big. When I’m out hiking in the woods or whatever I huff and puff, but I don’t sluff off and keep pushing forward.
I know I’m overweight, but I guess I never thought of myself as that heavy. People I hang around with, friends and family, must be too nice to say “hey… lose a few”.
I really noticed it this year for the first time when I was bow hunting and dragging my harvested buck out of the woods. I felt really out of shape compared to past years. Earlier in the Autumn when hiking I tended to lose my wind walking up hills in the woods… not fun to have to stop and let my breathing return to normal.
Since jumping back into the outdoors I feel like I have slowed down from what I used to do, and am capable of doing. It’s the weight I put on. I’ve also noticed that most all of my outdoor clothes for hunting and such didn’t fit this year. I must have really ballooned up since last year!
Makes we wonder if I should really go on that solo canoe trip into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area this coming spring to fish lake trout. Might be safer to bring somebody else along with me.
Or, I could buckle down and start eating healthier foods, get some cardio, and lose some weight.
Taking Control Of My Weight
I bought a weight scale for my bathroom from Amazon a couple days ago and it arrived yesterday. That’s how I know what I weigh. My wife weighed herself too and was freaked out that she put on about twenty pounds. She’s tiny, like a bird, but even she has put on some weight the past few years.
We both eat poorly, but I know I eat a lot worse than she does, and it shows. She is not a soda drinker, and I am (that stops today). I also tend to eat more fast food, as I have made it convenient during my lunch hours away from work to just go through a drive through to get food. No doubt that if I start cutting out the fast food and the soda, I will drop some pounds right there over time.
But that’s not enough.
In my youth I used to jog and cross country ski depending on the season. I would keep myself more active outdoors and was in pretty darn good shape. At 325 pounds I can’t safely get back into jogging, but I need to add some sort of cardio if I want to shed some pounds at a faster rate than just by dieting.
So my wife and I are looking at joining a gym in the near future – once Christmas has passed and our Holiday spending has subsided. Joining a gym would be the best thing to do, but the thought of buying a cardio machine for in my home sounds appealing. I used to have an elliptical machine years ago that I used to hop on all the time. So convenient to have cardio equipment in the house.
- Cut out the junky fast food!
- Stop drinking soda-pop! Drink Water!
- More veggies and less pizza, lasagna, and burgers!
- Get some cardio started, and maybe some cross training with weights.
- Work on limbering up.
- Keep an eye on my blood pressure… I’m currently in the pre-hypertension range.
Shhh… Don’t Tell Anybody I’m Dieting…
I’m not telling anybody I am dieting… except here on my blog. Not my parents, nor my other family members. I haven’t told any of them about this website, so they are not going to be reading this post.
A few friends know about this web page, but not many. I tend to be a solo outdoorsman, and only a couple friends that share my love of the outdoors are aware of this site. Not sure if they read it or not. If they do, they don’t seem to ever mention it.
I’m just gonna keep this weight loss thing to myself and my wife… and with any readers who care to follow this ongoing thread that I am starting now with this post. Not gonna make a big deal out of, just gonna do it.
Once a week, or every other week I will post an update here on this website about how things are going. I’ll weigh myself every couple days and keep a log at home of my weight status. I also took a picture of myself in my usual casual clothes that I will use for motivation and comparison as I lose weight.
No, I’m not going to share my weight loss plans with anybody but my wife, and the people who come across my website here and read about it. I’ll document it here… whether I succeed or fail.
Short Term Wright Loss Goal
My desire is to lose 30 to 40 pounds by the middle of May. Is that doable? I know it is, if I apply myself. My reason for this goal is I want to shed some weight before my Spring solo BWCA trip.
I don’t want to rent a solo canoe from an outfitter and overload it with my fat-butt and all my gear for a week long solo fishing trip. I estimate my gear for that trip will be around fifty to sixty pounds in my SealLine pack. Then whatever I weigh on top of that.
Can I handle my solo trip if I never lose any weight? Yes, I know I could. My trip I have planned only has a couple short portages where I would need to carry a 40 pound canoe and my pack between lakes. That’s the hardest part of the trip. I know I can handle that.
But, even knowing I could still handle the trip as I am now at 325 pounds, I don’t want to. I want to feel better, feel healthier, not be as winded from hauling gear. I know it would mean I would better enjoy my trip if I lost some unwanted pounds.
Short Term Goals: For Mid May 2018
- Loose 40 pounds in roughly 26 weeks, in a healthy and safe way.
- Update my progress here on this website with future blog posts.
Along with short term goals I have some long term goals as well.
The Future – Not Wanting To Be An Overweight Outdoorsman
My long term goals are to lose a lot more weight than 40 pounds, and to maintain a healthy lifestyle so I am around to enjoy time with my wife and family. I need to get this in check now, so I can make sure I am around a long time to enjoy watching the grand-kids grow up.
I also want to be able to enjoy my time in the outdoors as much as possible, and being healthy with better stamina is key to that happening.
Keep checking back for more updates on my progress. Succeed or Fail… I’ll share it here on this website.
(read The Overweight Outdoorsman Part 2 here!)
TD
